I’ve lost count of all the holes I have dug over the years, for when he brings work home and it all goes wrong, and for the lives I’ve been forced to take. Every time, I wonder when I’d finally dig my own.

As I throw soil onto her lifeless corpse, her voice echoes in my mind. Every time I couldn’t take it anymore, she was there, her hand on my head, whispering, “It’s okay…you’re safe with me.”

My arms felt heavy, refusing to let her go…. but little by little, what used to be my haven began to disappear into the cold hard ground.

Walking through the Manor, the maids were indifferent to the blood that stains me and the emptiness in my eyes. Their greetings are mechanical, devoid of concern.

“Is it done?” His uncaring tone is a knife in my gut, reminding me of his utter disregard for life, including mine.

“Yes,” I struggled to mask my rage as my nails dug into my palm as my fists were clenched with all the force I could muster….all I could do is avert my eyes from that cold hearted monster

“Good.” He rose from his chair and approached me. “With that loose end dealt with, I can continue with your guidance...” He steps closer. “Follow me to the...”

At that moment, I struck.

He caught my hand and the knife I had concealed effortlessly.

“Compassion….It still latches onto you like a leech.”

I wrenched myself free and attacked again, but he deflected every move with ease.

“YOU MONSTER!” My vision blurred with tears and fury. “YOU KILLED HER! YOU KILLED THE ONLY ONE WHO CARED!”

“You see your opponent as friend or family, and that makes you hold back. That is why you are still not ready.” It’s like he wasn’t even fazed by my futile cries

My smaller frame was no match for his overwhelming presence. Each time I got up, I ended up back on the cold carpet floor. Only way I could expel my rage was by clawing at the floor until my nails broke and dug itself into my skin…. But even that excruciating pain was not enough.

“I didn’t kill her...you did. You sealed her fate the moment you told her.”

I forced myself into one last desperate assault, but it was futile. His knee drove into my ribs, and I collapsed, agony coursing through me.

“You think some commoner can understand us?! I allowed you to be among them so you could learn to blend in, not to let their lives blend into ours. We were chosen, Yulia. We were…”

“I don’t want to be chosen!” I shouted, clutching my chest in pain. “I just want to be like everyone else. I don’t want to hurt anyone…I never asked for this.”

He looked at me, unmoved. “Very well.” He turned to leave. “Someone must pick up the mantle. It will have to be your sister.”

“No…” I tried to stand, but the pain was too much. “She’s going through enough. Please…don’t put her through this.”

He returned, crouching beside me. “Then stop fighting against what you are supposed to be. Listen to me and I swear on our family’s honor, your sister will have nothing to worry about. You are the last legacy of this family, and I expect you to be its greatest.”

His grip on my head is iron, ignoring my pain. Once again, I am reminded of how little choice I have.

.

.

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(Present day)

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.

.

The city took on a new identity on this day…. Lines of people all geared up crowding the street on this day. The sphere in the sky burned bright red and everyone had their eyes darting between their surroundings and their interface, eagerly waiting for that timer to tick down. The air around the Arena was overwhelmingly dense, packed to the brim with countless crowds of people

“A lot of people around” Haru commented

“First step to freedom….It’s a given everyone would be up” Tatsuo followed up, staying alert of his surroundings

Meanwhile, I had my eyes darting around….looking for traces of my prey. But all I was able to spot were a few groups of his posse, clearly marked by the insignia on their sleeves

(Where are you, Makoto?)

“You okay, Yulia-san?” Tatsuo looked like his nerves are about to pop out from his head

“I’m fine, just….looking for someone” I replied while not breaking away my focus on the crowd

“The guy you’re after?”

“The goons are here, but not the bosses…they can’t be far” but as I started to step away, Tatsuo grabbed me by the arm

“How about…we don’t get separated. We have no idea what to expect and the best way to get through this is by not doing our own thing ” Tatsuo’s tone weighed more on his last few words, just in case I didn’t get the hint

Seeing the point in his argument, I gave up on my instinct to hunt the needles in the haystack…. And the very next moment, Hayato comes running back towards us

“Good news and Bad news” Hayato spoke as he was trying to catch his breath

“Bad news first” chose Tatsuo

“Bad news is…. The Guild had no idea about the Ascension BR, if we had to gather anywhere to start the BR…this ain’t it”

“What?” I expressed my confusion, taking a few steps towards Hayato

Haru put her hand in front of me, stopping my charge forward. “What’s the good news?”

“The good news is that no one else knows too. I kept my ears open to every counter and most of the people here….none of them know even if there is a gathering spot”

“How is that good news?” Tatsuo asked in distress

“I checked every listing right now…. every raid dungeon is closed and so are quests for BR participants, it’s definitely not anywhere outside the city.” Hayato turned around “And considering all the people here right now, I don’t think the game will let this many people sit out… Which means the entrance….”

“....will come to us?” Haru deduced

“That’s what’s I think as well, yeah”

“Thinking is not good enough, Hayato-san” I got in his face, boiling in frustration

“Well it’s the best I got”

Tatsuo jumped between us and kept us apart. “Guys, how about we figure this out instead, there’s got to be….” But he didn’t get to finish his sentence as the surroundings around us turned to black.

I looked around and the crowd around us were as clueless

“What’s going on?” my voice immediately dispersed into the overwhelming amount of chatter that just started around.

“Everyone…stick close”

But a figure we haven’t seen in a while showed his face with a projection which towered above everyone

“Congratulations, my worthy lab rats”

The whole room lulled to a silence for a moment

“Sacchan” Hayato whispered, although I couldn’t make out what that meant

“WHERE ARE YOU HIDING, SATO?!!!”

“LET US OUT, YOU MADMAN!!”

“WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?!”

The air around us turned into a mosh pit of curses and pleads to the point that not a single word could be made out…. That is when he raised his hand…and snapped his fingers.

Everyone standing in the void got immediately jolted. A shock strong enough to root you in place and stop every moving mouth in the room…. And the silence returned once more.

(That was some unwelcome déjà vu)

He started moving around the room with his hands behind his back, out of anyone’s reach “All of you have proven yourself to be a cut above the rest of the pack. You’ve faced the trials and tribulations of the fundamental truths of human nature and survived its ordeal…. The fragility of trust, the petty price of betrayal….” He looked back towards our direction “The losses those qualities incur”.

And now he was walking in our direction “However, every experiment has its inconsistencies. And this is where those errors get erased….the excess weight trimmed off… The parasites removed.” He stretched his arms out wide, as he was inviting us “Welcome, to your first test”

He put his hands down and walked away from us “In case you are still unfamiliar with the test, all you need to know is this…. 400 of you go in, and only 40 or less of you will be deemed worthy for the next stage of the experiment… Run, Hide, Kill, Survive…. Leave the ones who’d rather be ignorant to the truth behind, or get dragged down with them ... .Let the Ascensions begin” and he faded out of existence, disappearing without a trace.

The moment he left; the surrounding turned blindly bright all of a sudden as we found ourselves alarmingly close to the false sun of this world. Everyone struggled to open their eyes for a moment, covering their eyes with the back of their hands until a moment later where the brightness died down like our eyes were adjusting to it. After it all settled, it was as if all was normal.

However,….it was not

Below our feet wasn’t a pitch-black floor or one made out of stone….it was the where we were going to compete very shortly

“2 minutes 45 before it starts” Tatsuo informed us, quickly checking his interface while everyone else had their eyes glued to the floor.

“So, they are just going to drop us? We’d be dead before we hit the ground” I expressed my immediate concern

Hayato's perceptiveness had him looking around at the other teams, and it was all erupting into a wave of chatter over the same concern, to the point we couldn’t even hear each other anymore. Hayato pointed at his ear, signaling us to enable our earpieces.

“Guess everyone is having the same problem, don’t think Sacch..Sato would drop everyone to their death like this”

“We don’t have much time left, best we pick a spot to land” Tatsuo relayed his thought thru our ears

“Best we avoid the hot zones, fighting over for loot is the easiest way to….”

But I suddenly felt a chill down my spine, to which I immediately reacted, the feeling of an ominous aura directed straight at me…. None of my teammates noticed as I turned around and tried to assess my surroundings.

I darted my eyes around, drowning all the unnecessary sounds and focusing on every single thing my eyes come across with precision. Only took me a few seconds to find the source of that hostility.

“Roland” I whispered to myself, as he walked away to the right and behind the crowds. From the split second I got a look at him, it seemed that I was aware of his presence before he was aware of mine.

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The chatter just bled out of my ears, as I could only hear my breaths…. I closed the distance to where I saw him and every step I took, the sounds of the others screaming in pain, pleading for their lives…it all came back to me.

And there they all were.

(Razir, Makoto, Roland)

They were all facing away from me, giving me a perfect opportunity to strike. Even when I got into striking distance, they were still oblivious. I reached for my back for my blade….And it wasn’t there.

I reached slightly above for my gun…And even it was not there. Guess my own two hands would do.

Mustering all my strength to my right arm, I attempted to get my hands on the unsuspecting Roland, but my hand ended up crashing into what felt like a wall.

“Ahh” I recoiled back and the pain and confusion caused my hearing to return to me, and it was a lot less noisier now

He still didn’t face my way, and all he did was start chuckling.

“Well, well, well. For a moment there I thought that I wouldn’t even be running into you today” All three of them turned to face me

“So this is the great slaughterer of paradise…to think that a woman would be capable of all that” said that ear-grating voice.

“A few more minutes and I would’ve burned your paradise to ground….But I guess I’ll pick up where I left off once I get my hands on you, you sick bastard”

“Yuu-chan!”

“Yulia-san!”

I looked over my shoulder and noticed Haru, Hayato and Tatsuo scurrying their way towards me, however they were being blocked off from me by a couple of other parties as they were…..actively getting in their way

“Move aside, will you” But none of them could even touch the people blocking them, as the same transparent walls from before preventing them from even attempting to force them away

But I immediately sensed something again. I immediately looked at my targets, and was immediately met with the image of a fist.

Roland’s right fist collided on an invisible wall, stopping it right in front of my face. I didn’t flinch or show any sign of weakness to that…. Wasn’t going to let Roland think that he could intimidate me

“Don’t you ignore me, you bitch. You surround yourself with all these weaklings and think that I’m not worth your time? Who the hell do you think you are?” Roland eyes and his monotonous voice were a sign of how deranged he was.

“Yulia, just so you know….” I noticed that Makoto was spooked earlier, and now the fact that he’s trying to slip away like the snake he is, confirmed it

“Save it, Makoto…. You made your choice, now there’s no going back... And this time, there will be no Isaac to drag you out”

“Looking a bit too ahead now aren’t you, Mano” I could sense Roland getting impatient due to my inattention towards him.

“You said it yourself didn’t you… You were tired of being compared to me no matter how hard you tried” I pushed my hands as closely as possible to Roland, pushing up on the invisible wall around him. “You act like you are the only one who can stop me but you are afraid of me…..You pride yourself on your strength, Roland….. What strength do you have if you fear your enemy?”

(My old man’s words tasted like a rotten lemon)

“I’ve been waiting for this moment all my life, Mano…. I will make sure, that this doesn’t go to waste and by the end…. I’ll let you live, long enough for you to watch as those pathetic commoners you’ve grown so close to, beg me to spare their lives……But you are not worthy yet, of fighting me”

“What?”

All three of them stepped back

“NEW WORLD ORDER!!! TIME TO CLAIM YOUR PRIZE!” Roland screamed

The next instance, there was a massive group of people surrounding me, including the ones that were pushing my team away.

I looked around me and no matter where I looked, there was a group cutting off my lines of sight… I couldn’t even see any of my friends anymore. I tried to count how many of them were there, but the constant motion and Roland towering over me made that virtually impossible.

“Yuu-chan!”, “Yulia-san” The voices in my ear swelled up, but the Roland’s voice in front of me was more imminent

“You deliberately weakened yourself, Mano…. Craving futile bonds with sheep to be slaughtered. If you are the same as me, you’ll be sure to make it to the end. But right now I don’t that in you”

I couldn’t even back off, because there wasn’t any back for me to go to. “What? Bragging all this time and you can’t even be bothered to face me? Not exactly your MO, Roland”

“If I’m to kill you, I want to fight the real you, and I want to make sure your suffering is long and slow…. Falling to the hand of these pawns just means that you are not worthy to die by my hand.” Roland backed off towards his protectees

“There was a bounty for your head posted through our channels, and whoever slays the legend gets themselves a very enticing reward ... .If you insist on being a sheep, Mano. Then you stand no chance”

Roland put on his maniacal grin “ Don’t let me down, Hellspawn…. I’ll be waiting”

He disappeared with his group, and I was fully surrounded with no way out. But that didn’t stop me from looking for an opening

“YULIA-SAN! CAN YOU HEAR ME?!” Tatsuo screamed in my ear

“In the middle of something right now, Tatsuo-san!”

“Okay, just listen to me….. There are a lot of squads around you…. find your way to us and we’ll” But I didn’t let Tatsuo finish

“I can’t do that, Tatsuo-san. I bring them to you, and they kill you all. I’m not going to let that happen. I have to do this alone”

“Yulia-san, we talked about this…. You can’t do this alone, let us help you” Hayato wasn’t hiding how concerned as his voice was a lot louder and sterner than he usually is

“I’M NOT GOING TO LOSE YOU GUYS TOO!” The comms went silent as I said that

“I know I’m doing it again….trying to do it all on my own without trusting the people around me. I don’t want to lose anyone again, not when I can do something about it ... .You want to help me, get somewhere far from me, and be safe... .Give me a place where I can back out to, where I don’t have to worry about getting shot in the back….. I trusted you guys, everything you said, and everything you taught me….. I’m asking you to trust me just this once. ”

“Yuu-chan….”

“Please…just play it safe, and wait for me. I’ll catch up…… I always do”

While another moment of silence followed, I looked at the minimum visibility I had on the map below, but I was immediately distracted by a metallic frame forming around my shoes

“What the” I muttered to myself

“Okay…we’ll play at the edge of the zone and make sure you have a clear way in without any gatekeepers stopping you. You are right above The Grave of Towers, that’s usually a hot zone…. lot of loot, and a lot of players. But the buildings are tall and there’s a lot of space to move around…. If you are looking to separate 20 teams all over the place, that’s the place to go…Stay as high as possible, it’s always easier to look down at enemies than look up at them….” Hayato informed me

“Appreciate the advice…” I turned off my comms in advance just so I don’t get distracted when I land

I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply to calm my nerves, but my heart skipped a beat as the invisible floor vanished beneath me, dropping me into a sudden free fall. I fought to steady myself but panic surged as I realized there was no parachute. Desperation clawed at me as I frantically searched for a way to slow my descent.

But just as the ground loomed dangerously close, the mechanism around my shoes beeped and ignited, shooting flames to slow my fall. I aimed for an open rooftop, and my legs instinctively pushed forward as the thrusters engaged…Unfortunately and as expected, the same was happening to a lot more people right next to and above me.

I found myself on a rooftop littered with debris and crates of supplies. The skyline around me was dotted with towering buildings, some crumbling and visibly caked in a layer of dust. The air was thick with tension as other players landed, snatching up weapons and gearing up for the impending battle.

Fortunately, I was able to catch a couple of seconds to come up with a game plan as none of the weapons up here were guns. The roof was much more compact and there were around 6 to 7 enemies around me, definitely more than one squad. However, what happened moments after was not something I expected.

The sudden sound of a machete tearing the side of someone’s throat out caught everyone’s attention… However, it wasn’t my throat.

The infighting gave me an unexpected opportunity….I took a step back and looked over my shoulder, spotting the door that leads to stairs down the building. While I wanted to slip out undetected, a few of them hadn’t lost sight of their prey.

I turned tail and ran, shutting the door behind me to buy me a couple of extra seconds…. Enemy players were running up the stairs and the first sound of gunshots was heard. Spotting a whole enemy squad on the stairwell below me, I jumped over the railing and kicked the closest enemy, causing him to collide with the wall. I didn’t break momentum, as I charged shoulder first into his friend, causing him and the other two in his team to fall down the stairs.

My fall was cushioned slightly by the body of the enemy I lunged myself into, but he was quick to recover, attempting to lodge a knife in my throat.

After blocking it with my arm, I rolled onto his arm, pinning it to the ground and making it easier to disarm. Stealing the blade, I managed to pierce his elbow and into his joint… allowing me a short window of time to get up before he or his friend who’s pinned under him does.

The other enemy who was on the top of the stairs was now the more imminent threat, as he had a handgun pointed straight at me. I ducked to avoid his first shot and lunged towards the open door which led to a long hallway. Although I kept low, a shot managed to hit me in the forearm. I closed the metal door behind me and put on the deadbolt on it…. Giving me some breathing room.

But it wasn’t enough to let me relax just yet, as rhythmic ear shattering thuds followed as the deadbolt was barely holding onto its hinge. In the meantime, I took a few steps back while I buried my fingers in my bleeding arm in the hopes of getting the bullet out. And as I dug out a blood covered bullet, the door swung open, violently crashing onto the wall beside it. One team of four, all grouped up.…. Two guns, two with melee

I didn’t give them enough time to assess their surroundings, as I rushed the first armed assailant that walked through the door. His gun barrel was almost in line with my head, but he didn’t get a chance to pull the trigger…. Slipping past him, I used the momentum of my lunge to kick the second enemy behind him. This caused him to collide with his other two friends giving me a couple more seconds to act freely

The first attacker turned around and looked to retaliate, but I was able to grab his arm and slammed him into the wall before sweeping his legs and pinning him to the ground with my knee on his throat. I slashed his median nerve with my knife, took his gun with minimal effort and put three rounds in his stomach.

By this time, the others had recovered….. Taking aim in record time, I was able to put two rounds in the chest of the other armed enemy, but at that moment, an axe came down at me from my side. I had no way of dodging out of its way and was forced to block with the barrel of the firearm I just obtained. The handgun split in two due to the impact of the massive firefighter’s axe, and he immediately wound up a second swing and I got back on my feet, leaving one of them writing in pain.

As his third swing came in horizontally, I timed a knee strike to meet the axe's flathead, knocking it out of his grip. He was left wide open, allowing me to freely plunge my blade into his throat and removing it, leaving him gasping for breath

“No!” The other attacker was in striking distance now…. brandishing a combat knife like my own and he didn’t hesitate to take the fight close quarters. I was careful to dodge some strikes and block the others he threw at me. I couldn’t draw this fight out any longer, which forced me to take drastic measures.

As his knife came down, I blocked it with my hand. The blade pierced through like it was drywall, and a sharp pain shot up my arm. I bit back a scream, focusing on the adrenaline driving me forward. This moment of surprise and confusion was all I needed to turn his arm and plunge my blade into his forearm, and in the same follow-through, send the whole blade through his ear into his brain. However, I didn’t get a second to breath as I was immediately met with my next problem the second I pulled my knife out of his head

“TARGET SIGHTED” an armed ground appeared from the door, and their stance and delay was all I had to see to know that they were armed. I took cover behind the body of my twitching assailant however one of their shots tore through his flesh and contacted mine

Pushing the body their way, I dived away from their line of sight into the hallway, and scrambled my way into one of the rooms… They were as large as conference rooms at corporates and there was a lot of cover for me to catch my breath behind. I retreated further into the room, finding temporary refuge behind a large box.

“Finish the stragglers off… keep your eye out for the target”

I tried to control my breathing, looking at my left hand, I attempted to pull the blade out from my palm… As much as this is far from the first time I’m doing this, I didn’t let out any grunts as the pain dampening made it hurt a whole lot less than I expected.

…. Not that it would have mattered as the death screams outside followed by the gunfire would’ve masked it.

“Please…..Timeout. We found her first, you are cheating” One of my previous assailants pleaded

Three even paced steps and there was another gunshot, and two more steps later “There are no rules in war”

Another shot and a flash followed, along with a cry of pain….and the next one, was followed by silence

I managed to pull out the bullet from the gunshot I received to my flank in the meantime, however the lack of any HP potions in my possession was felt. My wounds were closing but not fast enough, but that didn’t stop me from scurrying over to the door to observe my attackers. Sticking to the shadows, I carefully looked out into the hallway… These guys were partially equipped, plates in their carriers and handguns…. And by how they moved and cleared, they were no regular players

(Methodically slicing the pie, evenly paced steps, multiple two-man groups….. Military trained)

(Wait…. multiple two-mans?)

“Mano!.... I know you are here” And I’m guessing that’s their leader “Captain Roland told me you were a coward…. Said you prefer to hunt from the shadows…. There are no shadows for you”

(Roland’s hit-squad?)

“My men are all over this building, Mano…. The chaff turning on each other made it more easier to clean up”

I looked around while he was gloating (Gun, gun, gun…Give me a gun)

And that is when I saw one in the distance, to which I scrambled towards, being very mindful about matching the rhythm of the enemies outside. Now my chances were slightly higher

(Staccato P….. this can definitely work)

But the downside was, that there was only a single mag next to it…. 20 bullets and a dream

“This is the Alpha Command… HVT spotted on the 93rd floor… I need everybody here ASAP”

(Lucky for me, I can hear his comms…and which also means that I need to move immediately)

I mag and press-checked the gun and was about to get up as I saw another item on the floor.

“Glass breaker?” I whispered, and a plan came into my head imminently….and it was a very…very bad plan

My eyes immediately pointed towards the exterior glass pane, and to the building on the opposite side with a similar glass exterior

Picking myself up, I looked outside through the glass… Another building was across from me, with a similar wall of glass facing my way

“No way” I took a step back while purging my attempted suicide out of my brain. But I had something more imminent to worry about the very next moment, as the door to the room was kicked open

I exchanged sightlines with the one who performed the entry, followed by a quick exchange of gunfire.

“HVT in Sector 1!”

“Break out the tear gas!” Their leader informed me of my imminent fate as I hit the deck to avoid the rounds thrown my way

“Gas grenades going out!” Didn’t even take a second for the sound of rolling canisters to throw me into disarray.

But that is when I saw the red pipe on the ceiling, hidden in the darkness. I traced my eyes along the pipe and shot the outlet while lying on my side, which caused the building’s fire suppression system to engage, the water spray was certain to slow the gas spread, but I didn’t breathe a sigh of relief just yet….instead, I drew in a deep breath after a second of hyperventilation and held it.

“Masks on, diamond formation… Shoot to kill”

“Roger that”

I needed to time this right…..I took in every last bit of information I could before I shut my eyes tight…. the last thing I wanted right now is to get into a fight while tear gas was burning my eyeballs.

I knew that I had a straight shot to the window, and with no vision and my hearing sharpened, I had a few minutes before I ran out of breath.

I waited patiently in the dark corner I hid behind, and waited until the picture that was being painted in my mind showed me someone stepping into my strike zone. A dozen seconds later, I had to go for it.

Trusting my instinct, I rushed at the window with one of the attackers in tow. I tackled him into the glass while I had the glass breaker pointed behind him. The sound of the glass shattering filled my ears, and the feeling of the floor below my feet was suddenly absent.

By the time I opened my eyes, I was flying above the sky, barraging towards the opposite building. I had my left arm on the throat of the enemy and my other arm holding the glass breaker behind him. We both were locked out of making any small moves as the pressure of the fall kept us from doing so…. a few seconds later, we landed….

I didn’t even hear the glass break… My ears were ringing, and I figured that we fell a few floors down, as I couldn’t see the other enemy squad anymore. I rolled away to safety, but I was not yet back on my feet.

My balance was off, and the pen-shaped glass breaker had snapped into two after impaling itself into my arm, along with a dozen other glass shards alongside it. I kept forcing my numb left arm to move, to grip the remains of the glass breaker and pull it out of my arm. I couldn’t afford to rest for a moment. I still couldn’t hear properly, and I had no idea if there were enemies in the room. Using the solid wall for support, I pushed myself back to my feet.

I rolled up my sleeve to see countless cuts throughout my arm. Unlike my hand, no shards of glass had broken through the sleeve, however hastily pulling out the shards from my hand made it bleed as much as my arm… Took less time for my gun to be bathed in my blood than the time it took for me to pull the gun out of my rig.

“No use worrying about this for now” I whispered to myself as I rolled down my sleeve. Trying to stabilize my breathing and getting my heart rate under control, I started to take small steps towards the unmoving assailant I dragged along with me.

He bled all over the broken glass, but he had long since departed, shown by his freeform neck, snapped by the pressure of my arm and a multi-storey fall. As much as I wanted to look out the shattered pane, I was not confident enough in my balance currently to attempt that.

“HVT relocated to LZ Charlie, moving to intercept” The radio on the chest of the enemy player started going off

“This is Charlie Squad, we just vacated LZ Charlie on your command’s orders.”

“Well now, Command is telling you to go back…. I want all squads into LZ Charlie…. work your way up, and kill that damn Monarch”

I cleared the glass around me and knelt down in front of the corpse in the room. I picked up the radio and set it beside me while I went through the body’s possessions. In the meantime, I decided to use this time to check in on my group of misfits.

The second I turned on my comms, I was whacked with an earful, with all of them calling out to me at the same time

“Yulia-san!”

“Yuu-chan!”

“Calm down all of you, I’m still…”

“YOU IDIOT!.... What are you even thinking, turning your damn comms off on drop? We are supposed to be a team” Tatsuo didn’t spare a single second to call me out

“You saw what I am up against, didn’t want ya’ll to….”

“I don’t want to hear it right now, Yulia-san…. We see you on the map, and we are making our way to you”

I stopped gearing up as he said that and rose up “What? No! Do not come my way…. Roland has a trained hit squad after me right now, these guys are no joke. I will meet up with….”

“It’s not like we have a choice, Yulia-san” Hayato’s voice was a lot calmer than Tatsuo’s “We are currently in Zone 2 territory. We lucked in on some Ciphers but if we stay here, then every team on this damn map is going to be coming our way, we’ll come to you and provide support, then we head back…. We’d have a higher chance of having some better loot that way”

(A CDM collar with 2 armor chips, 5 armor plates, an SP potion and a fair amount of 9 mil, not a single HP potion.) I turned my left hand over to take a glimpse at my health bar, and it was not looking good with a sizable chunk of it missing.

“Echo team…. preparing to retake LZ Charlie”

“Bravo reporting in”

“Delta reporting”

“Charlie reporting for retake”

“This is Alpha Command, HVT was last seen entering the 89th floor…Foxtrot with me, all other teams start sweeping from the 80th floor. You hear even a pin drop, call it in”

(5 teams….24 enemies.)

“Yu-chan? Are you alright? Are you hurt?” Haru asked in a sincere tone

“I’m fine, Haru…. There are enemies closing in on me. I need to go….”

“Keep your comms on mute…so we can ping you if needed” Tatsuo had regained his composure

“See you in a minute” I followed his advice and muted my earpiece

After finally finding my footing, it was my turn to strike this time