David sat by the burning campfire, his hand tied behind his back, with of all things… zip ties. It seems that no matter what, the power of zip ties stands supreme.

“It’s good to finally meet you face to face, David Vohler,” said the man in the suit. His face gleamed with a knowing smile, taking a seat right next to him.

“You know me?” David stared back at the man, donning an expressionless face.

“Oh yes, indeed. I’ve heard of many tales of you and your suicidal tendencies, in spite of your denial of all these things. And that of your miraculous escapes, always running around mindlessly, entering all sort of troubles, yet always managing to get out alive, no matter the situation.”

He bit onto a piece of cracker from a ration pack, the soldiers around him seemingly watch full of their surroundings. Some could be seen patrolling the outer perimeter.

Not the typical mercenary, David thought.

“You know… there are very few people that managed to catch my attention, even fewer make it out alive. So I’m quite curious as to how you will make it out this time. Also, yes, I am the one that the Mataph Empire sent over to stop you from transporting ‘that’ item to our friend, so there is no need to guess who I am. I can see that you also know of my name, yes?” A sneering smile now dons the immaculate face of this man, David could only scowl as he open his mouth and respond.

“The empire’s head hunter, Kane, the Butcher of Chalbiamai.” A light frown now formed on Kane’s face as he listens, the soldiers around becoming nervous at the sight.

“What do you know of what battle, really? Of the sacrifices my people gave to win that war?” He shove down what remained of the cracker before letting out a damning gaze.

“Those Norks didn’t just openly accept Koblins, but take them as their own. They let them interbreed with human kin and created countless abominations to serve their damnable gods. Turning them into mindless beasts, kidnapping innocent women and children to spread their own damned kinds.”

He leaned close to David, a pair of cold and vicious eyes on his maddened face. “If it were up to me, I’d erase their very existence from our history books.”

As quick as a snap of a finger, he leaned back, entirely nonchalant as if nothing had happened. “Alas, I am not the one to make that decision. And so, here I am, stuck doing errands for the empire, heh. Maybe this will knock me down a few notches, as they might say behind my back.”

Another soldier walked towards the pair, bringing with him a small black box. “Sir we found it, but it’s locked, there’s bio-mantic security and runic encryption. And we don’t have the necessary equipment.”

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

Kane lets out a light chuckle before taking the box, tapping his fingers against the small rune in front. The box was not that big, slightly bigger than a human fist.“There’s no need for that, I can open it myself, watch.”

David could only clench his fist tightly as he watch Kane’s hand glowed with Mana, tapping on the hole a few times before opening easily. The bastard continued to smile all the while.

———————

“WHAT?!” yelled a man on a giant monitor, his face a vicious anger. A scar over his forehead. On the opposite sat Asha, relaxed and unperturbed.

“That is not for you to decide, where is lord Evra?!?” the man slammed his hands on the table as he lets out a growl. The man, now fully enraged, had been on this call for hours. The man wondered if he might die from high blood pressure or not.

“Lord Evra is currently sick with the common cold and is currently unable to receive anyone at the moment,” Asha answered, taking a sip of red wine.

“What?” His loyal butler by the side simply nodded as he called out. “There is another call for you sir. This one is the representative from the confederacy of Hohia, it seems he is very eager to speak with you.”

“Very good,” said Asha, a dashing smile on his face.

“Now, the real work can begin.”

—————————

Kane sat in one of the transport, David by his side, zip-tied and gagged. He could only watch as the other guy played with the strange glowing crystal marble in his hand. A clear glassy exterior concealing a swirling torrent of numbers and symbols within.

This is the first time David saw an unimplanted cypher, just looking at it made him nauseous. These things definitely weren’t meant for humans to look at.

“Beautiful isn’t it? Unfortunately… this wasn’t one of those from the pre-Calamity. To you it might be fantastical and mystical. But these are nothing but inferior copies.”

David casted his gaze over to Kane, he could see the same smile. Why did he have to meet another lunatic like Asha, did he have an affinity with these people or something?

————————

A flash of light pierced through the darkness, its source stood a soldier decked out in combat gear. Looking around the vicinity with caution before talking to his earpiece.

“Northeast clear, returning to base.”

“Copy that.” Another voice spoke out after, “Hey, do you guys wanna go for a drink after this? I heard Berton just got some good beer transferred over from the capital.”

“Focus on the job Miguel.”

“Oh pleaaase, it’s just an android, what can it even do now? Crawl around on its hands?”

“Focus on the job Dumbass.”

Another voice spoke out, this one much more gruff and old. “You really have no idea what the fuck we’re doing do you?”

“Clear comms you idiots.” A commanding voice yelled out, causing the others to shut up.

“But old coot’s right Miguel, so shut up and stay alert. For both your and our sakes. These androids are called the Anti-life for a reason so shut up and stay alert.”