Part 2

Forty-eight hours before the next Psystorm...

The near ancient Dropship sailed through the skies of Saami's world like a gale. Although moving at a speed of 520 km per hour, the flying box was speeding like a bullet. Its occupants were all seated at the top secured by seatbelts, and Reno was riding like a giddy child on the insect-like cockpit that leans heavily on the front; making him a nice target for snipers. The original model 67 was meant to only carry cargo and the cockpit was for that reason, to ensure that the stack of supplies won't hit something. But when it was repurposed for combat duty, the problem of an unprotected cockpit was dismissed. Either due to corruption or propaganda reasons.

The dropship's history was quite messy. It came from an ancient hero's transport which was used as a troop transport despite originally being a cargo transport. Due to the nonsensical situation, someone with the right mind made a variant for supply transport, and it worked. So well indeed that someone made it into a troop transport once again! Perhaps they were attracted to the cost since it was even cheaper to produce than traditional rotary aircraft, all thanks to the repulsor tech which people of this world used for centuries, which includes flying shields. Nowadays, it's still an iconic and ridiculous vehicle that saved its passengers by simply running away nimbly despite it being a flying brick. Although to be noted is the compartment for countermeasures underneath the belly.

Anybody with a right mind shouldn't pay any heed to this nonsense though. The cries of multiple engineers and theorists can still be heard whenever you sit on this aircraft, though to the people sitting in it, they heard nothing.

Sarah was savoring the smooth sound of the engines, Ding was starting to get motion sickness and his constant farting is starting to annoy the cadre, Aziza checked her belts constantly while looking out for dangers as well as swearing at Ding's farts. And Reno, Reno was enjoying the feeling of soaring through the heavens. His gut was feeling great! He felt lighter, freer, and more relaxed like he reached nirvana. A simple jerk of his hand, a look in another direction, and the orientation of his body told him that he was going in the right direction. And it all told him that he should go left, all the way left. They haven't plotted a course yet, no maps existed here. You can't buy any unless you yank it out of somebody else's dead hands.

Reno kept on keeping his course to the left, but he started to get suspicious. Why left? Every time he went right, he started losing that good feeling so he surmised that good things happen when you go left. But that feeling and thought never went away. Not to mention that the good feeling was starting to disappear with each second. By now curiosity got to him, it wasn't too uncomfortable but not comfortable either. A bit of danger might just help, so he yanked it to the right. That's when things went bad.

His guts were screaming! It wasn't the feeling of instinct or butterflies in your stomach sensation, it was a full-blown stomach ache. Luckily, he can still feel some hope and yanked the stick there, hard.

The passengers were screaming and bewildered by the sudden maneuver until they saw something dive past their last heading. Three-headed, blue feathers, moves like a biplane and as big as a biplane. It's some sort of Blue vulture, and it was creating fireballs near its mouth.

The fireballs were sent straight to the flying brick, luckily it wasn't guided. The bird seemed furious! It was flapping quicker in the air, and the three heads were making more fireballs that seemed more like a volley. Reno banked the aircraft to a hard left to the point where the model 67 and the Blue vulture were by now facing each other in broadsides. The cadre took no time repaying the favor and sent a barrage themselves.

Ding took some enchanted flechettes from his baggy pockets, lined them up in the air, and with a single word they started speeding up until beyond the speed of sound! The flechettes would propel themselves at subsonic speeds until after the first second when they could reach a distance of at least 200 meters before accelerating at a speed of 1,500 km/h. However, his first barrage didn't have much damage on the vulture, it was unfazed. They found that it had a self-regenerating red shield of some sort that would appear at the last minute. They can't tell its weakness yet, but they now know that their armaments are not up to the task. However, giving up is not enough and they all had been in deeper shit than this before.

Sarah drew her submachine gun and started shooting in bursts, keeping the gun from overheating and hitting the vulture only to see her bullets ricochet. Aziza opened a compartment near her and took a suitcase before unfolding it into a missile launcher with a single 40mm warhead with heat-seeking capabilities. It was a downright lowgrade and low tech design that can be bought in any black market, and sold by shady corporations in Missara. The 40mm warhead was originally far more useful when trying to dissuade enemy aircraft from pursuing than destroying. If only it had more explosive charges it could be deadlier.

She lined up the sights, locked on the vulture, and sent the missile. By the time the warhead made contact, they were only three hundred meters away from the vulture. The blastwave was fierce and rocked the ship off its course, but despite the curses of Aziza at the back, Reno felt relieved like he was finally no longer constipated after a week. The stomach aches disappeared, just for a moment before they came again. His guts were feeling better whenever he looked up, so he pulled the yoke and pushed the throttle making the transport climb at this modified version's max speed of 600km/h. Although during a climb it would bleed speed as time passes, and the best feeling was at an angle of 45 degrees.

However, he kept feeling like he should continue pointing the nose upwards until all of his blood was on his head before making a roll to reorient himself so that the top of his head is now facing the sun. He unknowingly performed the Immelmann maneuver before plunging the dropship straight down to gain more speed before climbing upwards again.

The vulture couldn't keep up and decided to make a massive bank to the right to continue the pursuit. However, after Reno climbed to the maximum height that the dropship can operate, Ding sent a volley barrage of 24 flechettes enchanted not with increased velocity but explosive yield. Each explosion is equal to 10 tons of TNT. They know that this is crazy and no doubt dangerous, and Ding who spent six months enchanting 60 of the flechettes with similar enchantments was no doubt crying inside as he propelled them straight into the vulture's face. Reno on the other hand didn't know what was happening but felt his guts lighter and lighter.

Aziza saw the magnitude of this perilous situation as 24 flechettes carrying an enchantment worth 10 tons of TNT each were sent flying straight into a target no further than a kilometer and decided to do something she might regret later. She decided to lose money. From her backpack, she took a spherical metallic object and pressed the only indented button available. That thing cost her three years of her life, and it only had two uses. As much as she hated using it, that shockwave alone could kill all of them! So she pressed the button, and a spherical shield was cast on an area encompassing the dropship.

As the flechettes touched ground zero, the entire cadre felt the shield shake and to Aziza's dismay, break. That was one and a half years' worth of her earnings gone! She can only hope that those flechettes did something. That meat better be worth it!

Boooom!!!!

The smoke disappears after such a massive explosion. And the one thing they found was 3/4 of the vulture's shield cracked and the vulture was diving uncontrollably. Ding noticed something peculiar on the vulture's body. As it desperately tried to flap its wings to regain some semblance of control, familiar runes were marked on a single feather on its right-wing.

"Sarah! Shoot the feathers on the tip of its right-wing, now!"

Hearing Ding's serious voice, she immediately lined up her sights and started to dump the entire contents of her magazine on the very place Ding said. The sound of the barrel overheating and the vulture's scream was unnerving. To them, it sounded like they bullied a crying old man.

The 68 round helical magazine ran dry and Sarah reached for another, the shields on the vulture were cracking with every minute and their distance gets farther. Her shots were no longer of any use by now, she can't hit anything.

"Save your ammo." Aziza touched her on the shoulder and helped her lower the gun.

"The F@#$!%'@ down for now." Sarah listened to her and lower the gun.

They watched as the vulture flapped helplessly as the shield slowly regenerates. Sarah's exceptional shooting damaged the runic enchantment well enough that many areas were lacking and even totally defective at that point. All that's left is to wait and see. But they didn't have to wait that long.

The vulture started to gain control of its flight and started to continue the chase. But just before they can ready their weapons, a hypersonic missile starts speeding up from below their dropship and hits the Vulture. It blew up its stomach and sent molten metal out the other side. The Vulture lost its ability to fly and started falling downwards uncontrollably.

"Hang on!" Reno screamed, which the rest only heard faintly as he dived lower and started to fly recklessly at speeds approaching 600 km/h just above treetops.

If there's something to be learned in this way of life, it's to be wary of other humans or humanoids. Sometimes, a guy with a gun is far more dangerous than a beast with fangs, but a guy with surface-to-air missiles might just be way worse.

***

Pshhhhhhh... The ship landed as everyone dismounted. Ding puked at a rock after jumping out and looked like he would only be able to crawl after this, Sarah asked Reno for the box and took another magazine as she stored the spent one in the subspace, Aziza looked at the half spent sphere before putting it back on the backpack. The place they are in is one of the mountains in this purple sky world, but despite being almost two kilometers above sea level the place is very warm. Quite warm that it's colder in the lower altitudes while hotter the higher you get. The top of this mountain would be about another 900 meters, she can tell what they're here for. It's quite easy to see everything when you've had the high ground. They'll be able to see where that anti-air came from, perhaps even find a settlement.

Reno walked towards her as Ding was nearby still puking, he looked at her and she said: "I'll go and try to see what's happening back there."

"Wait! Where did you get that missile?" Reno asked before she could move.

"Check the goddamn compartments! You're the one who bought it." Reno was about to ask again as she was walking towards the top but stopped, his guts were saying no.

"Well, let's make camp. I'll get the bunker, can you take care of Ding Sarah. He might need his medication." Reno stated as he spoke to Sarah, Sarah nods especially about that medication part.

Setting up the bunker was a no brainer, it's just a box with a circular button. Just press it and it'll automatically assemble itself to existence. After the bunker appeared, he checked the inside before looking for the two. Ding was in a way passed out before he can be given medication, he'll have a headache after this but thankfully Sarah carried him to the bunker just before Reno could get out. All they need is a bed and the info.

30 mins later...

"Don't you think that dose is no longer enough?"

"This? Ding made it himself. How could he make an amateur mistake?"

"I mean, it's getting frequent. It's the second time this month."

"Come on! Give me a break, we saw him suffer seizures six times a week. This is trivial."

"Rather than this why don't we just let him face it? It's no shame to face his past."

"No, no, we already talked about this. He can't bear it, you already know why."

"Why? We both already know why but what about now? I mean, sure! Back then he can't bear the fact that he incinerated fifty people in an instant, but right now we might be up against something worse!"

"He's doing well you know!"

"Well yeah! If you mean having the mental capacity of an eight-year-old, then you're right. But both of you were growing bushes down there, and I don't believe we need him to be the problem child here. I mean think about that thing before, he used 24 flechettes. That's overkill."

"You know what! Give me a break. I'm getting hungry." Reno sat with his head between his knees. And he was right, his guts were in pain.

Sarah just left, and the place was left with Ding's snoring. Reno contemplated and contemplated. But he can't put a finger on it. If anybody knew Ding better, it's him. The first time Ding had to kill someone, he had nightmares. When he had no other choice but to use a fire spell, he, unfortunately, caused a lot of people to burn to a crisp. That gave him depression. They only managed to 'cure' him by using an unreliable and potent medicine that Ding can make. Unfortunately, other than making him forget those bad memories it also made him into a kid at heart. Whenever the drug loses its effect, he gets weird symptoms ranging from colds to seizures. Nothing seems good for now. Either they stop operations in consideration of Ding or they continue hunting.

"Here, I've boiled some iron ration for you." Sarah came with a wry grin.

Reno looked at the soup in a small bowl and grinned in the same manner as Sarah before downright complaining about the food. Sarah also complained about Reno's choice of brands. Saying things like buying at least the green Erbsenwurst instead of the yellow ones for more flavor before adding more pepper to her soup just as Reno added Salt.

However, after ending an eye staring contest they decided to just laugh it off.

Reno guessed that they both really can't stay angry at themselves when they're both looking at each other like that. After an awkward silence filled with snoring, both decided to talk about food, after a while they decided to buy some takeout dumplings. They haven't had good food other than cereal and ramen for months. At least by the time they go home, they can eat real meat. That's if it's possible with meat prices.

***

Aziza trekked down the slope towards their camp. He saw a suspicious location a few kilometers from here and thought that its a good time to go back and get some food. The trek was at least manageable, not to mention that she found some anomalous rocks and even a single locus of mana grass; three blades in total. All of this can net her at least 300,000 credits but she has to deduct some money for her tax and expenses which can still net her at most 250,000 and that's including the three's cuts.

When she joined this cadre, she made a caveat to the contract. The three just pooled their money together, only taking out monthly pocket money. It's not even questionable to assume that those three might live in the same house till old age. But her, her money is her money. She can't have anybody else have it, even her husband if there might be.

When she reached the bunker it smelled of something strong. She was kind of suspicious, she can't remember them buying something that...Burnt! She ran straight into the bunker and opened the door and guess what she saw! If only those two love birds just exercise some restraint, there's a passed-out guy right in front of them while they mix their love juices!

"For f@#$s sake!"

BANG!!! Her shotgun sent slug rounds straight into god's heaven.

The two stopped screwing themselves to heaven knows where and looked at her.

"Wanna join us?" Sarah looked at her with an awkward smile, though it seemed quite serious.

Admittedly she thought that was quite hot! But also screwed up. So she did what any sane person would do, dragged Ding out of the bunker and closed it. Let them have it.

"Mom, mom, mama! Don't leave me, mama!" She looked down at Ding who was lying on the ground. He seemed to be crying in his sleep. She checked his forehead with her palm, but his temperature was normal. Nothing wrong here. So she just continued to look towards the horizon, biding her time.

"Mama! mama! Hhahauhuuuhahuhgg, hungry." She bolted awake, that did not sound like Ding. Too rough, coarse, and far. She looked at him to be sure, he was just sleeping there in a fetal position. She combed some of his bangs to see his eyes, if there's something that faggot knew well it would be that if this manchild only stopped copying Reno he would be a lady killer. With his hair this long, it could truly be a competition to see who's the lady with his looks.

She took a sigh, readied her sawed-off automatic shotgun, and followed the voice.

"Mama, mama, mama! I'm hungry, thirsty!", "Where are we going Elise? Are we dead? Why is this place weird.". The voice got closer and closer, it made her get on the edge. It made her want to be as silent as a cat, which she can't. No human can be that discreet when sneaking.

She inched closer, and closer, until she saw it, him. Walking listlessly on the slope approaching the camp. Must be attracted to those two's handy work. Idiots!

"Mama, where are you, mama? It smells good!"

She was damned right! And by the looks of it, it's a Psyzombie. Poor bastard's been looking for food.

The zombie stopped moving and looked at her. " Elise! Elise! Elise, it's you!"

That name seemed familiar, she knew a woman named Elise. She was a manipulative bitch though. But who is this guy?

"Ahhhhhh! Uggghhhh! Hungry, Elise! I'm hungry! Please cook me something." That damn well sounds too familiar.

"You! You're not Elise! Azi, Azi! Help me! Please! Hungry!" That's when it struck her, it was her old boss. That sleazy bastard!

"Azi...Azi? Food! Food! Water! Leg! Leg!" The man looked at her pleadingly, before starting to lick her on the thigh. She kicked him hard in the gut. A bit of pity brewed up her heart and she threw a bar of chocolate at the man, and he ate it like a famished dog.

He seemed to have suffered from the last storm. He can still speak intelligibly, but can't control himself well. Poor bastard, or maybe not. Those two months of utter shame made her guts go nuts!

This man was no doubt a father figure to her. Since childhood, they looked out for each other, for almost two decades they were inseparable only to be torn apart because of a woman. She dropped another chocolate.

She thought about that woman, an utter harlot. It's questionable why no cougar has yet to give her scars. In only two months she managed to take his attention, all of it. She should've hired the rookie, instead of that witch. She sort of froze on the spot, reminiscing. Looking at him and why he's like this, and that pistol. Where's that expensive rifle she bought for his 18th birthday! That pistol is like a pipe gun.

"Thirsty, thirsty!" he said almost rolling on the ground. She answered in kind and dropped a bottle of water which he drank greedily like there was no tomorrow. She looked at him as he slumped on the ground, and pointed her gun.

Those two damn months! The contract said to let everyone keep their belongings but why did she have to give up her gear? Not to mention, her stashes, all of it! Why were they empty? Who took it! Only this bastard knew it! She had to sell herself on the streets for two months because of this bastard. He took her job and left her nothing!

She looked him dead in the eye and lined up the sights. He looked at her and started laughing.

"Hhahahaha, Azi, you look scary, scary, hahhaha!" The man laughed hysterically while Aziza sharpened her eyes and aimed for his head.

"Azi, Azi, why do you have a gun?"

"Azi, you look scary."

"Azi, Azi, Azi why? What did I do, didn't you want to cook something tomorrow?" It hit her, that was six years ago. He's lost his mind. The last time he spoke to her like this was back then. She hesitated, sentimentality took her. But she didn't let up.

"Azi! Why! What did I do! Azi! Why!" he pleaded.

"Azi, little Azi, what are you doing? That thing...it's not yours. Where's the shotgun I gave you?" That tugged her heart, he took it. That's where it went.

"Azi...please, do you hate me? Please, why..." The poor man can't even remember anything. This is the symptom of a Psyzombie. Your memories are hard to find, and your brain is scrambled in the worst ways possible. You can't think straight, and would slowly turn into a barely functional animal.

Bang!!! A Slug shot went straight through his heart.

"Azi!!! Why!!! AHHH!!!" Bang!!! Another went straight through his brain turning it into ghee. The body turned motionless. Finally dead.

The decision to kill this man was not easy. She could've used the mana grass to heal him, it only takes three blades and boiling hot water to cure even the worst cases but her heart went cold. If only it were a year ago, she might've. But now, all love was already lost. There are no lingering feelings of unrequited romance nor camaraderie for this man. This man was the reason why she is so sensitive towards her finances and would rather have hers separate from the group, that was the first mistake she made. Another reason is that it's cruel to prolong an animal's suffering, It's at least better to not let them suffer longer. Although she also wanted some answers, she'd rather not. She can tell by now.

She took the canteen and walked back toward the bunker, not even one look back with her eyes on the ground. The sound of rolling rocks made her look forwards the three were running towards her armed and confused.

"I heard gunshots, what happened?"

"Psyzombie, I took care of it." She stated although a bit down and continued walking forward.

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"Are you ok?" She stopped walking and looked at Ding. He looked straight out of a vampire movie, his face pale even.

"Let's just get some food. My guts are rumbling." She replied nonchalantly at Ding, the two at the same time were surprised at the lack of abusive curses.

"By the way! I know where we should be going. Let's just get some chow, shit, and start moving there."

The two looked at each other and both said: "Yep, that's her alright." Before moving back into the bunker.

The place below the mountain was sparsely populated with few groves of trees. They were short trees though, no more than three meters in height. The three hunkered down in one grove of such trees, and with absolute luck, they managed to find some rocks that are valuable alongside a few burrowers looking for moss to eat. This is such a good day that Sarah even thought of making stashes to store these things. The best way to get hunted by bandits is to show your wealth. These guys are likely to be supported by someone in the shadows, while the cadre is independent. Nobody protects the cadre, that's why Reno decided to instead trade his earnings for something useful than fiat currency. The less they think you're successful the less they put their eyes on you. Although Reno didn't really know it yet, he only had an inkling of it.

While the three hunkered down, Aziza was scouting. She constantly gave back information as she took step by step. The place she was in was barren, the only way for her to tell which is the right direction is by following the smoke that was reaching the sky. This is the suspicious place she knew because there were no other structures other than strange shapes on the ground when she was above the mountain. Another thing is, she was here once. She's passed this place a long time ago but she never found anything here, and now there's smoke billowing.

There's a stash she knew nearby but she can't be sure. It was empty the last time she went, maybe it's still empty.

"Aziza, check your north and northeast. Something's out there."

"Where do you think I should go?"

"Keep your heading, you're going northwest right? Just make a perimeter, we're heading there."

"Okay, keep your dick swinging." When she finished sending that line, the three looked at each other.

"What in god's name was that just now?" Sarah looked at the two.

"Beat's me! Do you think she's a chuunibyou or something?" Ding asked the two as they pondered. Reno slowly turned his head with a puzzled face.

"What? Do I look dumb?"

"No, it's just..." Reno wondered as his voice trailed off. Did the dosage fail to work? Why did he think of that? Maybe, he's just paranoid that's what he thought. It's not every day that Ding gets another pint of intelligence on a whim.

"You know what, let's just get out of here." Sarah stopped that awkward silence and lead the way.

As the three made their way, Aziza found the reason why Reno told her to watch those directions. By ignoring the warnings, she found that those weird outlines were due to camouflage and the smoke was a campfire. Alongside that, she found six people patrolling the place and three more near the campfire. They're weird, wearing camo hoods and some mask of some sort. The mask in particular looked like a martyr's mask, with tears near the eyes.

"Weird bastards, are these even bandits? Cultists?..."

"He told you to make a perimeter, not snoop around."

"What gives? I at least now know how many creepy f#$@#^s are down there. Could you stop being angsty for today? I'm not the one who invited someone for a threesome here."

"Angsty? Who’re you calling Angsty! You take that back! And I'm not backing down you filthy-mouthed whore!"

"Says the b@#!$ who can't handle her heat, hah! You even screwed our lunch coz' you need a quickie."

While the two were having an impromptu catfight, the other two were just standing there thinking something was off. However, instead of the usual Reno, it was Ding who took the initiative.

"Guys, guys! Enough!" Ding Asserted himself as he separated the two.

"I don't know why you guys are even fighting now, and I can't tell if it even makes sense but, think about those suckers for a moment." As he stopped saying those words they looked at the camp.

"Aziza, get down there, I don't want your spittle to hit me without me knowing it."

"F*$#ing Jerk!!!" Aziza cursed as she jumped off a tree.

"Hahahahhaahhahaa, that's a good one." To Aziza's chagrin, Sarah was laughing.

Ding looked towards the camp, and looked at Reno before asking; "Reno, do you think we should go there?'

Reno looked at him and contemplated, he's back. No longer childish, he's even assertive now. Did the medicine fail? But why's he composed, no he seemed too serious, he can tell he was trying to hide something. Just one look at his eyes and Reno saw it, he's trying to hold it. They had to get out of here quickly. But as he looked at the camp he noticed something. When he walked towards it, he felt his stomach-churning. When he aimed his rifle, it felt really good. So he installed the silencer and looked for the best target, the one that felt the best. He didn't care who he hit, just like that time when she found Aziza on the streets, he found the same feeling. It wasn't just his guts but his entire body. It wasn't luck that gave him the chance to meet Aziza and the secret gate. It was no doubt fate, and now fate is telling him to pull the trigger.

The bullet traveled, it was slower than usual. It's subsonic, moving at only 305 m/s while the target is only 800 meters from them. The bullet which was a 9x39mm round took less than three seconds to hit the original target. The poor man didn't see it coming, his brain was splattered on the bullet's way out. Thanks to Ding's enchantment, the bullet never lost its speed as long as it hit something and continued to move until it hit someone in the armpit. The poor man felt his lungs ruptured, his heart pierced and the other lung bleed as the bullet over-penetrated. None of them could even cry out to their mothers, but to Reno, this didn't even register as cold-blooded murder. Instead, he felt like a hero, and he knows it.

The last time he pointed a gun at someone innocent, his entire being screamed impulsively. It even tried to kill him with shame and grief. He once aimed his weapon at a baby, an old man, even Ding, but he couldn't pull the trigger. Something is telling him not to, though his heart didn't give a damn. It's his soul that's hell-bent on killing him if he does. But today, he felt like a savior and he's not letting it go. No matter who they are, their life is his for the taking.

He looked at the three as he pulled the bolt, he smirked a bit and said: "Kill them all."

"Alright, if you two want to settle your difference, settle it there or in a ring," Ding said his piece as he looked at Reno take another shot.

Sarah looked at Reno blankly. She didn't move while Aziza was already near a patrolling foe before sinking a knife into the man's neck.

"What? I pay for the ring if you want to go there."

Sarah looked at Reno, her face curling with disappointment. With that, she left.

"Ding, did I do something wrong?"

"She's your girl, she might've thought you'd stand for her."

"I can't just show favoritism now, I can't even understand why they were angry with each other."

"You don't want this cadre to break just because of a catfight."

"Mind your words bitches!"

"Ding! Were we speaking in the frequency?"

"Yup, they both heard it."

Reno went silent, it's not scandalous and anybody in a leadership role would agree. Though sometimes a bit of nepotism would help, it's human nature to look after people you knew after all. But he felt his guts go bad before he sent another round through the barrel.

"I'll go and join the hunt," Ding told Reno as he reached for his snub-nosed revolver.

"No, you stay with me. A sniper without a spotter is a dead sniper." Reno said as he sent another bullet.

Three left to kill, every foe in the camp was dead except for those three near the bonfire. Their prayers were going intense, their words unintelligible, their bodies like being possessed. And just before they can finish whatever incantation they've tried to make, Aziza sent stealth out of the window.

She looked at the lead woman who looked like a priest, her mask was missing, and she was the only one to not wear a mask. However, what made Aziza pull her quad barrel shotgun was her. Elise was there, she was the priestess. As much as she wanted to stay calm, she can't. The memory is still very crisp and clear. She can't contain her rage! And after cocking the hammer, she sent four buckshot rounds only six meters away.

Of the three, two were heavily wounded as she aimed specifically for the priestess. Elise's torso was heavily damaged, and the believer in front of her had his head blown up. The other one managed to only catch a single pellet of buckshot in his arm. As the wounded believer was screaming and wailing, Sarah sent five rounds of 9x18mm in a burst and riddled the wailing man with holes. In a way, adrenaline can be sent rushing just after her weapon would finish a burst. If you hear burp with a rate of 1200rpm worth of bullets, you'd surely be pissing yourself in the boot. As for the man, his consciousness went out before he died.

Aziza finished reloading just after the man fell and started walking toward the still-living but barely alive Woman. As she gasped for air, Aziza walked toward her and looked her in the eye.

"Azi..., Azi help me!" She pleaded her eyes were innocent as if the things that happened to them never did. Aziza took something she hid near her ankle, a .44 magnum derringer. This small two-shot break action pistol was the evidence of this woman's actions. The only proof she had left of what her life once was. She hid it in case she needed it and she did. Just after she got fired, she looked for it just in case it was taken. It wasn't, in a few days of being homeless and penniless, she even robbed someone for a few credits just to eat with it. This thing is her icon, her new life, and a remembrance of the old.

She didn't want to think about it and pointed the gun, she has no need for emotional breaks. She can't let them break her.

"Azi PLEASE!!!"

Aziza didn't hesitate, she immediately pulled the trigger.

Bang! A bullet hole was made straight through her right chest. Bang!!! Another on her left where the heart was.

"Azi...why?" The woman managed to ask before she faded away.

"Why...Why!" Aziza felt her guts burning, she reloaded and pointed the gun at the dead woman's torso.

"You... had... the guts... to ask... why..." She dumped eight rounds worth of ammunition into the body only stopping in her eighth as she saw that there was none left before she pulled out a bullpup pistol loaded in .25 ACP and dumped all twelve rounds into the dead body.

Everybody froze at the sight. All of them could tell that something was up, none of them asked her about her past, and she just won't answer. The last time Ding asked her about it, he was taped on his bed naked. But now, they just might see it.

Ding took a step back, he knew her mood well due to him being close enough; Sarah froze on the spot, if she were any younger she'd peed herself; and Reno, he took a gamble, maybe something was indeed up and his guts were in confusion.

"Aziza..." He looked at the dead woman's face. "Somebody, you knew?"

But the place went cold, he shouldn't have asked.

With a glare, Aziza replied: "Don't stick your nose into other people's problems."

"Okay, I understand." Reno just tried to put it off like it never happened. It was the best course of action according to his gut feel after all. But he had to admit that it was scary. He never saw her like that, maybe that's why she was a bit screwed up. Maybe that's where the swearing and angst came from, or it could just be her and her alone and nobody is responsible. But one thing is clear, he shouldn't have butted in.

As she kneeled and looted the corpse, Reno decided to clear the buildings and check things.

"Ding, you stay here and help Aziza...Azi. I think we should start calling her that."

"Okay, call me when you need me." Both fist-bumped before leaving.

"Are you just going to stand there?" Aziza asked. Ding moved and started looking for valuables in the bodies of the dead. As Ding did the dirty work, Aziza noticed him being different than before. He's too calm, he's always been childlike. And the distinct tint of gloominess on his face. She knew something was off. She noticed it immediately cause whenever she asked him to help her loot the bodies of dead Psyzombies or other dead things, he would be disgusted but here, he just did it silently.

Curious she decided to ask him. "You're doing well today Ding."

Ding looked at her with a grim face and with a soft smile said: "Thank you Azi."

"Don't ever call me like that." Aziza frowned and with a worsened mood ,continued to loot.

"Sorry." Ding went back as well, there are still a few more to go.

Meanwhile, as the two were checking the last structure...

"I thought that gut feeling meant some action, and it wasn't. I never thought that this place would instead be filled with loot and empty."

"Aren't we supposed to be thankful for that?"

"Maybe in a way."

"Other hunters would skin you for that," Sarah spoke softly as they checked the last structure for hidden compartments and stragglers. After seeing Aziza dump an entire box full of bullets at that pleading priestess, Sarah was quite unnerved. Sure, she's killed her fair share of people that she can stab someone without a bat, but killing someone for the sake of causing more pain to the point of overkill? She hasn't reached that stage yet. She knew how anger can push a person to utter insanity but she can't go there yet. And to rub salt to the insult, Aziza deliberately riddled the body with holes. If there's anything she'd rather not remember, it would be that moment. Aziza didn't look like a liberator killing a tyrant, she looked like a murderer enjoying her kill. She can't bear to remember that face that woman made, utter disbelief that someone she hoped could help her went the other way instead.

That's why instead of bearing down on Reno for not taking her side in the catfight she instead tried to forget about it.

Reno suddenly raised a halt hand sign and Sarah froze in place. Reno eyed a table with what looked like a pack of cylindrical ring-like candy and a cylindrical container with a mechanism to open the cap.

"Interesting!" Reno nearly cried out like a curious child. Never had he had a far better feeling than that sniping a while ago. It felt like he went through a quick apotheosis and reached godhood. That's what it felt. The air despite being stale felt fresh with each passing step toward the table.

When he reached that very area, he had for some reason an urge to taste and hoard the candy. So he did just that, pocketed it in front of Sarah although she wouldn't give a damn. He'll just give him a piece whenever she asks him anyway, but what interests her was the cylinder. What was inside it? She pondered as to why he was so interested in the contents of that thing. Could it be something extremely expensive like an anomalous object or a rare rock?

Reno was about to reach for the cylinder when he felt the most painful sensation in his body that he even threw up on the table. Sarah panicked and rushed towards him. It felt like a bullet to the guts, that's the only explanation he had. And now something is not right.

"Khhhhhh...Shhhh...Hostiles spotted! Reno! They're up north!"

"Aziza, how many did you see?"

"See for yourself...We're taking heavy fire! We need some help!"

Reno looked at his vomit on the table and wondered 'Is that why it felt like hell?' before shrugging it off. He walked to the entrance and saw hell. It felt like an army was fighting the hidden camp. There were barely enough structures to go around but those two were holding the line just fine as they sent enough firepower to rival any standard Missaran Military company.

Ding sent round after round of .32 ACP to the enemy's positions. Although he wasn't as much as a crack shot as Reno, he had another trick being a mage who specializes in Runic enchantments: everything he uses is enchanted so his bullets were also enchanted. As his bullet hits something, it detonates with the force to rival a 105mm HE shell. The enemy would find themselves missing a limb or life that some even panicked and ran back. However, they also were not safe. Aziza might be using a four-barreled shotgun but the ammo is what matters. Her ammunition now is no longer some standard 12 gauge shotgun buckshot, it's birdshot the most unlikely to be used for combat. But if those were enchanted by the same young man near her, it wouldn't be normal. The birdshot would increase their speed the longer they've left the barrel, meaning they are high-velocity rounds that can even pierce armor the longer they've flown. Although the supply was limited, she was sure that she can replace them after they left for home, so she kept on shooting and shooting.

By the time Reno aimed his rifle and pulled the trigger, the two already killed or wounded twelve of the attacking enemies, their screams filled the camp. Reno looked at his scope and took another shot, that shot wasn't very satisfying at all. The feeling was quite inferior despite hitting the thigh, he could swear that he hit an artery. The feeling now dumbed him of his senses. He wants that enviable feeling when his shots are perfect next.

After his third shot, he had a weird itch to his left. He swerved the gun there and took a shot. Someone dropped down the slope, the camp was in a crater which was why it looked out of place with the camo. Some of them didn't make sense in terms of depth perception.

"Sarah! Watch the Northwest, there are hostiles in there. Shoot anything that moves!" Reno shouted so that Sarah could hear. As he was shooting with his rifle, Sarah was sending 20 rounds per second with her SMG. The gun would send what sounds like a burp right before 20 bullets would hit you like an angry swarm of bees.

As Sarah covered the new hole in their defense, Reno reached into the box and took two helical magazines marked HE and gave them to Sarah.

"Load these the next time you run out. Keep them pinned."

The HE markings are for High Explosive, instead of penetrating something these are meant to blast it. Every round of 9x18mm would now explode with the yield of at least less than a quarter of a kilogram worth of TNT or half a pound worth of TNT, just the explosive yield similar to a conventional offensive grenade every time it detonates upon impact. The whole place was filled with explosions and fire that a few structures are damaged, Reno himself can barely hear anything thanks to the abnormal weapons they used which would no doubt get them arrested if anybody would report them in Missara. Their abilities are now military-grade and they would be poached wherever they go.

As Ding was trying to reload his revolver, he saw an intermeshing rotor helicopter in the distance. He can't tell whose aircraft it was, so he hesitated as he continued to shoot at the enemy which is half-crazed and half panicked. Half charged forward while another half, ran back screaming. He can't understand his enemy. If he were a commander, just the sight of two of his men dying in a single second would make him want to rethink his decision but this commander just sent wave after wave at them. He can't even understand if his enemy was sane or not, one thing was clear: They scoffed at death until it smiled at them. So he kept firing until he saw one of the panicked soldiers run at the helicopter with hand signals to run away, and he looked at it once more.

To the horror of the soldier who tried to tell it something, the helicopter lowered some ropes as another wave of soldiers rappelled out of it. The man just froze. Ding saw this with wide eyes and shot twice, one hit the side rocking the bird, and another hit one of the engines making it burst into flames. Just before one of the soldiers managed to make it to the ground, the helicopter crashed killing almost 2/3rds of its passengers. Those that survived could barely stand on their own, and the first one to land slowly tried to stand and looked at the wreckage. He just stood there amongst the explosions and mayhem, before he tried to rip his mask off. It wouldn't budge as his scream of anguish filled the air, before being silenced by a shot to the gut. The shot wasn't buckshot, nor his explosive round. It was clean, and it came from right behind him.

Another helicopter came and tried to unload its troops by heading to their immediate East trying to find adequate cover to avoid being shot down, only for the pilot's windshield to be covered by brain matter as the helicopter lost control and crashed. Who knows how many people were there but Reno didn't feel satisfied with the carnage. The feeling didn't come, instead, it went far from bad to worse. He can't understand it. Whenever he's supposed to end something, it would feel good but now it doesn't.

'What's going here? They're supposed to be dead now! Why's it getting worse.' And he can't be any right than this. No matter where he shot, he never felt that goodness. Instead, he had it worse and worse.

Realizing something, he looked at that last structure they entered. Built like a bunker, had a metal door with a crank to open and lock, and best of all, he felt relief. His body felt better, but as he looked forward where the fighting was quite thick he saw something that not only made his guts go nuts but also gave him goosebumps.

The sky was no longer purple, it was violet. Worse than that, it was a darker color which means a Psystorm is about to strike.

He immediately took his radio and screamed:

"Ding!!! Send a fash and run! Just send one and run!!!"

Ding didn't notice what happened, but when Reno starts screaming then something is up.

He took what looked like a cylinder of firework with a string, aimed it at an angle towards the sky from his position, and pulled it. After the thing produced what looked like a flare but faster, he pulled Aziza out of her position and told her they were leaving as they both ran like hell.

While Aziza screamed the most profound of curses sometimes even cursing her shotgun for the noise it makes, ding cast a spell to protect their ears. The flash that Reno mentioned was an outdated item that they used, what Ding now had can both cause a flash so bright that you'll be blind for an afternoon and a massive "Bang" that could cause somewhere from tinnitus to deafness depending on the distance. Since the structure where Reno and Sarah were taking shelter was at a distance no less than 20 meters away from them to the extreme south, he didn't consider the flash to be the problem only the noise which could make your ears bleed.

Just as they entered the small doorway, the flare detonated and sent a painful scream as well as a blinding flash. Reno struggled to close the door as he closed his eyes to spare himself the hassle of being blind. Unfortunately for the two, their ears aren't protected by a spell.

Reno felt the sound of ringing bells as a headache assaulted his head while he cranked the door shut. He fell on his back as the door was secured, but his discomfort didn't end there, sweat poured from his forehead.

As he rolled in a fetal position with his hands covering his ears, he felt the ringing subside. Looking up he saw Ding holding a plinth of glowing wood with his eyes closed.

"That was close."

"We're not done yet."

"Huh?"

"We're not out of the red yet." And just as Reno stopped talking, an explosion rocked the whole place.

The sound of a pickaxe hitting a rock was heard as a piece of cement fell from a wall. Reno immediately reached towards the pocket that held his recent loot, the candy, and immediately put one in his mouth. He expected it to be hard candy, but it was actually gum. Mint flavored gum, black was supposed to mean licorice here.

Those actions were no different than an instinctual reaction, he can only explain it as a captivating but mindless action. The only thing he can say about is that he just wants to do it, and he did.

Just as another hit and a small piece of the wall fell down revealing a hole, a booming thunder deafened the place. It's started!

The hitting pickaxe stopped only to be replaced by the screams of men... and women. It was utter pain!!! A Psystorm is no different than a thunderstorm but instead of releasing nitrogen oxide, it releases a bacteria that lives in the stratosphere. A bacteria that is known to attack the brain before dying.

The bacteria had a weird nature. It is unknown if they lived by consuming nitrogen or something, but they've always inhabited the upper atmosphere since this subworld was created. The bacteria had a tendency to immediately stick to surfaces, and rise upwards as if climbing to the sky. Though most would die in less than three seconds, sometimes that's all it takes as they would dematerialize anything that is inorganic as some accidentally enter your nostril and ears before damaging parts of your brain as they tried to find an exit.

It was said that the ancient Ramon Saami once sent a horrible attack as revenge on his kingdom ever since they tried to shun and kill him for his powers which was a taboo at that time. Saami's attack made the people of the land go mad in less than an hour, but instead of giving them a swift death, he gave them a fate worse than it. They were alive, but their brains were no doubt less than useless. Many died due to the anarchy that occurred, alongside the inability to think properly which caused even more harm and mayhem.

In less than five days, houses burned, castles were besieged by nobody in particular except the amount of violence inside was no different than a siege, cities held trials to incarcerate a crow, and villagers burned clothes after finding that their clothes were being possessed by demons or something. A well-respected magician found a soft rock with unknown properties which even the king held and inspected and turned out to be the young prince's hardened turd! All sorts of insanity happened, including some shepherds who fought a knight after they saw him have his way with a horse and two of their sheep. The accusation wasn't even the most insane part as the men fought in naked bodies with a twig, before asking everybody to drink beer which was in fact piss in a beer barrel pissing off one of the shepherds who started a brawl. Unfortunately, or rather fortunately everyone died that day after someone had the right idea to pacify the situation with a sword, everyone had stab marks.

When Saami witnessed all of this, he immediately summoned carnivorous nightmare beasts that roamed and ate everything they saw. Such were the things he saw that Saami forever lived his life as a recluse after that.

And now, the four had the misfortune of witnessing an event as purple dust entered the structure. But they didn't notice anything, before blacking out.

***

"Bring me the object of your desires."

"All hells are the same, you must come and watch."

"I don't need you! I hate you!"

"It is with true power that something is achieved. You godless freak won't understand."

"Give me your head! Your Heart! Your life!"

"One more minute and you're mine!"

"This place is getting noisier! Are you this screwed up inside?"

"Get out of my head!" Reno shouted as he woke up. Voices filled his mind sometimes screaming, and sometimes whispering. And most of them are negative, seeking to pull him down.

"Look. Call me if you need me. I'll get them out of your head for now." A voice akin to a whisper spoke to him before disappearing. Thanks to that, he managed to open his eyes and stand up, only to see the other cadre members in a worse situation than him.

All of them were sobbing or screaming, and as of now, Sarah is screaming the most. Like she was having a bad nightmare. Her head was shaking and so was her body, but they were incongruous as if they were doing two things at the same time. While the other two were whimpering, she got way worse that Reno can hear her scream his name more than once so he went to her first.

She was nigh unstable, and he feared the worst. He tried to wake her up and made her open her eyes before slapping her hard on the cheeks. That way she managed to wake up crying, but thankfully she wasn't in a state way worse than before. With her, by his side, although shaken, they then helped the other two to their feet.

The feeling of dread went through them. They're supposed to lose their heads but thankfully, they haven't. As they sat there staring at the crack in the wall. Reno felt his guts acting again. He looked at that cylinder and with the feeling getting better, he walked to it and stored it in the box.

"I don't know if you guys are in the mood, but we have to move. Let's continue looting, find anything valuable but don't go too far." When Aziza heard this, she immediately bolted out and looked at the guy who tried to open the hole in the wall.

But when she reached there, she frowned as her face twisted. The man in the broken mask was somewhat familiar. When she carefully took the mask off, the man inside was even smiling. She hired him a year back and was quite satisfied with him. He was dependable, sociable, and hardworking. But why was he wearing a mask? What's going on here? What did she do to the group?

"Azi..." The man called out to her before she sent him to the underworld with a Bang. A single round of .25 ACP lodged in his brain.

As the man lay there barely alive, she put the mask together before sending another round straight into his skull. Finally dead, she started looking for valuables and anything paper. She found some and stored them for future reading. There might be clues here.

As Aziza finished looting the corpse and started to find another, the others were busy looting the entire place as well. Thanks to his body finally feeling relief, he told them to scatter and gather as many useful items as possible. And he also went his merry way.

But just in the middle of cleaning the place he noticed something weird, his gut feeling was the same but Ding was sitting on the ground making nonsensical circles while chanting a sort of song he can't understand. And also Aziza screamed in the distance as the sound of gunfire followed.

He ran as he dragged his best friend to where the gunfire was and saw Aziza with her loaded shotgun after euthanizing the Psyzombies. But something was off, Aziza already killed them but she was still on the alert.

"Azi," He spoke softly to Aziza as she pointed her gun at him.

"Calm down." He continued with a calming voice, only for Aziza to pull the trigger. Thankfully it was empty. She already fired all four shots.

"Calm down, ok. We're not finished looting yet."

"Looting, yeah looting. But don't ever call me that!" Aziza finally calmed down.

"Okay, now what happened?"

"I saw, monsters but, they're gone."

"I see, let's just..."

"Ahhhh...hhahhaahhhaa...ahhhhh...Reno!!!" Just before Reno could finish his conversation, Sarah was heard moaning in the distance as she screamed his name.

Still getting the same feeling, he was confused but decided to go there and see for himself. As the three ran towards her, they found her humping on a wooden log that was standing upright while moaning and whimpering like she was in heat.

He walked towards her and stood as she humped the massive piece of wood. When she looked and saw him, she smiled and made a gesture to grab him before he slapped her square in the face so hard that she lost balance and fell on her back.

"What's the big idea!" She complained as her hand caressed her reddened cheek.

"Take a look at your handiwork," he replied as he motioned her to look at the log she was using.

"Wood!" Sarah replies shocked as Reno grabbed his bangs hard before replying.

"Yes, wood!"

Something's off, and he can tell. And when he looked at the other two, he saw Ding on the ground mimicking a fish out of the water, taking deep breaths with his mouth opening and closing; Aziza looking down the barrel of her shotgun and even putting her finger through it. He really wanted to curse but the place seems odd. His guts aren't telling him anything.

And that's when he wondered as he looked at Sarah who had coiled her arms on his leg asking for some bedroom action before biting it while saying "Fresh Ham" that maybe, these are the symptoms. That blackout and hearing those malicious voices must have been the sign but why was he fine. But that's when it hit him! The gum! It must have been the gum! Very big-brain moment.

After seeing Ding suddenly recite the alphabet, Aziza complaining to a round rock with googly eyes, and Sarah finally stops biting only to grab his balls. he decided to take action. He had to give them the gum no matter what.

And so he opened Sarah's mouth and put two pieces of gum into it before 'helping' her chew it. It was easy and pleasant with a tint of mint. While she was busy chewing, he did the same to Ding and Aziza. Ding opened his mouth like a kid saying he liked gum as his intelligence constantly deteriorated to infant levels. Aziza however, was defiant that he had to convince her to chew on it. When Aziza finally tasted the gum and liked it, Reno looked to see only one piece left. In resignation, he put it into his mouth and chewed. Only he didn't like it. He wanted licorice in his black gum, not mint. Mint is for white gum.

"I'm tired of this! I want to go home." he cried out as curled up in a ball. And that's when something happened. As he was busy complaining, one of those Psyzombies who were not yet shot by the cadre made its way to the noise. It arrived just as the three were regaining their sanity. As it arrived it asked only one question:

"Anybody has gum?" The voice inside the mask was male, old even like 50 years old.

Before anybody can give him an answer, Reno took a small revolver and sent a .25 ACP round straight into the man's head.

"Shut up!" he shouted annoyed. In his defense, he was getting more stress now than during the firefight or the duel with the blue vulture. Sure, losing a limb might be a big deal but prosthetics are quite cheap nowadays but a cure for a Psyzombie? That's too expensive! He might not even afford it! And now the reality of his own friends and even lover turning into mindless idiots just hurt way too much. He's been thinking about what to do if the gum would fail. Maybe it was meant to prevent you from turning into one instead of healing you, so his effort might be in vain.

He was pressed for what to do, but he doesn't have to.

"We better get out of here, Reno, get the dropship. We're going home." Sarah, who was finally regaining some sanity and was spooked at the splattered brain nearby spoke urgently.

"You sure? I don't think..." When he looked towards the horizon, in the direction they came from he felt better. And as the seconds pass better, like fate is trying to pull him there.

With fresh resolve, he tried to forget everything and just follow his gut feeling. Stood up, accidentally step on a dead man's brain matter, and express some politically correct words of disgust, before taking the Dropship out and starting turning it on.

The cadre left the camp and flew at top speed, miraculously, Ding didn't puke even once. But that's not the meat of it. Because Reno was so fixed on following that good feeling that he forgot to look at the rear mirror.

The three saw it all, just after they reached four kilometers away from the place, a dogfight ensued between armed rotor-driven transports and some dropships. And it was quite messy as aircraft flew and fell. it was awesome even to see missiles and aircraft guns spin into action. But Reno was having none of it, all he wanted was to go home.

Near the gate...

As Reno was about to tell Ding to open their path out of this place, Sarah and Aziza got into a catfight. As the two were once again abusing the heck out of themselves, they began to pull each other's hair before resulting in a fistfight. Unfortunately for Reno, Ding also joined the fight after screaming at them to keep the noise down before making it a three-way fistfight. After punching each other silly for almost an hour, Aziza forgot about why she was fighting and decided to eat something. Sarah was screaming obscenities at her and she just asked why. It was at this moment that Ding punched Sarah square in the solar plexus, making her fall backward. Sarah retaliated by kicking him in the groin. In his pain, he called them both shaved gnomes, which offended the two as they kicked him in the back and gave him axe kicks.

Reno just stood there watching as the mayhem unfolded. It's already fading, the chewing gums are failing. His fear is now a reality. Now, these three are getting quite aggressive. It's a normal phase, known to happen if a Psyzombie were to survive for long periods of time. But what can he do now? Should he just shoot them? That is not the answer. He thought of such things as he sat.

He started to look for the loot they took at the camp, and he was reminded of the cylinder they'd found. He took it out and felt such a good feeling finally surface. But his mood was still dampened. Whatever be inside of this thing should better be worth it. He needed at least nine blades of Mana grass today.

When he opened it, he can't believe his eyes. The content of the cylinder was exactly eight blades of Mana grass. He once heard, that consuming two blades of boiled mana grass in a cup could at least recover a portion of a Psyzombie's sanity. He found a ray of hope for his cadre, and immediately set up the bunker.

After handcuffing them in zip ties and sheltering them in the bunker, he started to boil the mana grass in the recommended amount of water with two blades of grass per person. This method is crude and only recommended when nothing else is available. He was only doing this by memory, but nothing bad has yet to ruin his work. After the color of the water was finally a bit yellow, he waited until it was no longer piping hot before administering it. After they were done drinking they passed out, a normal side effect of drinking or eating mana grass.

Reno went outside of the bunker and looked at the sky. It was still safe, the color was purple. The place was deathly silent, most terrestrial animals were near extinct in this area, and only the burrowers remain. As he silently looked at the purple sky, he reached for a box of cigarettes. What he pulled was the box of cigarillo's that Rachel gave him a while ago. He's not in the mood, so he put it back and pulled out a real box of cigarettes.

He smoked a few puffs and looked at the sky again. What a day.

He started hearing voices again but out of all of them, he heard the whispering one-way clearer as it spoke:

"Nice day, isn't it?"

"Thanks...I hate it." Reno sarcastically replied as the voice started bombarding him with words.