6 Years Later
Present Day
July 20, 2075
1553 JST
The Orange Pillar Room, Beneath Rion
Sonya Grey's Point of View
“Hahahahaha!” I laugh.
“What is so funny, child?” Lanze asks in a serious tone.
“Do you know how many legs are on a scorpion, Lanze?”
“Enlighten me, little girl,” he replies in a curious tone as I slowly get back on my feet.
“Eight. Scorpions have eight legs. To become a Black Scorpion, you must kill a total of eight people, as part of the initiation.”
“How scary,” Lanze snickers in sarcasm.
“Trinity Grey, José Garcia Hernández, Camila Gómez Sánchez, Samuel Diaz Ortiz, an unnamed adult male, Lucia Sanz Castro, Diego Cortez Guerrero, Eduardo Medina Vargas, Dwayne Murphy, Jake West, and six unnamed Hephaestian mercenaries. These are the people I’ve killed in my eighteen years of life. I don’t know if there’s an afterlife or not, but I do know that you’re about to find out.”
You’re six meters to my twelve, but I can use the ruins for cover to narrow the gap between us. But still, you’re such a powerful opponent. That damn Lance of yours protects you at close range, and I don’t know the maximum range of his eyeball laser or frisbee of death yet, but the only way I can kill him is if I take considerable risks to get in close. That fucking laser incinerated my body armor; therefore, I can’t afford to take another shot to the chest. Sigh. Calm down.
“Big talk from such a short girl! The Rionans were brave warriors just like you; however, the fools met their extinction when they decided to take arms against the Royals! Silly girl! Your enemy is the entire world! You cannot win! I guarantee that you’ll be pushing up daisies in less than five minutes!” He yells out with a laugh, as he prepares to resume his attack. “I vill now take your Halos, along with your life, Sonya Grey!”
You’re going for the eye laser again.
Move! Get behind cover!
That was close!
“That vas close, little girl!” Lanze snickers. “But, you are only delaying the inevitable!”
Cocky bastard! You’re out in the open!
“You better start saying your prayers, Lanze.”
Aim and light him up, Sonya!
“How pitiful!” He yells out as he quickly ducks behind cover. “Your greatest enemy is yourself! How can you expect to defeat me, if you cannot even defeat yourself?!” He asks as his Halo Kopflos begins to zoom around the room, its path diverting directly towards me. “Behold the might of The Sin of Greed!”
If I stand up, I’ll get shot, but if I stay here, then I’ll be decapitated! Shit! I have to…
Use my Lighting Bolt’s hook to escape. I’ll land right on top of his arrogant ass head!
“Unmöglich!” He startles out in German as he hastily prepares to defend himself.
“I’m not impressed, Lanze.”
A clash of Halos, Swords, and Lance, but based on the previous close-range encounter, I should have the upper hand now!
“Careful,” I say as we continue to attack each other. “That Lanze is pretty sharp.”
“Tch. You’re very creative, Black Scorpion,” he nervously says as we continue to clash with each other’s Halos, both of us attempting to break through the other’s defense.
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
“Why’d you get rid of the smile, mercenary? It was… the… perfect target for me!”
Got you.
An upward slash, starting from his chin to the forehead, but is it enough?!
“Foolish woman! Have you forgotten already?!” He yells as he takes a quick backstep. “I am Lanze Kaiser! The Sin of Greed! I own the most powerful Halo in all of Japan!”
Oh shit.
Fuck! You knocked my sword out of my left hand with that damn hat!
“Resistance is futile, Sonya!” Lanze cackles as he prepares to shoot another laser.
Shit! I’m out in the open. No time to dodge! I… I hope this works.
Here comes the laser!
“Impossible!!!” Lanze yells out in disbelief.
I… was correct. I knew that you would aim at my heart for a swift execution; therefore, I made the right choice to… defend that area with my sword so I could deflect the blast. But I know he’s not done yet.
“…is what I would say if I wasn’t the prestigious Sin of Greed,” he continues as he holds his right palm forward.
Recalling the frisbee, just as I predicted.
“For all those Halos in your possession, you’re quite a one-trick-pony, Lanze!”
An easy side-step to avoid it. I didn’t even have to look. Now to rush in and finish this!
“You are eleven years too early to be challenging me, little girl,” Lanze says in a serious tone as he prepares to throw his hat again.
No… something’s wrong. You’re smarter than this, Sonya. He’s baiting you.
“Now die!” We both yell out in unison as we launch our final attacks.
“Ladies first,” Lanze snickers as his lance begins to extend forward.
An obvious prediction! All I have to do is avoid it, and the hat and I win!
“You’re so dense, Lanze. You should’ve figured out that I am leagues above you.”
A quick leap to gain the height advantage, so I can deliver the final strike!
“Do not underestimate me!” he responds as his body suddenly propels backward.
Rocket-boots?! You gotta be fucking kidding me!
“Game over, Sonya Grey!” He yells.
You’re gonna reshoot the laser, and I have no fucking clue as to where you’ll aim this time!
“Hold on to this for me, Lanze Kaiser!” I yell.
Throw the sword at him, Sonya.
“AGH!” We both scream, followed by an explosion from his laser.
A… a trade. No… no way. He… Ruby’s toy cat saved my heart. Lanze… Lanze should be dead. Alpha went right into his bad eye. He has to be dead!
“Sonya Grey!” Lanze Yells out from directly above, his entire body engulfed in flames.
What the fuck?
“You are the second strongest opponent that I have ever faced in my entire life!” He yells out as he dives at me at high speed, headfirst. “Ve are warriors bound by combat! Ve live to fight, and fight to live! The devil has a special place in hell for people like us, but as The Sin of Greed, I must send you to meet him before I do. This fight vill be my last fight on Earth as a Hephaestian, and as a Deadly Sin!” He explains as he wields his lanze for the grand finale.
Nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. This is it, Sonya! Equip your Halos and end this!
“The Black Scorpions and the Olympians didn’t raise a coward, so give it your best shot, Lanze!” I yell.
What?! The sharp end of his Lanze opened up?! Wait a second…
“Vielen… Dank,” Lanze mutters as he closes in, preparing to fire a laser from his Lance.
“You lose!” Lanze falsely presumes, amidst the explosion.
“Careful now, Lanze,” I say as I float above him.
Sneaky bastard, you almost got me. The laser on the lance nearly killed me, but I managed to avoid the blast by using my Lightning Bolt to get above you. Sigh. You’re right, Teresa. Death does sneak up on you.
“Don’t lose your head,” I say as I prepare to decapitate him as we fall through the air.
*
20 Minutes Later
The Tunnels of Death, Beneath Rion
Angela Blackwood’s Point of View
“Heh heh. I’m dying from excitement to see the work Lanze has done today, Li! He and his soldiers have yet to give me a sitrep, and I can’t handle the suspense anymore. Oh, the foolish man must be trying to win me back with a surprise gift,” I say to Li.
“He is an excellent soldier, Commander,” Li supports as we cautiously navigate through the disgusting sewers.
“I’m not biased if that’s what you’re thinking! I merely admire his work ethic, proficient features, and elongated h-”
“Ok, commander,” Li replies in her usual supportive tone.
Halo. Scoff. I can feel that eye-roll, young lady. Gasp. Inconceivable! My eyes must be lying and that’s…
“Impossible! L-Lanze?!” I yell.
“The Hephaestian mercenaries and the Sin of Greed have been killed in action defending Mother Gaia,” Abbas says.
“No fucking shit! Motherfuck! How… how could they lose?! This is… fuck! Damn it! Damn it! Those fucking peasants keep killing my friends! They’ll send her at this rate, and I absolutely loathe her! This was supposed to be a simple assassination mission, and somehow we are losing more soldiers than them! Sonya Grey! That fucking girl is so smart!”
“Ahem. Commander, we are awaiting your orders,” Li reminds me.
Right. Cool your jets.
“Apologies for my emotional outburst, Death Angels. Lanze was a stubborn, overconfident, and reckless fool. Nevertheless, he was a great ally to Mother Gaia, and we shall all attend his funeral once this is all over. His death is the handiwork of The Invincible Sonya Grey, who is long gone by now, along with Ruby Redheart and Billy Cooper. My informant has alerted me of their concluding destination, where they shall reunite with Hercules and Rachel Cooper. Their options are limited; therefore, it’s safe to assume that the Mighty Squad Zeus and Veronica Shinka are currently residing within Inpu. With both targets in the same location, I shall be able to kill two birds with one stone. Heh heh. I suppose every dog has its day. In any case, this has been a lengthy operation, but fear not, for I promise that the conclusion to this story shall end soon. Yes. This game of cat and mouse shall wrap up in… The Deadliest Kingdom.
*
End of Act 6: The Seven Deadly Sins