The four guards didn’t know they were going to get into a fight on the way down to Linux’s home. He wasn’t someone to mess with when alone, but when banded together, he was pathetic. What the original plan was, they were going to subdue him and force him to work inside the home. It was for his safety, after all.

However, when they saw him leave the house with three people, they’ve never seen before, they knew what their duty called for. They were trained for the moment first floorers ascended the tower and attempted to disrupt their way of life. It’s happened before, so why wouldn’t it happen again?

The four guards drew their weapons and stood their ground. If it came down to it, they’ll call for backup and a swarm of guards will be all over them. Now a new plan was set. Kill the first floorers and subdue Linux. Keep him in his home while one of them goes to the council with news of the situation. After that, everything will go back to being peaceful on the floor.

Kauss and the others drew their weapons. It was an even match, one for each person. He held his knife steady, gripping the handle with as much force as he could muster. This knife was his lifeline. If he lost it, or it somehow broke, there would be nothing stopping him from getting his head cut off. He’d have to fight back with his fists until his inevitable doom.

“Whatever you do, don’t kill them.” Linux warned.

“Why?” Kauss asked, baffled by the request. “If we don’t kill them, then they’ll kill us.”

“Because-.” Linux was interrupted. He dodged out of the way of an incoming blade.

A guard with a bladed extendable whip lashed out at Linux. They weren’t going to just let them talk as they pleased. Right now, this was a battleground, not some holiday inn.

Linux dodged out of the way and they split up. As they charged at their combatants, he finished the rest of his sentence. “Because killing them would be pointless.”

Kauss couldn’t help but disagree, but he was too busy to argue. He was up against a guard with a knuckleduster on each fist. The knuckledusters had large spikes decorating the end of each finger, so each punch he threw out would simultaneously leave holes in the target.

Kauss drew his knife, the red of the blade begging to become redder. He swung it in a wide arc at the guard’s stomach. He sucked in his gut, narrowly dodging the blade. The air from the passing blade rubbed up against him, making him sweat.

Kauss drew his arm back and stabbed at the guard. He sidestepped the strike and aimed at his face, throwing a punch so hard the wind ran in fear. He tilted his head back, and the spikes grazed his cheek. Blood spilled and dripped down his face and dirtied the spike that hit him. The Gaxtex Shield did its job thankfully and healed the injury as soon as it appeared. The blood from his cheek ran back into the wound and jumped off the spike. As soon as Kauss counter attacked, the wound had healed completely.

Kauss pulled his hand back and launched it forward, stabbing the man in the gut. Blood spilled from the wound and the knife turned into a deeper red. Unlike Kauss’ minor graze, this one would take much longer to heal and the pain would last even longer. He couldn't help but smile at his upcoming victory. A newcomer to this type of combat was taking a down a guard with years of experiance.

He twisted the knife inside, searching for any organs to slice in half. The guard punched at him, forcing him to retreat lest he wanted holes in his skull. The guard doubled over, an arm covering his stomach wound. He had to ignore the pain and fight back, or else he was dead for good.

He stood tall and let the blood trickle down his gut. His deep purple shirt was stained with nothing but red on his bottom right. With a single leap, he entered his very soul and found the strength he needed to punish the first floorer for his heinous crimes.

The guard launched an all out assault, punching as fast and as hard as he could. Fists seemed to fly everywhere and Kauss dodged to the best of his ability. He managed to avoid fatal injuries, but most of the punches connected. Blood spilled from everywhere above his belt, holes appearing left and right.

The Gaxtex Shield tried its best to suppress the pain as much as possible, but it persisted. He felt faint from the amount of agony he was under, but he still kept standing. If there was anything that Kauss was famous for on the first floor, then it would be his sheer willpower to run past through an insane amounts of suffering.

There would only be two times that he broke down for good, and he hated that smile he had to put on during those moments. He accepted death - though he knew that he really wouldn't when the time came to die - but he sure as hell didn’t want to do it smiling. He wanted to go out in a blaze of bloodshed and in a battle that trumps all battles. But if Helona ended up being there, he knew he’d end up smiling again just to appease her.

Kauss looked up and saw the guard’s knuckledusters light up from red lightning. It cast the guard’s face in an ominous crimson which his face will take the appearance of after he’s finished with him. Kauss knew that his time wasn’t up yet. As long as he could last, he’d be healed in no time, give or take half an hour.

Raising his knife, he pressed the button on the handle. The blade covered itself in lightning, swaying and crackling against the blade. He grabbed the knife with both hands and steadied them. The lightning snapped on his fingers, turning them black from the uncontrollable nature of electricity. With a yell of a stubborn refusal of death, Kauss leaped forward, his blade aimed at the guard’s heart.

He raised the knife over his head and plunged it down. The guard did the unexpected and grabbed the knife, stopping his descent. Time seemed to freeze in place. The blood dripping from the guard’s hand went by agonizingly slow. His fist coming forward was an insufferable sight. Only one thing repeated in Kauss’ mind over and over again.

I’m fucked.

With his free hand, the guard pummeled Kauss’ stomach, scrambling his intestines and poking holes in organs. Kauss screamed out of both terror and fear as lightning ran up into his veins and systems, frying him from the inside out. As a spike pierced his stomach, acid dripped out and burned him even more.

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Kauss heard Helona yell for him, but he didn’t know if it was real or just something his brain conjured up to make him feel more at ease. As the pumbling continued, Kauss’ rage grew more and more until he couldn’t take it anymore.

I’m killing this fucking bastard, even if I have to die along with him!

With the remaining strength Kauss had remaining, he put it all into his arms. With one powerful push, he pushed past the guard’s defensive hand. Once the blade entered the guard’s heart with a satisfying squelch, he stopped destroying Kauss’ stomach for a second. That second was all he needed.

He kicked the guard’s legs out from under him and they both toppled to the ground. All Kauss could see was red. He had no idea if it was pain or anger, but he what he did know was that when he came back to his senses, the man’s head was severed from the rest of his body. Kauss had managed to win with nearly a hundred holes in his gut.

His eyes rolled into the back of his head and he plopped down beside the corpse. No amount of regeneration was going to bring a headless man back to life. He could feel his stomach repairing itself and the pain relievers finally taking some affect. He passed out from the pain and let the Gaxtex do its job o fixing the mess of a body.

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Helona dodged an incoming whip at her face. She ducked out of the way and fired twice at the guard. She aimed straight between the eyes and if the energy behaved just like a bullet, then they’d be going too fast to avoid. A gun was the most dangerous weapon someone could use. Once it was fired, and if the user had amazing aim like her, then there was no chance to counter-attack.

However, Helona forgot one major detail about the Gaxtex Shields. They can heal and protect people from potentially fatal harm. They could make a person’s skin feel like stone and make them so strong that they can tear down a door. But it also raises the senses of anyone wearing one. That includes perception and speed.

The guard had already raised his perception and could see the bullets coming at him with what would normally be blinding speed. Now that he saw them, he could predict their path. Now that he could predict their path, he could dodge the incoming death with increased speed.

He ducked and stepped forward, both dodging the bullets and taking an advance. With one toss of his hand, the whip snaked at Helona and latched around her arm. The blades cut deep inside her, lacerating through both skin and muscle. The blades ended at the bone and wrapped around her arm.

Helona screamed so loud that her throat stung from the sudden onslaught on her vocal cords. The whip tightened, causing the blades to stick in her even more. The torture wasn’t over yet. With a quick yank on the whip, it came unraveled while slicing through more skin and bone.

The pain was so excruciating that Helona couldn’t even scream anymore. Her voice came out as a squeak as a tear fell down her face under a beautiful moon. It felt like her arm was being torn off, and she wasn’t that far off from what was happening. Skin and muscle fell off her arm, exposing the bones underneath. A waterfall of blood fell from her arm.

The whip came back to the guard’s hand, and he heard her screams of absolute terror and pain. He couldn’t help but feel satisfied by the screams. The first floorers had filled the floor with so much dread for years until they just stopped coming. Despite that, they still trained for this moment and now the years of training could finally be fulfilled.

Helona wasn’t going to let the pain stop her from winning. She could imagine the guard’s grin as she screamed. It filled her with so much rage her blood boiled. She held her gun, and this time pointed it somewhere he wouldn’t expect as quickly. She aimed the gun and fired.

The energy bullet went straight through his kneecap. He fell to the ground, losing his balance thanks to his now useless leg. He landed hard, his breath knocked out of him. Grabbing the whip’s handle, he squeezed till the point it indented with his hand print. With one last option in his mind, he pressed the button on the bottom of the handle.

Lightning crackled to life, turning the blades into a deep crimson that matched the color of the blood. The red illuminated against himself, making half of his body glow red. All he had to do was last long enough until his knee healed. He hoped that this strike will incapacitate her, and if not, then it’s all over. With one powerful thrust of his arm, he cracked the whip at Helona.

She had expected that to happen as soon as she saw the lightning come out. She dodged the whip and any lightning coming after her. Her arm moved around as she dodged, causing a burning pain to seer into her entire being. She screamed and her rage rose to even greater heights.

With a long, merciless yell, she fired her gun randomly, not caring where or what she hit. All she knew was that she wanted to cause him as much pain as she possibly could. The sudden rage blindsided her as she became a dangerous, injured predator.

Bullets rammed into his gut, chest, arms, legs, and even a place any man wouldn’t want to be shot. Blood erupted from each wound and splashed onto him. His injuries oozed deep red blood, and the sight of it all made him feel lightheaded along with the pain. He wanted to desperately pass out, but with each new agonizing shot, it woke him right back up.

Helona continued to fire, even when the gun was empty of any bullets. The click of the gun being ignored as she stared him down with a snarl of deep hatred. She came to her senses and stopped squeezing the trigger. With a sigh, she walked up to the hole ridden body.

As she approached him, she remembered the moment when she had killed the gunner in the first floor. If she had tortured him like she did to the guard, would she even be here? The whole reason of why she’s here was because of the realization of her meaningless life, but what if he cracked? What if she was proven right?

She looked at her arm and nearly threw up. She could see her bone sticking out from underneath muscle and the pain she felt only served to make her even more sick. If she didn’t climb up, then she wouldn’t have such a thing happen to her. She wouldn’t have survived for long down there, however, and she wouldn’t have the Gaxtex Shield to keep her alive.

She saw the guard’s hand tighten on the handle. He was still conscious and planning something. She froze and didn’t move any farther. She needed to let someone else deal with him. With her injured arm, she couldn’t reload her gun. If she wanted to kill him, then she’d have to give her own life just to do it.

Suddenly, she heard Kauss scream bloody murder. She’d been so busy with her fight she forgot other people were fighting around her. She turned and saw something she was afraid of ever seeing in her life. The guard he was facing was punching his stomach, leaving in holes and taking out organs. She could see his intestines come out of his gut as blood spilled out of him like a geyser. His body spasmed and glowed from the lightning being entered into his body.

“Kauss!” Helona wildly screamed.

The guard, taking the precious opportunity, swung his whip at her. He swung it down at her ankles, then planned to finish her from there. He didn’t expect her to raise her foot and stomp down on the whip like an insect. She looked back, anger and desperation filling her eyes.

“You motherfucker!”

She felt powerful. She had no clue what was happening, but everything seemed clear now. It was as if time slowed down just enough for her to think and see clearly for the first time since coming up to this floor.

She dragged her foot and ripped the whip out of the guard’s hand. He tried to desperately hold on, but she was too strong and angry to fight back against. Once it was out of his hands, she bent down and picked it up. Finding the button that activated the lightning, she pressed it and could feel it stinging her hands as it sparked up.

With one powerful swing, she cracked the whip on his forehead. The blades sunk deep into his head, breaking through his skull and cutting open his brain. He died as soon as it cut through.

Once she was sure he wasn’t breathing again, she ran over to Kauss. He was on the ground, holes covering his stomach, organs showing and holes in them as well. He was in a sorrowful, pathetic state.

Helona got down on her knees and held her ear to his lips. She could still hear and feel him breathing. With desperate tears in her eyes, she laid down beside him and passed out alongside each other.