"Holy shit! We need to run!" Xenonna shouted. "This guy is too tough for us."

"No risk, no vodka," said WilDron. "Run to me as fast as possible."

"If he's too tough for us, he's too tough for anyone," the machine gunner said and twisted his face, this time it expressed genuine anger and hatred.

Xenonna and Denzie used a furious rhythm and ran away from the scene of the massacre. WildDron jumped forward and used "Annoyance". The Doppelganger darted and circled him, attacking from behind and in front, first with a pole, then with claws, then with swords. However, the bulletproof tank did not care about anything. Denzie and Xenonna supported their leader with fire. Ronnie swore, and said, "To hell with him," and took aim and fired a third bullet. The monster flew away and, before he had time to recover, he saw a three-hundred-kilogram carcass of a full metal Santa falling on him, laughing and hooting. The blade of the Zweihender tried to cut the enemy's body from the left shoulder to the hip bone, but no luck. The Doppelganger's sakkat turned into a huge anvil and blocked the blow. The sword left only a scratch. A black sphere flew out of the monster's belly, which lifted WildDron five meters up and threw it towards Denzie with a gravitational wave. He raised his head and the last thing he saw was his friend kicking in the air like a baby in a crib.

Xenonna twisted her face at what she saw and swore. The Doppelganger rose and transformed the anvil into a head with four eyes following every move of the remaining opponents. His body transformed into a form with a scythe at the same time. Xenonna fired two more shots. He dodged the bullets and called the sphere back to him, then took it in his hands and squeezed it between two palms - he threw the scythe to the ground. Illusionary stones of blue-white colors with different inscriptions and connected by a magic ribbon appeared around him. The ancient runic magic, which all the survivors saw for the first time, split the sphere into a couple of hundred small needles, and then released them forward. Black rods with a pointed end fell in a frenzied squall into the fragile body of the woman. Xenonna disconnected.

Destroyer recovered and gathered his will into a fist and used the last remnants of mana and threw a smoke bomb. Ten seconds later, he was in front of the Doppelganger and used the spell "Whirlwind of Blades" and spun around himself with hurricane-like speed. The monster raised the scythe, changed its shape into a shield, absorbed the blow, then returned the weapon, with the help of the spell "Furious Rhythm" instantly appeared in front of the exhausted assassin, knocking him completely off balance with the blow of the Snaith on the head and chopped the blade from the bottom up and separated Destroyer into two halves, which burned and disappeared a second later. Ronnie, realizing that he was as short on ammo, decided to retreat and called WildDron to cover him from behind. The grave silence fell for a split second, and in that brief moment, Ronnie heard a distant bell ringing.

The square flowed into a long avenue. They headed there, towards the water tower. This time the Doppelganger used magic. All entrances and exits were blocked by solid clay walls with the faces of screaming people on them. WildDron put up a shield in front of him and ordered him not to stop, he ran intending to ram it, wanted to break through the wall with his gigantic strength, and did not expect at all that this would turn out to be a distraction. From the fountain standing in the very center of the square behind the backs of the refugees, a thin stream of water escaped. The beam was much stronger than Ronnie had expected. The heavy armor of WildDron did not save its owner from the spell. The attack punctured his right lung. He stopped, dropped his weapon, and clutched at the wound. The second beam damaged the colon. The full metal Santa groaned and fell. Ronnie pulled out a resuscitating syringe, stuck it in the neck of his dying partner, and said: "You owe me one, lie down."

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

There was no more water in the fountain. Ronnie lay down on the ground, looked through the scope. The target is ~100 yards away. The penultimate bullet shot forward. Black smoke escaped from the compensator, and flames from the muzzle. Although the Doppelganger was watching the sniper, he turned out to be too slow and felt a burning pain in his stomach before the echo of the shot thundered. He fell and began to regenerate. The sniper noticed that the enemy was exhausted. Maybe it will be possible to finish him off with the last attack. The monster also realized this and vanished. Ronnie cursed, got up, walked over to WildDron. He was still breathing, raised his thumb, and spoke with difficulty: "I'm fine, boy. Just kill that bastard." The clay walls went back underground. The way was open again.

"No doubt, I'll kill it," Ronnie said.

"AI."

"At your service."

"Build me a path to the water tower."

"It shall be done…"

The virtual arrow in the HUD led forward along the avenue, then through the station platforms and there, between the railroad tracks, was the desired target. The approximate arrival time was 4 minutes. Ronnie decided to deviate slightly from the route and disappeared into the narrow alleys at the first opportunity. It was eleven o'clock in the morning. Visibility was good. There was practically no wind, humidity, too. He ran at maximum speed, which increased in proportion to his increased agility. Parameter 15 allowed for a running speed of up to 60 km/h, while Ronnie accelerated only up to 40 km/h, taking into account the rifle in his hands and a medium-size backpack. Stamina decreased to four. Ronnie passed two cross-shaped intersections and continued to the railway tracks. After a few more minutes, a red brick tower painted black appeared before his eyes in all its gloomy glory. On its facade, each floor was marked by a small lancet window, behind which nothing could be seen because of the growths of dust and dirt. The tank, which was the top of the structure, was equipped with loops around the perimeter. If not for the name, the tower could easily be confused with an ancient defensive structure.

Ronnie ran inside, knocked out a rickety, rotten door at the entrance, climbed to the very top, spread out his rifle, and began to watch.

"AI."

"At your service."

"Can you mark where the monster appeared on places on the map?"

"It shall be done."

He put two pairs of earplugs in each ear and drank a green elixir and waited. Stamina was restored, his hands almost stopped shaking, shortness of breath disappeared. The avenues, streets, and alleys of the Otron were difficult to see from a height of thirty yards because of the abundance of houses. If there was a chance to notice the Doppelganger was when it’ll climb onto the roof or the spire of a building. From the northern part of the central sector, the sounds of gunshots and explosions were heard. An impenetrable gray fog filled the area. The AI marked a place on the map and reported that the Doppelganger had turned into a player. Ronnie adjusted the range, did all the necessary calculations, and waited.