After the person had bolted across the rooftops, I followed in hot pursuit, jumping across several buildings, and generally feeling like a protagonist from an action movie.
The mystery assailant turned to me occasionally, and attempted to fire various weapons, but X’s remote jamming made sure none of them actually activated.
“You should apply some pressure yourself, Master. His AI is learning, and beginning to counter my suppression by putting up firewalls and complicating his encryptions.”
Following her advice, I pulled out the pistol from my belt and aimed at the retreating figure. I took aim, temporarily in awe of how the suit I wore underneath stabilized my arm, and took a shot at the figure’s back.
The bullet fired out soundlessly, and hit the person in the back of their shoulders, causing them to lurch forward.
An inhuman growl escaped the Judgment AI, and he disappeared into his user’s body. The masked figure straightened up again and resumed running.
I started to gain on them, only to stop in my tracks as the figure split into seven different ones.
What the fuck? They scattered into seven different directions, with one even charging straight for me.
I turned off my AR, and was disturbed to find that all seven were still in my vision. I put away my pistol and took the sonic knife out, and prepared for close quarters combat against the mystery assailant.
For better or worse, the apparition only took one stab before it burst into a cloud of smoke and a bundle of black rags. I ran back to the edge of the roof and caught a fading glimpse of the rest of the figures as they disappeared into the night. X, can you tell which one is the real one?
“Unfortunately, it seems that the Judgment program that person is using has split a portion of themselves into all seven entities. I cannot pinpoint which is the real one.”
I turned on my heels and began walking back towards the bar I left Raiden in, and back to my starting point. I sighed, and admired the vapor that exited my mouth with the sound.
Does the Judgment that person is using match the appearance of any recorded person in the list of Fallen that you compiled? I figure we might as well cross that possibility off the list first.
“...I cannot find those features in the database. Regardless, I suggest you save the recording data to my cloud so we may review it with an expert later.”
What kind of expert are we going to find in the Metron Kingdom? God this whole night has just gone to shit. I thought I could at least relax before we went to the Primal Kingdom, but apparently even that is too much for life to give me.
“Master… have you truly forgotten? There was an individual of veteran status who would be able to identify a technique that this man has used.”
When I didn’t reply, Judgment chuckled and teased me. “It must be difficult to have a human brain. My database never forgets things.”
“Stop being coy.” Annoyed, I spoke out loud. “Who the hell are you even talking about?”
“It should be obvious, Master. The person who forced you to hone your blade skills for the gladiatorial fight against Gazix. Reich Gannon, the retired Lieutenant Colonel.”
---
I met Reich Gannon in the early morning, in the Palace’s war room. I had opened the door, and was shocked to find him conversing with a large woman. She was wearing a white, skin-tight suit, which covered everything but her forearms, legs, and head.
She had pitch-black skin, and had to have been 10 feet tall, at least, as she towered over the already tall Reich by a mile. She had long, sea green hair that tied into braided pigtails over her shoulders. Her eyes were pure blue, with no visible pupils or irises, and her symmetrical face had a slender nose and pair of full lips. Two large horns protruded from her forehead and then curved straight upward.
Proportionally, she was about the same as Lucina, which, combined with her size, saying her assets were large was an understatement. A long, hooked tail jutted out from above her ass, and her hands had claws above where her knuckles were.
Two long, black-feathered wings sprouted from her back, but the thing that stood out about her the most were the two long, slender, deer legs that were in place of normal ones.
I just stood in the doorway for a moment, taking in the sight of this massive woman. She noticed me first, and gave me a smile and a waved, while Reich motioned me to come over to him.
I walked over, and the woman extended a massive hand. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Paladin Cole. Reich has told me all about you. May our relationship be long and prosperous.”
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I looked over at Reich, who was grinning. “Is this a peace offering?” I asked, causing the joviality to wane from the veteran’s face. “I have to admit, she’s very attractive, and certainly enticing, Reich. You definitely have an eye for women.”
The woman’s smile grew upon hearing my words. Reich rubbed his face with his hands, and sighed. “Joshua…” Reich grumbled, “This is Starlord Alexstasia Bloodcrown. She is in charge of the planet Ethia, and making sure our world doesn’t end by unnatural causes.”
My eyes widened as I looked up at Alexstasia, whose beaming smile hadn’t left her face from the moment I began complimenting her. Being on the opposite end of someone comparable to a god, I was at a loss for words. “Well… uh…, regardless of your origin, my compliments still stand.”
“Smooth one, Master.” X chided, and Alexstasia started laughing, a deep, throaty laugh that was pleasant to the ears, and slightly infectious.
“You can hear her?” I asked incredulously, and she nodded, pointing over my shoulder. I realized I hadn’t turned AR back on, and did so, finding X already behind me and glaring daggers at the Starlord.
“I see your Judgment has been maturing at an accelled rate. That’s good, I was right to choose you as the tenth participant.”
My brain momentarily ceased functioning, as I received information on the Trials from a place that I had not expected.
“What can you tell me about the trials!?” I grabbed the unzipped collar of her clothing, which was just me reaching up and pulling her to face height.
Surprisingly, she offered no resistance, and met my eyes. Reich was white as a sheet, but Alexstasia’s mood hadn’t worsened, even at my treatment of her.
“I knew I liked you. Unfortunately, I’ve already given you too much information as is. May we meet again someday.” She gave me a kiss on the forehead, and stood up straight, as my arm loosely fell off of her in confusion.
A beam of light began to coalesce around her, and I reached out to stop her and ask more questions.
Then, she was gone, leaving only a scorched hole in the carpet and a third-degree burn on my hand. It was only because of the immediate painkillers that X injected into me that I was able to remain conscious through what I assumed would have been unbearable pain.
I looked down at the scorched skin, and then back up at Reich. “Care to accompany me to the medical bay? I need something looked at by someone with your vast intelligence.”
---
Leray was sitting in a chair in her room, looking across at the handsome prince currently occupying her bed.
She had stripped him for safety reasons, of course, and helped him into the shower so he wouldn’t stink up her room full of piss and alcohol.
Leray got out of her seat, and began to walk over to the bed, letting her nightgown fall off of her lithe figure as she approached.
The Felis stopped before Raiden, and stroked his face tenderly with her hand. Although Raiden had promised to come every five days to prove his loyalty to her, she believed the man would give up soon enough.
Much to her surprise, and 100 days later, he was still coming to her door, trying to prove that his feelings for her were real.
According to him, when she Fell into Ethia, and was brought in front of the King for the first time he fell for her then.
Thinking back on it, Raiden was very invasive to her personal space at the time, but Leray had chalked it up to the lust of an aristocrat.
The Felis let out a contented sigh as she finally got under the covers with him, and hugged him from behind. She briefly hated how her three tails raised the covers on occasion as they thrashed about happily, but since Raiden wasn’t awake, it was less embarrassing.
She had just finished settling in and was about to fall asleep with him in her embrace, when a metallic sigh entered her ears.
“Really? I take on a contract and nearly get myself killed, all so you can sit down here and glue yourself to your man?”
Leray bolted upright, but relaxed once she saw the cloaked figure. “What do you want Winter? Are you here to report a success?”
The cloaked figure shook its head and pointed to its back. “No, the only thing I was successful in was getting a piece of metal lodged into my back. Thankfully, I’m all doped up on painkillers right now, so I can still move, but I would appreciate an emergency surgery.”
Leray stood up from the bed, put her nightgown back on, and walked out the door to her room, into the adjacent space, where an examination table was waiting.
“I’m sorry, Guildmaster. If only Angel was here, I wouldn’t have had to bother you.” Winter looked genuinely remorseful, and hung its head.
“Don’t worry about it. I should have known that Paladin Cole would be too much for any of us to handle, even our secret weapon.” She tapped the table and prompted Winter to lie down, face first.
“I should have never taken that stupid contract. I’ll get out from under it by paying the cancellation fee. It’s not like we’re strapped for cash at the moment.”
Winter got on the table and mumbled, “Sorry. Guildmaster Leray, I won’t fail you again. You have my word.”
Leray scoffed and shook her head, grabbing a small laser to make an incision with. “I don’t want your remorse, Winter, I want you alive. Listen to me well, you are not to go back and attempt to finish the job, do you understand me? The job will be cancelled first thing in the morning.”
The mercenary said nothing, instead opting to turn their head sideways. Annoyed, Leray dug her finger into the incision, eliciting a yelp from Winter.
“Do - you - understand - me?” Leray said in measured breaths, emphasizing each word with another jab.
“Yes, Guildmaster Leray.” Winter muttered, and a smile formed on the Felis’ face.
“Now, now, don’t be so down. Did you even get close to killing him?” Leray had gone into the wound with the forceps, and started trying to find the shards of the bullet.
Winter buried their face into their arms and Leray heard a muffled, “No.” A smile came to Leray as she finally found the shards.
“Good. That should mean you won’t try again.” She looked down at Winter, who shrugged, wincing at their own action.
“It was very worthwhile. We definitely learned some new things, and Ignis grew as a program. His Judgment was very powerful.”
Leresa was focused on removing the last piece of the bullet, but did not miss the tone of excitement in Winter’s voice. She knew what that tone meant, and only hoped Winter would heed her advice before shit got out of hand.
It was all fun and games until someone got themselves killed, and damn it, the assassin’s guild always attracted the kind of people that died early deaths.