My name is Ross Ackerman and I’m a low-ranking officer in the ‘Skull Clan’. We are known as one of the more noble ‘Gangs’ that infest the slums. In truth, we are a military branch that keeps an eye on the movement of gangs in the slums.

Our ‘territory’ is in the first quarter of the district, this means we are small time compared to the groups much further in despite being one of the biggest in the area. Bordering us are several small-time clans, but the three that stand out around us are Wolf Pack, Viper, and the notorious Blood Fang groups.

Wolf Pack used to be friendly with us. The clan leaders made some deals with us which allowed us complete access to their information network but in return we wouldn’t get in their way. This was allowed since the leaders were respectable and wise, they didn’t use needless force to get their way and had strong morals. They still understood how slums politics worked and employed dirty tactics to survive but never crossed the line. There was never a need to reprimand them for conducting shady business and illegal actions since not only did we understand the necessity, but they also allowed us to see everything about their organisation too.

This changed a couple of years ago, however, when their position was usurped and some greedy fallen noble took over the clan. We withdrew all our specialists at that time and the clan was slowly losing power.

Viper is incredibly dirty and underhanded but not that big of a threat. Their use of cruel and disgusting methods has stopped them from ever finding powerful backers, it would be easy to wipe them out if they ever get out of hand.

The real problem is with the Blood Fang group. They are malicious and relentless. They are also backed by a very powerful group hidden deep in the slums. We could keep them in check until now with the communications tower, preventing them from contacting their higher-ups. Unfortunately, the delicate balance has been broken.

After growing bold while Wolf Pack gradually weakened, they launched a surprise attack and seized control of the tower. This not only allows them to contact their higher-ups, but also allows them to know our every movement, thusly reversing our previous advantage.

Trying to reverse the situation a large assault force was launched to try retake the tower. With the tower under their control we are unable to call for reinforcements without alerting the big fish about military presence in the slums. Almost every able-bodied man was mobilised to quickly retake control of the area.

I was assigned to an emergency evac squad, our mission is to help evacuate civilians and try stabilise any wounded we find. We were ordered to comb the area for any civilians on foot.

It was horrible, almost every civilian we found already dead. The few who were alive when we found them didn’t last very long either. This is probably the actions of Blood Fang marauders, groups of them that enjoy hurting and killing others. We know that they are cowards, I’ve never heard of marauders fighting on the front lines, we only encounter them as stray groups, and they usually flee at the sight of armed groups. It’s not uncommon for these animalistic groups to drag around a chained woman or two, the women are used for pleasure by the men and used as hostages to escape dire situations. They are nothing more than scum.

The dreary atmosphere hanging around my squad was disrupted by the sounds of a nearby gunfight. I quickly shared a look with my second in command and we nodded in agreement.

“Everyone, move in and provide support! If you find injured tend to them immediately!” I shouted at the top of my lungs.

Everyone was filled with determination. We had failed to save anyone so far and the guilt of letting innocent lives slip through our fingers was piling up, we were all determined not to let this one go and started sprinting towards the sounds of gunfire.

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The gunfight quickly grew less and less intense as we neared an abandoned auction house that seemed to be the source. It came to all but a complete stop as we approached. Feeling the atmosphere around us growing heavy once again I gave out another command to boost morale.

“Ready your weapons and prepare for combat!”

The atmosphere changed again, this time becoming a much more grim and vengeful type of determination as everyone readied their weapons.

The scene inside the entrance hall shocked us. Ten marauders lay dead, not a single other body in sight. The previous determination that fuelled the squad was quickly replaced with confusion. I couldn’t help but think that some elite group must have come through here.

Something was nagging me about that idea though, I looked around the room trying to figure out what felt out of place. It took me a few moments to figure it out, breaking into a cold sweat as I did.

One person.

Only one person opposed these men. They killed everyone and survived. Hell, I could almost imagine exactly how the fight went, that was the scariest part.

Looking at the marauder corpse completely riddled with bullets and its position, it was used as a meat shield to get inside the room.

The bullet holes in the walls and their density explained the rest.

From there the invader dashed to the right, leaving the meat shield as a decoy. The invader then stopped behind the pillar and killed two men that were standing behind a pillar further down that side of the room.

After that, the invader sprinted towards the left side of the room as the panicking marauders sweep fire passed the pillar. The invader used this dash, possibly combined with the meat shield, to kill the five men in the middle of the room.

From there, the bullet holes get a little confusing.

One thin string of bullet holes draws a horizontal line to about halfway down the side of the hall, indicating that the invader ran down the left side. That’s where it gets confusing. The string of holes suddenly curves upwards and then back around and diagonally upwards. I have no idea what this means.

When I consulted my second in command she looked shocked, but jokingly suggested that the invader may have wall run over the stream of bullets. This seems plausible if we assume that this string of bullet holes belonged to the guy with a broken and bloodied nose. It looks like he was punched hard in the face before his weapon was ripped from his hands and used to finish him off.

Lastly there are a lot of bullet holes in and around this pillar, pretty much an entire magazine’s worth of bullets. They probably belong to the man on the other side of the room with a face resembling a beehive. Killed with his buddy’s weapon while reloading, that’s brutal.

That accounts for all the bodies at ground level.

It was my second in command that figured out more about the invader.

“It was a woman,” she said factually.

“… Your evidence?” I asked incredulously.

She pointed towards a trail of bloody footprints and emotionlessly said “… High heels.”

I nodded and accepted her explanation. While there are certainly some weird men out there who like to wear high heels, I can hardly imagine any of them wearing heels to battle. Even the ones that are combat trained. Especially at this level of skill.

I also noticed the outline of a pistol in the blood splatter, meaning that she is currently armed with a pistol.

BANG!

One more gunshot resounded through the building and we all quickly readied our weapons, jumpily looking around for hostiles.

Clack, Clack, Clack

The sound of high-heels pierced the silence, growing closer with each step.

I looked to the top of the stairs and watched as a feminine figure appeared.

I was dumbstruck by her beauty. White hair that reminded me of fields of snow, and a very light but smooth skin tone that somehow didn’t conflict with her wintery hair. To top it off she was wearing a sultry dark red dress that really highlighted the top of her pale- no, porcelain thighs. The dress emphasised her divinely smooth curves and the armoured gloves and boots created a proud and intimidating atmosphere. She was both thin and voluptuous, ‘lithe’ is the best way to describe her body structure. Her incredibly thin body and tight dress emphasis her slightly-more-than-modest breasts and hips.

I stood stunned by this mortal goddess for who knows how long, enthralled by her ethereal beauty. The spell was broken when she spoke in a smooth but authoritative voice.

“Seeing as you have yet to open fire, I assume you aren’t quite as indiscriminately hostile as the last bunch.”

As she finished her sentence, she gave a small smile. It was at that moment that I knew, knew that I was already completely smitten with her. There was nothing on my mind besides getting to know the goddess.