1

Sylvester dove into the water.

He immediately saw his target. He hadn't known what he was looking for, but it couldn't be anything else. Some kind of orb pulsing with energy, protected by a barrier. That had to be the source of the creatures. Because, without a doubt, it was no natural phenomenon.

He wasn't even that far away from it. Good. It was good to have things clear.

A creature crashed into the water.

It lunged at him, suddenly with some kind of trident in its hands.

Sylvester realized it had sacrificed chunks of his flesh to reshape into a weapon. He realized as he stole the weapon and turned it on the wielder, splitting his head open.

He hoped to put an end to the situation before the creatures had a chance to exhibit other strange abilities.

More and more creatures crashed into the water.

In their pursuit.

That was why each of them had chosen to go after him once more. The Lunar Remnant had been in the water all along, this had been the answer as it struggled to stay airborne.

What a joke, but at least it would be over soon.

Sylvester suddenly stopped, no, was stopped.

A tentacle wrapped around his ankle, pulling him back when he had almost brought the orb within reach of his katana.

Typical. At least the tentacle didn't resist a single blow from his katana.

Of course, it had dozens more tentacles and that was just not counting the rest of the creatures. But it didn't matter. There was no need to waste time on them when he knew it would keep coming as long as the orb was intact to spawn them.

He propelled himself forward. He landed on the barrier, brandishing the katana. It slashed him up and down on the first try, but the thing was, it wasn't enough. The barrier hadn't given way and the orb was still out of reach of his katana.

He had to knock it down first if he wanted to do anything.

Sylvester darted to the side at the last moment, barely dodging four or five of the creatures. They simply slammed into the barrier, though without damaging it, rather than hitting him. He smiled.

His MP bar was almost empty. He had to finish this quickly. His abilities were absurdly powerful, but at the same time that tied his hands right now. Whether they were projectile"type or continuous effect, they required a lot of resources and now he was practically exhausted.

That's why, for example, he couldn't employ the skill he had used in Ryan's mind to try to fight the lion. He had to work this out with his katana. He moved forward. Which seemed perfect to him.

He tore the orb on the other side as he passed. Now he had to hold his breath and so he was working under a tight time limit. However, his position was better than up there in the air. The reason was very simple.

In the water, their wet wings were of no use to them. In fact, it was just more weight they had to carry. He was faster, more agile. Able to attack from any direction, at any time.

Water was as hostile an environment as the skies to humans, but he was thriving here.

Three cuts on three different sides. Soon the opening would be large enough that the orb could end up rolling out of there. Not that it was going to happen, it was just a comparison.

One of those suckers finished the job for him.

It tried to skewer him with its fists, but Sylvester dodged at the last moment and then it was too late for him to change the course of the attack. The creature's fists burst the barrier, leaving the throbbing orb exposed.

Then...

All together, they began to scream. Not that it was over yet. There was more rage in that scream than pain or fear. It was like before, a sound akin to an anti-aircraft alarm siren.

Feeling as if his head was going to explode, he threw the katana.

It flew through the air and cut the orb cleanly. Not in half, it didn't shatter it. The tip of the sword simply made a hole in it. But it was enough.

The creatures disappeared without a trace after trying to reach him with their hands and tentacles for the last time.

Sylvester emerged to the surface. Once outside, he took a quick breath of air. He had been close.

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"I will find you and crush you like the worm you are." He directed those meaningless words to the bottom of the ocean just in case.

He couldn't see Cynthia or Ryan. He doubted they had drowned or anything had happened to them. All the creatures had gone after him, and there couldn't be two Lunar Remnants working together. They were worse than humans or animals.

Ryan was exposed only to the danger that he had insisted on continuing to dress as a wrestler. Traversing these icy waters with practically nothing on him he could catch pneumonia and die in three days. But hey, he was probably okay for the time being and so would Cynthia.

Sylvester headed for shore. He was tired and sore, but still swam almost as fast as a speedboat, with a push from one of his many skills.

When he got there, he grabbed the edge and used that as his only foothold to pull his whole body upward. His soaked clothes were another weight to struggle with, but at least he was now on the island. He looked around.

"Boss!"

Sylvester heard the call and came over, crouching down beside them. There wasn't much to say about the island. It was deserted, nothing but nature all around. It really looked like no one had ever lived there.

It was to be expected for a small island that didn't even have a name or appear on maps.

Sylvester didn't feel cheated. Thanks to the very invasive machine from the syndicate, he knew that what Ryan told him was true. But even if it were otherwise, the Lunar Remnant attack proved it. They wouldn't have that thing guarding an empty or already evacuated island!

He just had to find them. He just had to rip out all their secrets. He thought it was all over now, that he would now be relaxing in anticipation of his next job, but of course it had to turn out to be bigger than he thought.

So much for leaving it to the cleanup crew. They were the best of the best, but that thing would have slaughtered them. And that was just the beginning. On the island would be the real trouble, for sure. So it couldn't be helped. But it was frustrating nonetheless.

"Follow me."

Sylvester had no idea where to go, but he would find out sooner if he didn't stand still and think.

It was always better to act.

They walked into a nearby forest. They passed through the thick undergrowth and the darkness around them grew even thicker.

They advanced quickly, but carefully so as not to fall into a trap. They would hope that the island was secret enough not to receive visitors, but that didn't mean they hadn't prepared. They were doing well because they had been trained for this.

Ryan hadn't received the same training, he was more of a wild beast. But smart enough to follow them closely and mimic their steps. Just in case.

Making it out of the woods, coming to a clearing without encountering traps or any other resistance. But, of course, it couldn't last forever. Cynthia gasped in surprise. Sylvester turned around to check what was happening just in time to see her sink to the ground, her hands reaching out and grabbing at nothing.

Ryan fell too, but of course that man didn't worry him too much.

Sylvester ran and jumped inside before the metal panel closed over his head. Or over his neck. There was the first trap, a little disappointing at the moment. The three of them were sliding down a steel chute.

What would be waiting for them on the other side? A bath of acid? Poison gas?

That was the question, but they would be prepared to face whatever it was.

"Give me your hand!" Sylvester shouted, extending a hand forward.

It was a quick drop. He wasn't sure if he would have time, or if there wouldn't be more surprises waiting for them along the way, not just after they arrived.

It couldn't be said that Cynthia didn't try, but in the end it wasn't enough. There was something he hadn't expected, though. Another metal panel closed in the middle of the path. It wasn't a death trap, it was designed to separate them.

Ryan, who had fallen first, and Cynthia got through before it closed. He hit the metal, bouncing off and falling down another path.

"Okay, fine. I'll accept this game. Whoever wants to come after me, bring it on."

There was no response, but someone had to be listening and watching. Cynthia had not fallen into the trap by chance. He was sure it had been manually triggered at the right time.

The way down took forever, but there was an end to everything. He landed smoothly, rolling to soften the impact. There was no welcome committee ready to bludgeon him. Nor was there an acid bath or poison gas.

At least for the moment, it was a normal room. As austere as a prison cell, but much more spacious, that's for sure.

He couldn't waste time. Wait for trouble to come to him. As he ran, he thought only of finding her, not of finishing this job.

Cynthia could handle herself, but that didn't mean she had to. They were a team for a reason. The same applied to him. He hadn't really needed her, but she had accompanied him anyway.

All the more reason not to let anything happen to her.

It was hard enough for him to sleep at night sometimes.

2

The ride was over.

Cynthia knew it as soon as Ryan disappeared from her sight. That is, as soon as he fell. She hoped to the death. She still wasn't sure why he hadn't simply been executed.

Even if that was the case, she could save herself. She had the rope launcher. As soon as she fell, she fired at the chute they had slid down here, driving the wire deep into the metal. She was left suspended and with time to examine the room.

Which had nothing special or dangerous about it. The only thing that stood out was Ryan complaining because he'd fallen on his head, but that was just funny.

She judged it was safe to go down, so she unplugged the wire, making it snap back into place. And if things changed, well....

She'd figure it out.

"Don't look at me like that. This is unfamiliar territory for me, too."

Cynthia clicked her tongue.

"I'm not looking at you in any way. What makes you think I ever expected anything from you?"

Why did she have to be stuck with this moron when if it were up to her he wouldn't even be alive yet?

Frustrating, but good. If she moved forward, sooner or later she would be reunited with Sylvester and then....

Then all her worries and irritations would be forgotten, because it would be time to deal out justice. At last. Ever since she'd heard about this atrocity, she'd wanted nothing more than to get her hands on those responsible.

Cynthia picked up the pace. Now all she needed was for the boss to beat her to the punch and take the satisfaction out of her hands.

No, no. She wouldn't allow it.

3

The wall opened.

Thus emerged the new opponent to stand in his way.

It was hard to describe. He was going to liken it to some sort of giant spine faded and scraped by the inclement passage of time, but then he saw the small arms, just as gray, on each vertebra. Then a face emerged from the bone at the end facing him. Nothing but three black slits and a small bump for a nose, which moved like a distorted reflection, as if it couldn't hold shape or as if it was still making up its mind.

Sylvester took a step back instinctively.

What was this?

Another Lunar Remnant?

No, maybe something even worse. For somehow its face had reminded him of a child's.