"Another job well done, Hound!"

Evie praised Nathan for his efforts.

Both were surrounded by carnage and destruction. His foes lay broken beneath his feet with faces left mortified. Victims of a savage attack.

Smoke came from the barrel of his gun from the amount of lead he unleashed. The stench of gunpowder still lingered in the air as the empty shells littered the floor.

A mess like this would take too long to clean. But that was the least of their concerns.

There was nothing but bloodshed all around the room. And Hound made sure not to give any of them a quick death. The process was slow and drawn out. He wanted them to know in their final moments that Death would meet their dying remains. And it started with a smile.

"Was it necessary, master? Don't think this was worth my time."

Evie chuckled as she wrapped her massive arm around him. "Hound, this isn't about efficiency. It's about sending a message. The Owl Gang has been a nuisance to our operations and prevented expansion."

"What message? Everyone here is dead."

"Everyone?" Her form shifted and stole the identity of one of Hound's victims. "It doesn't matter who tells the story. All they need to see is the aftermath and me killing their boss."

"You're the brains of the whole gig, just tell me who to kill."

"That's what I love about you! All work, and no questions!"

She started to walk away deeper into the building where more death could be found.

"Oh, before I go! Your partner, Beatrix, she's been complaining about the disrespectful way you've been treating her."

Hound smiled deviously. "Is there a problem, master?"

Her expression was unreadable as she examined him from a distance.

"No, don't think there is." She matched his wicked smile.

Soon she vanished into the darkness and Hound was left with the carnage he created.

Then Nathan's eyes snapped open. Another memory that meant nothing.

He found himself among the rubble and debris of some unlucky bookstore with an open hole in the ceiling. The worst part of that detail was the several floors he went through.

"Everything hurts…"

"Walk it off, slugger!" Gluttony told him. "We still got a bunch of toys to break!"

"You know, I had this weird dream. Or a memory I guess."

"No time, you ding dong! Start killing!"

"I just hope Debra will forgive me for the mess…" He said as he made sure the box was undamaged. Thankfully, he had kept it in one piece despite going through solid floors.

With the pain shrugged off and the adrenaline back, Nathan shot right out of the bookstore. He was greeted by a duo of Evie's Scouts, so he met them with a wide slash across their abdomen. Dead before they could even land a hit.

More came but all ended the same fate as the others. The Gluttonous Maw feasted upon their flesh and torched any that dared to strike when his back was turned.

Many survived being rendered in two but were finished off by Nathan. He kept everything clean and the surrounding damages as low as possible. Bloodshed was unlikely as Gluttony devoured flesh, bone, and all.

Gluttony could separate limbs from the body and cripple their foes. This would give Nathan a chance to execute them without difficulty. The science behind the little trick of theirs didn't matter to them. All that mattered was getting out of this trouble with the least amount of injuries.

"Aim above the belt! We're trying to hurt him, not ruin his chances for a family!" Zero commented from the sidelines. She spectated the whole fight from the start, bored out of her mind. Now she sat upon a ledge high above and away from the chaos. "Man, when can I jump in and land a couple punches? I'm tired of just watching!"

"Discipline is what you lack, Zero."

"Alpha!" Zero straightened herself and made herself presentable to Evie. "I did not kill him; as you can see that he is currently breathing!"

"Yeah, I can see… How many of the Scouts fell?"

"About two or three dozens. Could I ask why we're bothering with this? Nathan could just cut them all down in one strike. Not like we'd see some results for the new Scouts."

"It ain't about the new Scouts," Watcher joined the conversation. "If you're as dumb as you look, I can't say I have confidence in Project Phoenix."

"Watch it scarecrow, or I'll shove the hay down your throat."

Evie ignored Zero's threat toward Watcher and instead explained the whole picture. "Last test with Nathan was about his tracking technique. He managed to take down all designated targets within a very reasonable time. Now we are testing his endurance. Faced with an unending tide of enemies, we will soon see how long Nathan can fight."

Then she looked over to Watcher with a raised brow.

"What can you tell me about the box? He's protecting it with his life."

He looked just as curious as her. "No clue, after some red-headed gal spoke to him, she went straight to me. Wouldn't leave my hide be and kept pestering me from doing my job. She's from the House of Adam. Some church that promotes unity."

"Hm, I always did dislike the religious types. Makes my job harder when waves of them are protecting Eden with their undying faith."

"Said the god amongst her abominations." Watcher commented.

Nathan defeated another Scout with ease.

"I demand loyalty, not faith." Evie scoffed. "A better motivator than blindly believing I watch over my followers. That's what sets me apart from the Great Pantheon."

Zero was amazed by Nathan's determination. It had been an hour now yet he continued.

Watcher sent a side glance Evie's way. "Difference is… you're alone."

Suddenly, a loud crack was heard.

All eyes stared at a single Scout for a moment before she fell to her knees, a hole through her helmet and ballistic face shield.

"I'm calling the Ogres, you tell Trusty that this'll take longer than I thought."

Back with Nathan, more Scouts were dealt with by an unknown assailant. Thunderous cracks echoed through the air as more fell to the ground.

And from out of nowhere, Wicked crashed down upon another. In her wake was a broken soldier.

"Glad you showed up, I was starting to feel tired." Said Nathan.

"Inferiority well displayed."

"Happy to see you too, bolt bucket." Gluttony would've grinned if she could.

"You can take a break, I shall eliminate the rest of these."

"By all means…" Nathan finally relaxed after a long battle.

With permission from Nathan, Wicked equipped her chainsaw and ravaged her enemies with indiscriminate force.

The weapon roared as it tore through flesh and armor alike.

Nothing stood in her way which gave Nathan enough time to recover. But even then, it seemed that the endless tide of soldiers showed no sign of dying. No matter how many they gored, or how many of them butchered, the Scouts persisted.

"Wicked!" Evie called out. "What's with the team up, girl?"

Wicked swiveled her head toward Evie, still fighting the Scouts. "Ah, the daughter of Kalasraast. I see no reason to answer your question. Simply know that this benefits me."

"I see… a bounty hunter not going after the big prize? No, I think I know who you're after." Evie claimed. "But, you'll have to go through my Ogres first!"

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

Wicked was snatched away by the arm just as she was about to cut through her enemy.

Nathan was shocked to find a massive humanoid being. It towered over them at least five meters high. Perhaps more. This was the Ogre that Evie told them about. The ones they needed to go through. Wicked tried to break herself free by running her chainsaw at the Ogre's wrist, but they were far more heavily armored than the common Scout class.

Left with no other choice, Wicked detached the limb and retreated far from the new foe.

"Nathan, I require assistance!"

"Saying please wouldn't hurt ya!"

These Ogres were like the Scouts in a way. But they wore long coats that reached their shins and heavy metal plates all over.

Evie smiled. "Do you like them, Nathan? These are the Ogre class! Clones of mine which were made to be my very own armored division!"

In other words, they were her tanks.

Nathan could see it. All of Wicked's basic attacks were nothing to the giants. Not even bullets did any harm to them. But both knew her plans with these Ogres, they were meant to slow Wicked down.

Now the problem was evident as Scouts rushed past Wicked and went after Nathan instead.

"Here we go again!"

The first few Scouts were dealt with by a burning wave of light. The next was sliced into ribbons.

Meanwhile, Wicked used her superior agility to dodge all attacks from the Ogres. The two giants couldn't catch the small machine. She was like a bug amongst titans. An annoying mosquito that could not be caught.

"I really wish I had Phantom right now!"

"You rely too much on him, Nathan!" Gluttony stated. "We got this! Remember the old times? Just the two of us!"

Nathan grinned.

His confidence grew as Gluttony cheered him on.

Though unlimited in number, the Scouts couldn't contain Nathan and his progress toward the Ogres slowly grew.

Only to be halted by Zero.

She kicked him back a few paces and stopped his little charge. "Zero is finally in the game, so prepare for ultimate defeat! Your robot friend won't help you here!"

"Yeah, but you forgot something." Nathan discharged the energy stored within the Gluttonous Maw and landed a decisive blow at one of the Ogres. Specifically, the one who had Wicked's severed arm.

"Hey, that's cheating!"

Wicked wrenched her arm from the Ogre's grasp and placed it where it belonged.

"Your regeneration power is cheating!" To prove his point, Nathan severed her head only for Zero to recover from the would-be fatal attack.

"Nuh-uh!"

"Let's see how quickly you'll heal from this!" Wicked latched onto Zero and faced the wave of Scouts. Hatches opened around her lower ribs and Zero felt herself being torn apart as Wicked's mini-rockets shot out.

The horde was thinned out which gave Nathan a clear path to the Ogres. As he charged at the bigger targets, Wicked activated her Void Shift and discarded Zero's upper half in the other dimension.

With one of their dangerous foes dealt with, the two continued their onslaught upon the cannon fodder. It was expected that these soldiers were no match against Nathan.

"She ruined the test," With lips curled into a snarl, Evie expressed great disdain upon Wicked. "Firearms are authorized. Ogres will only be allowed to use the anti-infantry 9mm machine guns."

The remaining Ogres and Scouts swapped out their weapons, signaling a new phase of battle. Quickly, Wicked expanded out her outer layer which gave Nathan enough room to duck behind in.

As expected from Wicked's Star Forged body, the bullets were nothing but pebbles thrown against the broadside of a mountain.

But that didn't mean they had the advantage. The two were pinned down, primarily Nathan. Wicked could escape, but she would leave Nathan to this hail of lead.

"Any ideas!?" Wicked said as she felt the wave push her back a step. The bullets continued to rattle her body and it showed no sign of dying down.

"How about you take us to the other dimension with your Void Shift!?"

"Reminder: I left Zero in there! So, any ideas!?"

"One, but I don't know if you're gonna like it!"

"I have one!" Gluttony interjected. "We could try that neat trick that Kalasraast did!"

"I don't know how to do that, and he said I shouldn't even try!" Nathan argued.

"Well if the weapon can't give any other ideas, how about you just tell us what's in your mind, Nathan!"

"There's this trick I have been practicing which I copied from Justice's show!"

"That does not bode well!"

"You met some of his Peacekeepers, I'm sure! Specifically Nightburn!?"

"She's a foul one, yes."

"Well, check this out!"

Nathan tapped into the energy that Gluttony stored within her.

In a flash, the giant blade morphed into Gluttony's puppet form.

He had been waiting for a real trial for his next trick. Finally, the day came and he'd see the result of all the practices.

"Ready, G?"

"Do we like jalapeño cheese?"

With one arm around the box and the other around Gluttony, Nathan pulled back his hand.

"You know it!"

With a mighty pull, Nathan wrenched Gluttony over Wicked and sent her flying across the bullet storm. Right into the center mass of Evie's army.

The Ogres ceased their firing the moment they saw Gluttony flying toward them. But it was too late.

Gluttony's body glowed a brilliant green light as she slammed into the pavement. And every single one of Evie's soldiers was vaporized by a powerful blast.

The blast was so powerful that it devoured the whole street and threw Wicked away along with Nathan. It wasn't the destruction that they had to worry about, but the force from the destructive power of Gluttony.

The soldiers were wiped out from the face of the planet, their only evidence of existence was the massive crater left by Gluttony.

"Yeah!" Gluttony celebrated with her arms in the air. The stench of ash and sulfur still lingered. "That was awesome! I can't wait to do it again!"

"That was not awesome, that was a hazard!" Wicked said.

Evie stared at the aftermath, eyes filled with adoration. She was so awe-struck, that words failed her.

If she could, she'd say that it was a beautiful performance of death and destruction.

"Should I send in more, boss?" Watcher asked. But all he got was silence.

After checking on the parcel, Nathan rushed over to Gluttony and picked her off her feet. "You did it, G! Think about all the other moves we can copy from the show!"

"I don't see why not! Hey, Evie, you fat-handed broad!" Evie was snapped out of her thoughts. The puppet called for her attention as Gluttony perched herself on Nathan's shoulders. "Yeah, you! Listen up, we broke your little toys, so there better be a good reward!"

"A reward? For that amazing show, I'll make sure you get a reward! Nathan, you and Gluttony make an amazing team. Imagine what it could've been like back then if Hound had you, Gluttony." Evie approached Nathan and the others with Watcher right behind her. "I am offering you a free loyal Maid for the amazing work you did!"

"Nah," Gluttony declined for the both of them. "What do we need a maid for? Nathan and I are upstanding adults that can take care of ourselves!

"But! The Maid is the most loyal servant in the market! After the robot slavery and production ban, the value of my Maids skyrocketed!"

She leaned forward accompanied by a wink.

"And these gals won't say no to any order."

"Bah! Nathan doesn't need any of your hussies! Give us something worth our time!"

"Come on, G, maybe it'd be nice to have someone cleaning up our place."

"Don't argue with me, Nate! I will bite your hand!"

Evie scoffed. "Fine, you can have all the free pizzas from Trusty's to your heart's desire!"

"Now that's a deal!" Gluttony extended out her hand. "Shake on it?"

"Of course!"

It was a mistake on Evie's part.

Before she could even act, Gluttony bit down on Evie's hand, costing the goddess a finger.

"That's for the whole trouble you gave us."

"Feisty," Evie smirked. "Alright then, I will be leaving now. Oh, and Wicked? You've landed yourself on my list now."

Watcher retrieved Zero's lower half, which was in the process of regenerating. It scarred Nathan a little with how Zero's body constructed itself that started from the spine. It seemed that even without a brain Zero would always come back.

"Don't celebrate just yet, Nathan."

Gluttony and Nathan turned toward Wicked.

"There were far too many of Evie's soldiers on this planet. There's a Butcher's Shop somewhere."

"You don't mean Tim's… are you?" He honestly hoped that she was talking about the shop just around the corner. But he knew there was a different meaning, especially with Evie in mind.

"Let's just say that I'll have to get rid of it before it's too late. And if you were smart, you'd keep an eye out."

The two expected her to vanish, but Wicked launched herself to the top of the nearest building using her powerful mechanical legs. He had forgotten how fast she was with them. And before he knew it, she was gone.

"Great, more problems…"

"Yeah, but free pizza!" Gluttony did her best to lighten up the mood.

"Did you not listen to Wicked? Evie has a shop somewhere and I don't think it means what we think it does. Also, I wanted that maid…"

"We are grown adults! We don't need to be pampered and have our chores done by some servant. Now let's forget about all that and go home."

"Wait, we still need to deliver this box! What did Riley say again…? Oh, call Miss Byrne!"

"Later, I'm hungry!"

Both decided to drop by Cain's Diner for some lunch where they met up with their friends just at the entrance. And Ivory had something to show them.

"Is that a van?" Nathan asked.

"Parked somewhere illegal, yeah…" Gluttony noted.

The van in question was right at the entrance of Cain's Diner. It made it somewhat difficult to get inside. Quite an inconvenience to the two.

"Let's slice it up," Gluttony suggested.

"I heard that!"

Both looked over to a nearby alley and found Ivory at the mouth of it. She wasn't alone either, with her were the rest of the gang.

"Don't touch it," She told them. "I'm still trying to work things out."

"Why exactly is there a van keeping us from the diner?" Nathan asked.

"I'm not a good driver, okay? But! I bought us a van."

"Why?" Both asked.

Jonah only snickered as Ivory continued. "Right, remember when I drove that truck back on Vristan? I honestly like driving. So I bought us a van, which is a great investment seeing as we've been going around lately."

Gluttony scoffed. "You bought a car with these gas prices? That is a lot of money down the drain."

"You're a puppet, what do you know about the economy?" Jonah said.

"Enough to know that I'll starve in a decade later unless we earn enough for us to retire in a mansion on Venus."

Nathan gently caressed the van. Paint in two tones of black and white. Most likely to match Ivory's palettes.

This meant that when Gluttony and Nathan left, Ivory had gone to the nearest car dealership.

He looked inside and gazed upon the interior. Certainly looked a little plain, but there was a lot of room, especially at the front. Three people could definitely sit at the front if they squeezed together.

"I call shotgun!" Jonah claimed the passenger seat. And since they respected the rules of calling dibs, both Nathan and Gluttony were to be seated at the back.

"Aw come on!" Gluttony snapped at Jonah. "You didn't even give us a chance!"

"Sorry, you snooze, you lose!"

It took too long for Ivory to move their car properly. At first, she didn't care about it, but a friend of theirs came by and gave Ivory a scolding. Jimmy was a man of the law, and the sight of such blatant disrespect to the law irked him greatly. The policeman even gave Ivory some pointers on driving, right after he discovered that she had no license. With a ticket and a bad-tempered cop after, the gang was having lunch at Cain's Diner.

The steps given to him by Riley were easy to follow. Before he knew it, he had already dropped the box off and said his goodbye. It was certainly an interesting experience. Nathan met a lot of folks with faith, and he wasn't talking about Father Abe. But the people with Samantha Byrne were strange, unlike those he met from Abe's sermons.

Experiencing that made Nathan think twice about joining their church. Though he did enjoy being praised for his deeds on Titus.

A hero they called him.

May it be narcissism or anything closer to that, but Nathan felt motivated when he was called a hero. Made him feel like he was something more than… a cruel murderer.

The face of those Hound had wronged lingered in his mind. Gone were the sea of praises and worship. Replaced with that cruel smirk that Hound always wore like a badge of honor.

"You alright, Nate?"

Ivory brought him out of his thoughts. Gone were the shadows of his past, replaced by the warm interior of their brand-new van. He remembered now that the group was dropping by the convenience store for some snacks. His friend Jonah and Sally had already gone inside while he and Ivory stayed behind.

"You've been staring at the floor for far too long,"

"Well- it's nothing…"

"I'm right here if you need someone to talk to,"

"It's just that… Hound is always on my mind. And I'm just ashamed of the things he did."

"And? This isn't up to debate, Nathan. Whatever he did isn't your sin to carry. Hound was the one at fault, not you."

He nodded his head at the idea. "Yeah, you're right about that. But I can't ignore what he did. So for every wrong thing he did, I gotta redeem myself twice as much."

"Good luck with that," Ivory leaned back into the driver's seat. "Hey… If you need help with all that redemption stuff, just ask us. Not like we're gonna leave you out to dry."

A warm smile crept up on Nathan's face.

"Thanks, Ivy…"

"Now that we're off that topic, what was that with those… House of Adam?"

"Well, it started with the fight we had back at Titus. They heard about it and wanted me to join them… I don't know if that's good of a reason. But anyway, she sent me to check on a member of theirs who lived in the same building as us, someone from room 401."

"Someone lives on the fourth floor beside the Martians?" Out of nowhere, Jonah popped into the conversation as he returned from the store with Sally.

"Yeah, some girl called Riley… I should introduce you guys."

"Sure that's a good idea, Nate. She looked like she was about to die just talking to you." Gluttony said.

"We can just ease her into the group! It wouldn't be that bad…"

******

"Is this normal!?" Jonah asked as the panic set in.

"This girl is a little… dramatic?" Ivory thought.

Sally and Nathan could only watch as Riley broke down a shivering form on the floor as Abe tried his best to calm her down.

Out of all of them, Abe was the one she reacted the worst to. Riley was now shaking on the ground and foaming at the mouth.

"I told you…" Gluttony said. Good thing she didn't take any pride in the fact that she was right.

***