《Thirteen Sins - From Sinner to Samurai》


 Prologue

    In the dim light of the moon, halfway hidden behind the clouds, the complex looked almost peaceful. And, in large parts, it was. Eighteen guards patrolled the area, slow and methodical. Most were alert, and none were the lazy or underpaid kind that companies so often hired to keep their costs low.


    But no matter how well trained you are, the boredom of monotony is a threat to anyone. Even the best of the best fell victim to it once in a while, and even I wasn¡¯t an exception. That said, I was more prepared for it this time around.


    For weeks I had kept an eye on the building, had studied all those that spent their nights here, meticulously learning their patterns and habits. I had scoured the network multiple times, keeping tags on anything of interest. The surrounding cameras had been wiped clean, playing a recording on repeat that would be hard to figure out before I was done with my mission.


    Tonight this complex would devolve into chaos. Nineteen people would have to die. Eighteen of them the guards, the last my target. Personally, I would have preferred to only go after my target, but the orders had been clear. None would survive this day, none other than the servants inside. If everything went according to plan, they wouldn¡¯t even be woken up.


    Checking over my gear one last time, I mentally prepared myself for the task at hand. I had all the equipment I needed, and some more, just in case I had to improvise. Unless something went wildly off track, nobody would be aware of what happened before the day broke.


    With one last glance, making sure that I had the right moment in the guard¡¯s routine, I began to move. The roof I was on was not far from the defensive wall surrounding the building. It was not a perfect location, but I didn¡¯t want to risk anything. Very likely those that had built these defences were aware of the best way to get past them. Even with all my electronic countermeasures, someone might spot me if I went for the obvious entrance.


    On light feet, I stepped off the building, falling onto the roof a little further down, a small little outcropping housing an extended bathroom. I rolled myself off, dispersing the energy from that little fall, and did my best to make as little sound as I could.


    After making sure that I was still undetected, I attached a rope onto the small metal supports to either side of the small roof. I had to lose some weight for that plan to work, but that was nothing new to me.


    Repelling down, I stopped a couple meters above the wall of the complex, before I jumped off, just barely reaching it. Not wasting any time, I rolled myself off, immediately diving for cover behind the automated turrets that were meant to stop such an invasion. A shame their cyber defences were so poor. It was almost insulting how little care had gone into protection from digital invasion.


    Counting to four, I moved once more, using a blindspot in the guards cover to jump down the other side of the wall, landing in a meticulously maintained green area, before rushing over to one of the bushes. From here I would have the perfect opportunity to take out the first two guards.


    Once that was done, I had less than four minutes to get into the complex and deal with the rest. A damn tight timeline, but it was the best shot I had. And they wouldn¡¯t have sent me, if this mission would be easy.


    I counted again, this time to seven, before I popped up behind the bush, two throwing knives at the ready. The guards came around the hedge at just the right moment, and I flung the weapons towards them, aiming for their throat.


    A flash of silver in the dim light, two almost simultaneous thuds, a gurgle, then two louder thuds, as the guards fell onto the grass.


    They weren¡¯t dead yet, but they would be paralysed by the venom that my blades were coated with. Still, I had to move quickly, and so I dashed over, quickly dragging them behind the cover of the tall hedge. Pulling a dagger, I stabbed each of their hearts. Twice, just to make sure.


    Once they were dead, I pushed them into the green. It wouldn¡¯t help much, but it would give me just a little bit more time before they would be found. Getting up once more, I quickly made my way past the hedge. My steps were precise and measured, light on the ground.


    The next guard would come out of the building in 27 seconds, if everything went according to plan. A timeframe that was only off by one second.


    Another throwing knife found its target, and I just barely managed to get to the guard in time to catch them, otherwise the sound of their fall might have alerted the others.


    She was still alive, choking on the blood in her throat, eyes wide in fear and panic. She tried to move, but the venom prevented her from doing so.


    I ignored the pleading gaze, pulling my dagger and stabbing her twice, killing her swiftly and as painlessly as I could manage. With her dead, I deposited the body under the veranda. Not a perfect hiding spot, but it didn¡¯t have to be.


    The interior of the building was as I expected to find it, and I quickly made my way along the left wall, towards the break room. By my account, I would find three guards there, which would be the second most difficult part of the job today.


    Silently opening the door just a smidge, I confirmed that my theory was correct. Three men sat around a table, drinking coffee and talking in low tones. Pulling out two throwing knives with one hand, I held my dagger in my other. Gunshots would be much too loud, and I had to stay undetected for as long as I could manage.Stolen story; please report.


    The perfect opportunity to strike came a couple of moments later, when one of them started laughing heartily, and I didn¡¯t waste any time. Pushing the door open fully, I dashed inside, flinging my throwing knives before anyone had the chance to act. Both hit, although one slightly further to the right than I would have preferred. It did its job, though, and by the time I was upon the last guard, already getting up from his seat and reaching for his weapon, the two others fell limp in their chairs.


    Much to my surprise the man managed to avoid my first swing. However, he was not prepared for my follow up strike. With a grunt he was sent tumbling, and I was above him before he even hit the ground, dagger buried to the hilt in his chest, first once, then twice.


    With him dead, I immediately moved over to the others. With four quick motions, both of them died. Double checking that the room was otherwise as I expected it to be, I left as swiftly as I entered, closing the door behind me.


    I had roughly two and a half minutes left, before the next round of call ins would happen, at which point they would notice something was amiss.


    There were seven more guards on this floor, which would be the hardest part of this mission. I couldn¡¯t get past them, and if they were alerted before I killed them, the rest of the mission would become infinitely harder.


    While I moved, I flipped a switch on a device strapped to my belt. It was a short range communication jammer, my best bet at remaining undetected.


    The first two went down without any trouble. I had timed my arrival in the corridor at exactly the same time they made their rounds, and neither saw me coming. The problem was that I didn¡¯t have time to get rid of the bodies, forcing me to leave them out in the open.


    The next one also died without a fuss, but the last four would be the biggest threat. I had to engage them head on, and I had to kill them quickly, before they could shout. While they wouldn¡¯t be able to radio for help, thanks to my little gadget, that wouldn¡¯t stop them from making noise.


    By sheer luck the guard that was supposed to keep an eye on the door I entered the room through, was not paying attention when I arrived. It gave me a second or two of headroom, time I utilised immediately.


    Flinging two throwing knives towards the ones on the left, I dashed for the one closest. Managing to take him by surprise, I buried my blade in his chest, making him grunt in pain. The last one turned immediately, and I left the first one behind, the other two hitting the ground only a moment before he did.


    To my dismay, that last guard was a lot sharper, and he managed to get his gun up before I reached him. Barreling into him, I just barely managed to knock it out of his hand before he could fire.


    We both hit the ground, with me trying to end it quickly. He was not as easily deterred, however, and he fought back. The scuffle only lasted a few moments, but those few moments were enough time for the one I had stabbed to croak something out. It wasn¡¯t loud, but it was a noise, and that meant that I had to hurry.


    Finally able to subdue the last guard, I stabbed him twice, abusing a momentary lapse in his judgement. Not wasting any time, I jumped to my feet, before I rushed back, finishing off the first. Swiftly moving over, I killed off the other two that were still paralysed by my throwing knives, collecting my weapons, and stowing them back into my belt.


    I was already moving towards the stairs to the floor above. By my internal clock I had roughly thirty seconds before my time was up, and I still had five guards to deal with. This was going to be a lot closer than I would have liked.


    With quick, but careful steps I arrived at the top floor, immediately making my way over to the left. I had the layout of the place memorised, studying it carefully before I ever set foot in here. Pushing through one of the side rooms, I quickly found the main hall of this floor.


    Three of the guards would be close to the door I had to get through, while the rest would be just in front of the room where my target was still sound asleep. Drawing two more throwing knives, coating them in fresh poison, I quickly made my way over to the end of the room.


    From here I had the perfect view on my targets. Two of them were standing on either side of the door, while the last one was a bit further away, currently looking out the window towards the courtyard. Soon he¡¯d move over to the other side of the hallway. If he wasn¡¯t dead by then, he would see that the guards there were missing.


    Silently counting down, I waited for him to turn, slowly making his way over. When he arrived at the halfway point, just past the door, I threw the knives. Following quickly after them, they hit their targets at around the time I came through the door, already aiming for the last guard.


    My dagger glinted in the dim light of the moonlight, and I tried to cut his throat before he could act. This time, things were different, however. The man was far quicker on the uptake, probably better trained.


    He reacted quickly, stepping to the side and making me miss my thrust. Before I had time to overpower him, he opened his mouth. ¡°Intruder!¡± It was all he could get out before my blade found his throat, but the damage was done.


    With the safety of stealth now out of the window, I quickly ended the two guards I had hit with my throwing knives. Abandoning all attempts to remain hidden, I barrelled through the door, hoping that I¡¯d be faster than the two men who were waiting inside.


    Dagger in one hand, I drew my pistol with the other. The guards already had their weapon drawn, but I was faster, already knowing where they¡¯d be. Two shots rang out and they crumpled.


    There was only one door leading to the room my target was in, but there was a window. With this only being the first floor, my target would have little trouble using the window to escape. I couldn¡¯t allow that.


    With quick steps I crossed the room, shooting the lock. I didn¡¯t have time to pick it, and it was likely to be locked. Of course, shooting the lock made opening the door a bit harder, but it relented eventually, after I tackled it. Despite the guards, the interior of this place wasn¡¯t built to withstand intrusion.


    I found my target standing at the open window, evidently trying exactly what I feared they¡¯d do. They turned as the door opened, eyes wide. It was a young woman, clad in a fancy nightgown. Her auburn hair was fluttering around in the nightly breeze entering through the window.


    For a moment she seemed stunned, before she opened her mouth. I raised my pistol. It glimmered in the dim light of the moon, the black crystal it was made out of catching the few rays of moonlight. Before she had time to speak, I pulled the trigger.


    A crimson explosion turned the back of her head to mush, the body falling backwards and out of the large window.


    Mission complete.

 Chapter 1 - Class excursion

    ¡°Hypervigilance, suspicion, and some amount of paranoia are common for those who were in life changing, traumatic events. It is often seen in soldiers, those suffering from long term domestic assault, or those who have survived antithesis attacks. While it may not be immediately dangerous, it could impact your ability to be a productive member of the workforce, and to find a suitable place of employment. If you, or a loved one, is suffering from any of these symptoms, don¡¯t hesitate, contact us now. The earlier it is caught, the better we can help. Our expert staff will provide you with a free consultation*, at no initial cost to you, to determine the level of therapy you may require.


    *Therapeutische Rehabilitationsgesellschaft Inc. reserves the right to recoup costs via any means our company deems necessary, up to, and including, mandatory subscription fees, or the selling of private information to third parties. Therapeutische Rehabilitationsgesellschaft Inc. is not responsible for additional emotional trauma, anxiety, loss of income, or loss of your will to live.¡°


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Ad for ¡®Therapeutische Rehabilitationsgesellschaft Inc.¡¯, 2045</li>


    </ul>


    The Neu D¨¹sseldorf Gedenkpark Rheinwiesen was quite different from most parks you¡¯d see in the western world. I say the western world specifically, because I could remember the Rikugien Gardens from my childhood. And it was clear that those were very much unlike anything you¡¯d see on this side of the globe.


    Not that I had a lot of memories from that time left. Most of it had long since been lost to the haze of time, but there was one that had always stuck with me for some reason. And compared to that memory, this park was quite different.


    Perhaps it was the overcast weather, the sun working overtime to get even a glimpse beneath the cloud cover. Or perhaps it was simply the difference time and personal growth made. Whatever the case, I wasn¡¯t quite sure what to think of it, watching the large green areas, the big trees waving gently in the breeze.


    In principle, this park was quite a lot better than what you¡¯d typically find around the former European Union. These plants were actually real, not the fake or gene-edited stuff you¡¯d find basically anywhere else. The scent made that more than clear. No park would ever smell this clean of chemical bullshit if that wasn¡¯t the case.


    Sure, in most cases those were a requirement in this day and age, considering the alien plant monsters invading us every so often. If you didn¡¯t make sure your plants were antithesis proof, all you did was put out an all you can eat buffet for the fucks. And those overgrown weeds were masters at turning a lot of biomass into even more man eating monsters in record time.


    Still, I was glad for the difference. It made sitting under this tree in the afternoon heat even more pleasant. Few rays of sunlight made it through the cloud cover, but the occasional one that did play across my skin was a pleasant addition to the light breeze. The slow rhythm of the music coming softly through my headphones just added to the atmosphere, and I was halfway tempted to just close my eyes and nap a bit.


    But only tempted. I¡¯d never get some shuteye this exposed.


    Instead, I watched the sky, following the few birds that raced across the horizon. That was probably the best thing about this park. Ever since the Rhein had dried up, taking basically every bit of life around this area with it some twenty-odd years back, any kind of animal was a rarity. And while these birds were mostly what remained of doves, plus the occasional rare bird, such as magpies, it was quite pleasant to see. It gave me some hope that this planet might not be entirely fucked yet. But only some.


    A bit of movement caught my attention, and my eyes snapped to where I¡¯d seen it, my entire body tensing up. A group of strangers came around a bend and into my field of view. Checking them over quickly, I didn¡¯t see any obvious weapons, nor did they seem to pose a threat. I wasn¡¯t actually expecting to find them carrying anything, but it was always best to check.


    I relaxed, letting the sudden tension flow out of me once more. My right hand remained close to my side, despite the lack of a weapon there. It made me feel safer.


    Their clothing was in the more modern style, with tight fitting jeans and loose shirts, making it unlikely for them to carry something hidden away either. It made me confident that I¡¯d be able to react in time, even if they might try something. Taking a moment, I made sure that I had a plan in place, before I finally dismissed them from my immediate attention, using the corner of my eyes to keep an eye on them.


    Letting my gaze wander once more, I returned my attention back to the green area in front of me. A few of my classmates were playing football. Yes, football, the proper name for the damn sport. Bloody Lunatics. The US had long since ceased to be, yet the majority of its former residents still insisted on their stupid naming schemes.


    Whatever.


    As always, watching them play made me feel¡­ conflicted. I had been invited to join them, of course. I always was. But I had declined, as I always did. Intellectually, I knew that I probably should do more to belong. Always sitting on my lonesome wasn¡¯t really all that good for me, and I had promised my therapists to at least try and make some more friends. It¡¯s been nearly three years since I joined the college, and so far I made nearly no progress in that regard. But people were not something I liked dealing with.


    There were a good number of reasons for that, but the most important one was the constant social manipulation. Of course, most didn¡¯t really engage with that consciously. Many weren¡¯t even aware that it was a big part of social interaction at all. But some did, and I had made my fair share of bad experiences. It annoyed me. People had this habit of making you do things you didn¡¯t want to, for various reasons.


    I sighed in exasperation. I really shouldn¡¯t throw stones from my glass house. Even if I tried my best to be more mindful of it these days, I wasn¡¯t immune to it either. It was a core part of what it meant to be part of society after all. And back in the day, I¡¯d abused it as much as anyone else in my line of work.


    The thought made me grimace. Again with those depressing thoughts, get yourself together, Yurei. That ain¡¯t your life anymore. Can¡¯t you just enjoy a nice afternoon for once? It¡¯s been four years already! Fuck¡¯s sake¡­


    With an effort of will, I dragged myself away from those memories, focusing back on the pleasant surroundings and the music that was still gently playing through my headphones. Classic wasn¡¯t something I¡¯d ever thought I¡¯d enjoy, but I had learned to try new things in recent times. And there really wasn¡¯t anything like a soft piano track on a relaxed day.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.


    Trying to distract myself, I thought back on the day so far. Our college had organised this trip, some kind of excursion to get us out into nature. As much as we still had nature, anyway. Between the antithesis and global warming, that had become a rarity in the past thirty odd years. And, of course, a large part of this trip was also team building.


    I liked the college, really. It was far better of an educational institution than most others these days. Yet, even then it wasn¡¯t immune to the corporate influence that steered society ever deeper into a capitalist dystopia. And megacorps loved their team cohesion exercises. Oh well, at least they tried to hide it by making it actually interesting. So many others would just blatantly shill for any corp coming to them with a few credits.


    Many of my classmates hadn¡¯t really cared that much about it, which I could understand. As interesting as this trip was, it really didn¡¯t teach you anything useful for slaving away at some underpaid job in a far too small office cubicle somewhere. But I, for once, decided to ignore that little factoid, and had thrown myself at the opportunity to learn more about all the flora and fauna that had once called this part of the globe their home.


    Sure, I wasn¡¯t a nature nut. Really, I only cared so much about it, and if I¡¯d been able to choose, I probably would¡¯ve gone for more interesting topics. But the guy who had led us through the park previously was quite good at explaining things, and it was by far not the worst way to spend a day. Mainly I was just glad that it was something that had allowed me to keep to myself.


    And that it had nothing to do with killing people. I had far too much of that in my life.


    I was just about to try and remember some of the more interesting aspects of what I¡¯d learned today, when I was interrupted by a notification, ringing out through my augs. The ring tone made it very clear who was trying to get my attention, and I didn¡¯t even bother opening the message window.


    Instinctively I pulled down my headphones, already halfway to my feet, my gaze searching for the one responsible. I found her not far away from me, her blonde hair playing on the soft winds, a small smile on her lips. It was infectious, and I found myself smiling in return, giving her a wave.


    ¡°Hey! The others wanted to grab something to eat, wanna come along?¡±


    I nodded, not even needing to think about it. Zuri was the one asking.


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    My sister smiled even wider at that, waiting for me to walk over. Taking my hand into hers when I arrived, she turned around, leading me towards her clique. Okay, I say her clique, but really, she was just someone who hung out with them occasionally.


    Even from a distance I could see Leah gesturing wildly, obviously deep into yet another one of her grand retellings of whatever she had found online. She was the leader of the group, energetic and very opinionated. Sydney and Nia were standing next to her, paying more or less attention, while Cori was, as always, entirely numb to the world outside. Her eyes were flickering with the tell tale sign of someone deeply immersed into their augs. Typical Cori.


    Coming closer, I started to pick up on what they were talking about. Well, what Leah was talking about, Sydney and Nia only rarely got a word in, if at all. To nobody¡¯s surprise, it was about yet another Samurai Fanfiction she found online again. What I did find surprising, though, was that there was a second conversation hidden beneath the first. This one was about what they wanted to eat.


    I had to admit, it was quite fascinating to see how they could have two discussions this different at once, without any deliberate break, and quite often combining the topics into one sentence that still managed to somehow make grammatical sense.


    The power of college girls, I guessed. I idly wondered when I would unlock this skill. Probably required me to talk to others more, so most likely never. Oh well, I had always been the odd one out, so it wasn¡¯t a new notion.


    Tuning out the comments about the Samurai, not all that interested in that, I tried to decipher what our options for food were. It took some doing, but eventually I was able to identify that there were two places we could go to. Both were apparently equally good, so it came down to preference.


    The girls nodded to us once we joined them, and as one we slowly started to meander towards whatever they were deciding on. I was fine with either option, so I didn¡¯t interject, just glad that they walked while they talked. So many others just stopped dead to discuss anything, and I just couldn¡¯t stand that. It made me feel restless. Well, more restless.


    Neither of the girls tried to involve me in the discussion, which was appreciated. It quickly returned to focus entirely on the Samurai fic, and I didn¡¯t care all that much about that. Out of politeness, and because it was a pleasant distraction from the more unwelcome thoughts of my past, I did keep one ear open to it. It was at least better than what the boys would normally go on about, so it could¡¯ve been worse.


    Out of habit, I kept my attention mostly on our surroundings, making sure that there wasn¡¯t anything that might turn out to be a threat. The bushes around us were low, but they would be able to hide someone if they¡¯d be so inclined. And while I couldn¡¯t hear anything dangerous, or smell anything suspicious on the breeze, it was better to be prepared than to be surprised. Just in case someone would try to shoot me. Or worse, Zuri.


    Having her by my side did make me feel a lot better, and I gave her hand a gentle squeeze of gratitude.


    Our pace was rather slow, but at least it wasn¡¯t glacial. Typically I¡¯d set a more strict pace, but really, we weren¡¯t in a hurry. And, for all their faults, Leah was energetic enough that she¡¯d never stand still either. Especially when it came to Samurai, and this fic had apparently struck more of a cord with her than most. From what I could gather from her disjointed retelling, it was about two Samurai called Thrasher and Pink-Blade. I¡¯ve heard those names before, mainly through the process of osmosis. They were both somewhat well known names across the great pond.


    Generally I didn¡¯t care much for Samurai, as I said, but from what Leah explained, or at least the little that I understood, this one did pique my interest a little bit. Not as much as Leah, obviously. Nobody could be as excited about Samurai as she was. But the way she talked about those two being all oiled up and such¡­ I could get behind the idea of watching two muscular men go at it every once in a while. Not that I was all too interested in the more detailed descriptions about their sexual escapades that Leah was going on about.


    The romance, that was apparently a core part of the fic, was of far less interest to me, and I tuned it mostly out. Romance was a weird topic, I thought, and I really didn¡¯t want to think about it all too much. If she wanted to gush over it, let her, but I could go without.


    ¡°Really, like, you gotta read it to get it all,¡± Leah said, finishing her, admittedly kind of chaotic, retelling of the major points of that Fanfiction. ¡°There is no way I could actually put across how awesome it all is.¡±


    ¡°We get it, L.¡± Sydney sighed at the fifth rendition of Leah telling them all to go read it. ¡°Really don¡¯t have the time, though. I have to finish coursework first, if I fail through Econ, I might not be able to get my degree.¡±


    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t remind me. I still have to do the maths project,¡± Nia groaned with a faux whine. ¡°Fuck¡­ I wanted to ask Sam about helping me with that stupid program we need for it, I still haven¡¯t gotten it running. Hopefully I won¡¯t forget it again.¡±


    ¡°Sam? Why ask him? He¡¯s, like, so creepy.¡± Leah gave Nia a strange look. ¡°There are so many others you could ask. Like Theo. Or Alex. Or hell, even Sally. She¡¯s good with that stuff, right?¡±


    ¡°Sam isn¡¯t that creepy,¡± Nia retorted with a bit of annoyance. ¡°And he¡¯s better at computer stuff than any of them. Not to mention that his sister is a very good friend of mine.¡±


    Leah just rolled her eyes. ¡°You do you, love¡­¡±


    Sighing inwardly, I tuned out the rest of the discussion. I knew from experience what that tone of voice meant, and I had absolutely zero interest in listening to them bicker about their different opinions on various classmates of ours again.


    Hopefully, we could get lunch soon.

 Chapter 2 - The calm before the Storm

    ¡°After the Ohio incursion, and the uplifting of our new Vanguard Protectors, we have tried our best to come up with an early warning system to detect the incursions. The problem we have faced in this endeavour is that we have no damn clue how they do whatever the heck that ominous rip in the sky is. Frankly it''s kind of annoying. Really, if it wasn¡¯t so vital to our survival, it would be exciting. In the years since, we have started trying to figure out all we could, but so far, we have learned very little. We do know that there are some signs that point to an incursion before it happens, but only by minutes, and none of them are very helpful. Like, for example, who is going to be able to recognise that an incursion is coming based on the fact that the place starts to smell like someone just mowed their lawn. It¡¯s just crazy to think anybody could do something like that.¡±


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Quote from Oliver Nordstrum Ph.D, during an impromptu interview at a Starbucks, 2031</li>


    </ul>


    Our little group continued our slow walk, the others still immersed in inane conversation I couldn¡¯t care less about. With my gaze flitting about, darting to every bit of movement I could see, I lost myself in the sounds and scents of the park. Zuri¡¯s hand still held in my own just added to the relaxed atmosphere, and I let my worries dissipate slowly.


    We were slowly making our way around a bend, flower beds on either side of the little pathway. They weren¡¯t anything special, if I identified them correctly, but they did make the place a whole lot more lively.


    I was distracted from the pleasant sight by a sudden shift in the scent of the wind.


    I wasn¡¯t quite sure what it was. There was a hint of something I knew, something I didn¡¯t like. It didn¡¯t smell of danger, just some unpleasantness, but that alone was enough for me to take note of it. And I zeroed in on it immediately.


    Letting my senses wander, I took in everything around me. From the low rustling of the leaves, to the distant laughter of some children. The smell of the foliage, the earthen scent, and the hints of food in the distance. It didn¡¯t take long for me to figure out what exactly had raised my hackles.


    At the end of the slow bend was a bigger open area, decorated with a few park benches, a surprisingly clean trash bin or two, and some more flowers. In the middle of it all, with their back facing us, was a group of people I was very familiar with. And one I could definitely go without ever seeing again.


    Leon and his lackeys were boisterously, and obnoxiously, talking about shit that I couldn¡¯t make out. Not that I had any desire to. Swaggering around as if they owned the place, they were too loud, too annoying, and acted like total dickheads. Pretty typical behaviour for them, now that I thought about it.


    My mood worsened immediately, and I tensed up, hands clenching. Zuri noticed immediately, of course, and she gave me a glance. I didn¡¯t turn to her, eyes locked on the bane of my existence, and she followed my gaze. When she noticed the group in front of us, she pulled the rest of us to a stop with casual ease, joining the conversation.


    My attention was locked on Leon, fixed on the man who¡¯d been such an insufferable dick for the past three years or so. Ever since I enrolled at this college, he¡¯s been the perfect example of a fucking bastard. I had no idea why he had it out for me. I¡¯ve never even spoken a word with him before, but ever since he first laid eyes on me he just couldn¡¯t stop being a massive asshole. Always acting like this tough macho who was better than anyone else, despite having no redeeming qualities.


    The worst part of it all was that I never had the chance to show him what being competent actually meant. Oh sure, I could have, multiple times, but Zuri had stopped me. Every single time.


    Probably for the best. If she hadn¡¯t, I might have already murdered him. I had the plans for that prepared for a long time already. Not that it would be hard. He and his goons were often going around the less savoury parts of town. A small little accident here, some unforeseen events there. It wouldn¡¯t even be hard to dispose of the bodies!


    Their families would be a bit more trouble to get rid of, but even that could be done with a couple of weeks'' work. I knew where they all lived, of course. Gathering everything I needed on them had been almost instinctual. Their homes weren¡¯t specifically secured from break ins, nor would it be hard to catch them on their own one after the other. Really, all I needed to worry about was where to get the gear I¡¯d need for the little expedition.


    Zuri finally pulled me out of my thoughts, gently squeezing my hand. I blinked, a bit surprised, chastising myself for getting so distracted by that bastard again. With an inward sigh, I tried to calm myself down, actively controlling my breathing and letting the tension flow out of me.


    Stop thinking about all of that! That ain¡¯t your life anymore. How many times are you going to let yourself slip like this, hm?


    Our group turned, Zuri casually leading us along a different path. I knew that this would be the more scenic route towards our destination. Before we had even set foot in this park I had studied the ground plan and maps, every last bit of information available.


    Zuri kept one eye on me, and I gave her a short, grateful glance. I had no idea what I¡¯d do if she¡¯d ever leave me alone.


    ¡°Do you think they have a proper BBQ bacon?¡± Sydney asked, now that it¡¯s been decided that we would visit the pizza place nearby.


    I deliberately focused on their discussions in an attempt to get my mind back on track.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you check? Their menu¡¯s posted online,¡± Cori said, her first words since Zuri and I joined the group earlier.


    Sydney nodded at that with enthusiasm. ¡°Good idea.¡±


    There was a momentary lull in the conversation while the girls checked the menu. I didn¡¯t bother, not much of a fan of the feeds. There was too much trash there¨Ctoo many clickbait posts and sponsored ads, an endless stream of fake news and misinformation.


    Not to mention the slew of baggage that was waiting for me in the digital realm. Better to just not engage with it, even if it wasn¡¯t always easy. I couldn¡¯t completely distance myself from it, of course. It was 2050, after all, but I did my best to only use it in case of emergency.


    Willing myself to think about literally anything else, I watched the trees as we walked past. Many of them were just your average tree, although I learned a few interesting things about them today. Like the fact that the trees with white bark were Aspen trees, not Birch trees. As it turned out, there was more than one type of tree with the characteristic white bark. I didn¡¯t know what I¡¯d ever do with that information, but I had it now.


    Eventually we got closer to our destination. The small pathway, and the tunnel of trees it led through, slowly opened up towards a more open area. Located at the edge of one of the smaller lakes, it was surrounded by a good bit of greenery. In the middle of it all, prominently displayed on the red brick plaza, was the building we were looking for.


    The style was very much not like what I had expected. Really, the design should¡¯ve clashed with everything else, looking more like something straight out of 2025. But for some reason it didn¡¯t. Large windows and a slightly oversized roof made it look quite inviting. The vibrant reds, yellows, and orange tones set it apart nicely from its surroundings. And the brickwork that made up the ground around the building gave it a surprisingly homey and cozy feeling.


    From our position we had a pretty good view of the inside. The big windows in front let in a lot of light, revealing an interior design that reminded me a bit of those old school Italian restaurants. It certainly had style, even if it was very different from the modern look you¡¯d find literally anywhere else in this city.


    On one side of the building was a well designed outside seating area. Artfully decorated chairs and tables, all following the same design philosophy as the rest of the place, were arrayed neatly, some flowers and bushes giving it a bit of life. To the untrained eye it looked very haphazard, but I didn¡¯t even take a second to see the system by which everything had been placed.


    And, of course, it gave a perfect view of the lake.


    To nobody¡¯s surprise, our group naturally steered towards the outside area, lost in their conversation about this and that. Picking a table not far from the water, I took the corner seat closest to the nearest path back towards the entrance of the park. It was a habit I had never been able to break. Without having to say anything, Zuri sat down next to me, aware of my thought process. This way she too would be able to get away quickly. I gave her a minute nod in thanks.


    Our hands were still interlinked, and I took a deep breath, taking in my surroundings and the pleasant wind. Thoughts about Leon and all the other unpleasant things were soon all gone, lost to the wind. Leah picked up some of the menus and handed them around, even though they had checked the digital version earlier already.


    To my pleasant surprise, the menus were actually made of almost genuine paper. Very antique, and very fitting.


    ¡°How are you doing?¡± Zuri¡¯s words were quiet, her smile holding a faint hint of worry. We were both going over the menu, but I didn¡¯t miss her attention being mostly on me.


    ¡°Better¡­ I think.¡± My reply wasn¡¯t quite a lie, but it wasn¡¯t the full truth either. Right now wasn¡¯t the right time to go into more detail. The day was too nice for that.


    ¡°You¡¯ve been more tense again in the past few days,¡± she replied, not a rebuttal, simply a statement. She was worried, I could almost taste it.


    ¡°Had a lot of bad dreams. Again. And while the trip is nice¡­¡± I left the statement hanging, knowing she would understand. That was the best thing about Zuri, she understood me almost instinctively.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    ¡°Want to talk about it?¡± she asked gently, but I shook my head.


    In response she let the subject drop, another thing I liked about Zuri. She didn¡¯t pry, she gave me the time I needed, and she didn¡¯t make me feel like I owed her any answers.


    For the next couple of minutes we all went over the different meals on offer. Leah and Nia were deeply immersed in a heated discussion which Pizza would be better, while Sydney was going over her choice of lunch in meticulous detail.


    Zuri eventually settled on a proper meatlovers, no surprise there. She lived for the stuff, and I was wondering if there¡¯d ever be a day she would order something else. Even if there was, it likely wouldn¡¯t be here. According to the menu, they offered actual, genuine, lab grown meat. Which just made me raise my eyebrows when I saw the price. Only 5100 credits for a pizza this good? There had to be a catch somewhere in that, right?


    Oh well. We¡¯d find that one out soon enough.


    After some perusing, I eventually decided on a Pizza Tonno. I¡¯d never tried one before, and today felt like a good day to try some new food. Hopefully it¡¯d live up to my expectations. Leah and Nia, of course, took the longest. Or maybe Cori did, I could never tell. They did all eventually settle on something, though, which was good.


    Sydney was the only one who had known what she wanted before we even arrived, but even she had gone over all the different toppings on offer. The moment she saw that they had actual cheese to go along with her BBQ bacon, she¡¯d almost squealed in delight. That girl was far too much into that stuff.


    With the food decided, the group returned their conversation to other topics. Mainly thanks to Leah, who was unable to go without talking for so long as a minute.


    ¡°Have you seen Magenta¡¯s latest stream? Liquid Catalyst was on, she¡¯s so damn cute! Like, okay, she has nothing on Moonbun, but still.¡±


    Sydney chimed in before anyone was able to answer the question. ¡°Isn¡¯t Moonbun the one that did that charity event recently? The one where they sold that plushie for that cancer foundation or what it was?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Tax write offs, I¡¯m sure,¡± Nia muttered with a dismissive gesture of her hand. ¡°No way in hell there¡¯s still one of those charities around.¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s real. I heard Paragon runs it, she wouldn¡¯t let anyone mess with it,¡± Sydney insisted. ¡°They even published the invoice to prove that they actually sent all the money there.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but like, that shit can be faked so easily,¡± Leah countered, just as dismissively as her friend had been.


    Sydney shot her a disapproving glare, ¡°Not everyone is out to get you, y¡¯know? There are still some nice people out there. Aren¡¯t you the one who¡¯s always on about how Samurai are these heroes and shit?¡±


    Zuri giggled at that, giving Leah a mirthful glance. ¡°You did say that.¡±


    ¡°Fine, whatever,¡± Leah relented, rolling her eyes. ¡°Anyway! So, like, Liquid Catalyst was on and she was so damn cute. I wonder what kind of fanfictions are out there for her. Probably should check. Like, there is so much potential there.¡±


    ¡°Oh, for fucks sake,¡± Sydney sighed in mock-complaint, giving her friend an exasperated look, ¡°do you think of nothing else?¡±


    ¡°The day you stop yapping about all those weirdo boys, I¡¯ll stop pestering you about Samurai,¡± Leah retorted in annoyance.


    Nia and Zuri both broke up in laughter, much to Sydney¡¯s chagrin. Everyone present knew that that would be an impossibility. Even I couldn¡¯t suppress a faint smile of amusement.


    ¡°Just because you are too gay to appreciate a handsome man, doesn¡¯t mean I can¡¯t enjoy myself,¡± Sydney replied haughtily.


    ¡°Yeah, but guys are fucking weird. All that talk about cars and guns and games and stuff, doesn¡¯t that get old?¡± Nia firmly sided with Leah, earning herself a glare from Sydney. Which she, of course, ignored.


    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t start generalising now,¡± Zuri chastised, ¡°There are plenty of guys who aren¡¯t like that.¡±


    ¡°Sure, but those aren¡¯t the ones Syd is talking about. Also, don¡¯t you start picking sides now. We all know that you are even more indecisive than either of us,¡± Nia shot back.


    ¡°I¡¯m not indecisive!¡± Zuri defended herself indignantly. ¡°I just appreciate both sides.¡±


    They were interrupted in their bickering, when one of the waiters made his way over. He was a handsome young man, probably around my age, maybe a year or two older, wearing a work uniform that very much fit the rest of the restaurant in terms of style. It gave him a strangely fitting sort of gentlemen-like look, especially with his carefully styled hair and the well groomed goatee.


    What surprised me the most, though, was that he didn¡¯t look like he wanted to jump off the next skyscraper. I felt almost stupid even thinking it, but it almost looked like he enjoyed the job. That could mean three things, generally. Either the place was far better than I would¡¯ve given them credit for, which was generally highly unlikely. The man was a massive masochist, in which case, more power to him, I guess. Or he was a bit mentally damaged. I couldn¡¯t quite decide yet which one was more likely.


    ¡°Welcome, ladies. What can I get for you today?¡± His voice was pleasant and his smile seemed genuine.


    The others didn¡¯t seem to notice his suspiciously good mood, just giving the man our orders. Sydney almost jumped up and down in her seat, rattling off a long list of instructions, while Leah and Nia just gave the bare minimum needed. He noted everything down in an old school notebook, something I could very much get behind. Nothing beats a proper pen and paper. Once everyone was done, he gave us a wave and wandered off.


    Before the good man had even taken three steps, the group had already descended into yet another discussion about inane things that I couldn¡¯t give any less of a crap about if I tried. I still kept one ear on it, just in case they wanted something from me, but otherwise, I focused more on the nice view. The lake did make for a pleasant sight, even if it was obviously artificial. There were even some ducks there, which was a bit of a rarity. With most animals having died out in the last thirty odd years, having vat cloned ones around was generally reserved for the rich and influential. To see them here made me question just what all of this had cost, and why we weren¡¯t charged ten, or even hundred times the price.


    ¡°Say, Yurei, what¡¯s your opinion on this?¡± Sydney¡¯s question ripped me out of my daydreams, and I turned to them, mentally replaying the last couple of comments to catch up.


    It was about boys, again. Great.


    ¡°I don¡¯t really care for either,¡± I said curtly, not really interested to get involved.


    ¡°See? You¡¯re outnumbered,¡± Leah told Sydney with nearly a cheer.


    ¡°She didn¡¯t say that she¡¯s on your side either,¡± Sydney shot back, pointing with one finger like a weapon.


    ¡°Yes, but it¡¯s two and a half against one and a half,¡± Leah grinned. ¡°That means you¡¯re outnumbered.¡±


    ¡°What, I¡¯m only worth half a point?¡± Zuri¡¯s voice was full of mock-hurt.


    ¡°Well, you are in both camps, so it¡¯s either half a point for each side, or a full point for each side,¡± Nia shrugged, obviously pleased with herself. ¡°Either way, we outnumber Syd.¡±


    ¡°Can we just talk about something else,¡± Sydney muttered, put off just a little.


    ¡°You were the one to bring it up,¡± Nia pointed out.


    ¡°Yeah, yeah. Fuck¡¯s sake,¡± Sydney turned away, signalling the end of that topic.


    The conversation drifted to other things, mostly school related. And to nobody¡¯s surprise, Sydney was the one to bring up the topics of boys again. I stopped paying attention.


    Our food arrived relatively soon after, the sight of the man balancing six plates, plus a tray of drinks like it was nothing, quite impressive. No time was wasted, the moment the plates hit the desk we all dug in. The scent alone had been heavenly already, but combine that with the taste? I wouldn¡¯t have expected half the quality for the price.


    Honestly, it made me question how this place was even staying in business. The ingredients alone would probably already cover most of the cost for the pizza we paid. If you added that to the cut they¡¯d have to pay the park, however big it might be, plus the labour of the chef and the waitstaff, I wasn¡¯t quite sure how they managed to make any profit.


    But I didn¡¯t smell anything out of the ordinary. Nor could I taste chemicals, poisons, or anything else. It was just a good pizza. Oh well. I wasn¡¯t about to complain about cheap, good food, and really, it wasn¡¯t my problem how they made their money.


    I ate in silence, more or less ignoring the chatter from the others. None of it was of any interest to me, but given the situation, I didn¡¯t really mind either. Friends were not something I had a lot of, and in the past three years I had learned to enjoy the company of those that I could be at least reasonably sure I could trust. At least to an extent.


    Not to mention that any moment shared with Zuri was a moment worth remembering.


    I lost myself in that thought, enjoying the good food and the semi-good weather. Even if the sun wasn¡¯t out, it wasn¡¯t raining at least. The lake smelled surprisingly semi-clean and the soft breeze had just enough chill in it to be almost hypnotising, sending my black hair into a soft dance on the wind.


    I idly thought that I might need to cut it again. By this point it was starting to reach past my shoulders. And while I liked my hair, I didn¡¯t want it too long. That could be a problem in a combat situation, one that could prove deadly.


    Lost in my idle contemplations, I almost missed the subtle change. Almost.


    During my training I learned to interpret the world around me in various ways. There were a lot of different signs for various different things, and once you started to pay attention to them, it was quite easy to get a good idea of what was going on without even seeing it.


    This attention to detail allowed me to be very aware of even the smallest of changes in my surroundings. Quite often sight was the first sense that was tripped, although hearing could also be the first indicator. Touch was rarely the thing that alerted me to something, and if it did I would typically have to react a lot faster.


    This time it was a scent that caught my attention. It was a subtle thing, hidden beneath the cacophony of the park around us. Just as silence had a sound, the stale environment could also have a smell, and this one didn¡¯t fit. Neither the park, nor the city around us. In a way, it didn¡¯t seem to belong to anything on this planet. As if it was alien. At the same time, it had that very familiar quality of freshly cut grass.


    My hand stopped, halfway towards my mouth, the slice of pizza it held forgotten.


    I couldn¡¯t hear any lawnmower or other machinery at work. There were no signs of children playing on the grass nearby that might be the source of the scent. I also couldn¡¯t find any indication for old grass storage, compost, or anything of the variety. And even then, the scent was much too fresh.


    There was only one other thing that had this scent. Something I haven¡¯t smelled before myself yet, but one that was infamous for it. The antithesis.


    Alarm bells began to ring in my head, and I began to look around more closely, my posture shifting, my body tensing. I hadn¡¯t felt any indication of danger before, but right now, I was certain that something was going to happen. And soon.


    Before I could voice my concerns, the world around us shifted and changed.


    A loud crack rang out, and then the sky darkened, an eerie red gloom settling over everything. Looking up I found four tears in the sky, leading into total blackness. And through them came dozens, maybe hundreds of big hulking masses of alien flesh.


    At around the exact same time a number of pings rang out in my augs, and my HUD, something I usually kept clear of anything, displayed a large box, bold red letters running across it.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    INCURSION DETECTED!


    Please remain calm and make your way to the nearest shelter immediately!


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    My blood ran cold. The world around me seemed to stop. My mind went into overdrive, immediately assessing the situation. My eyes locked onto one of the blobs of alien flesh hurtling towards the ground, coming straight for this park.


    ¡°Fuck¡­¡±

 Chapter 3 - Once more into the breach

    ¡°In the unlikely event of an antithesis incursion, visitors of the Neu D¨¹sseldorf Gedenkpark Rheinwiesen are kindly provided public shelters at each entrance to the park. This was done in collaboration with the Nachtw?chternetzwerk, as well as the city of Neu D¨¹sseldorf. The placement of these shelters was done in accordance to all relevant regulations, to ensure that all visitors will have ample time to reach them in case of emergency. To ensure timely arrival, we advise all visitors to follow the basic guidelines to shelters that are provided at the entrance. Should you have questions or concerns, you can reach us¡­¡±


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Sign in front of Neu D¨¹sseldorf Gedenkpark Rheinwiesen¡¯s antithesis shelters, 2050</li>


    </ul>


    With my gaze fixed on the chaos above me, time seemed to slow, my mind going into overdrive, trying to come up with a plan.


    Zuri and I were a good bit away from the nearest shelter. It was near the entrance of the park, a walk of at least fifteen minutes, ten if we rushed it. We also had others with us, others that would be entirely left to their own devices. Others who couldn¡¯t fight, probably never held a weapon in their entire life.


    Despite the fact that it had been four years since I last had to fight, my training came back to me instantly. My body relaxed, my stance shifted. Memories ran through my mind, every lesson I ever learned, every slight movement I had perfected over the course of my life. Every last little detail on what to do and how to act. It all came back to me in less than a moment.


    It was as if the four years I spent living a calm and normal life hadn¡¯t even existed.


    I stood, my senses sharp. Ignoring the chaos that broke out around me, I focused every last bit of attention on the alien mass coming towards us, and any potential escape routes. My right hand went to my belt, looking for a weapon that was not there. That was a problem.


    Despite my lack of weapons, I felt surprisingly calm. After the unabiding restlessness that had been my constant companion over the last couple of years, I almost felt at home in this situation. It worried me a little, but it wasn¡¯t something that I could afford to think about right now.


    Okay, I need a plan. What are my options?


    My first priority would be to find a weapon. That was my biggest problem at the moment. Of course, I wasn¡¯t entirely without tools. The silverware on the table, the table itself, or even the chairs, could all do the job in a pinch. Improvised weapons had never been my forte, but I could use them if needed. Given the situation, though, I wanted something more suitable.


    Once I had that, I needed to figure out where the antithesis would land. Without proper weapons, I wasn¡¯t all too confident in killing them, which meant that I had to plan around avoiding them as much as I could. Oh, I¡¯d be able to fight them off sufficiently if I was on my own. But with Zuri to keep an eye on, and all the chaos the antithesis always brought with them, that just wasn¡¯t something I was willing to risk with only a couple of forks and furniture at my disposal.


    That meant that open combat was not an option. Antithesis physiology was different from that of a human, and without the right tool for the job, killing them before they could hurt someone would be tricky. Really, the only reliable method I had available to me in an open brawl would be blunt force trauma. Crack their skull open and kill them that way, but that was easier said than done. These things were surprisingly tough.


    My best shot would be an ambush. If I could get the drop on them, killing them would be much easier. The most common antithesis model was the model Three. They had a three-jawed face and two eyes, stacked on top of each other. Through those you could reach what passed for their brain. A long, sturdy knife would be enough to kill one, as long as you could guarantee the hit. And therein lies the trick. The best way to ensure that would be a surprise attack.


    Zuri¡¯s safety was my highest priority. I had sworn to myself to keep her, and the rest of her family safe. My family, I reminded myself. The question was, how I could manage that, and what I should do with the others.


    They very likely weren¡¯t prepared for any of this, and while in the past I wouldn¡¯t hesitate to leave them behind, to sacrifice them¡­ I couldn¡¯t do that. I¡¯ve killed too many innocent people already, I didn¡¯t need more blood on my hands.


    Not to mention that Zuri would never forgive me. She had saved me, she had found me when I had a barrel in my mouth and the finger on the trigger. She was the only reason I was even here. Zuri had done so much for me, even convincing her parents to adopt me when I had no home to return to.


    I could not repay all she had done for me with betrayal. And leaving them behind, or worse, sacrificing them to ensure our safety, that would be a betrayal in her eyes.


    Stop thinking like this, Yurei! Get your bloody act together! How can you get them all out without anyone dying?


    Mentally going over the map I had memorised, I thought about all the different routes I had available to me. From the trajectory of the antithesis pods, I was sure that the majority of them would miss this part of town. Probably even the park entirely. But there was at least one that would land a lot closer, and from my current vantage point it was impossible to guess where exactly they¡¯d come down. Antithesis would spread out fast, they never stopped, never slept.


    Their scouts were quick and ruthless. Even on their own they were able to pose a significant threat to anyone without any training. And once they got a group together, they¡¯d simply drown you in bodies. I might be able to kill them one on one, but the others certainly wouldn¡¯t.


    Luckily the shelter wasn¡¯t too far, even if it wasn¡¯t as close as I would have liked. We couldn¡¯t afford to waste even a moment. Four routes were available to get the whole group to the shelter. It wasn¡¯t much in terms of a plan. Really, it barely reached the bare minimum of what I considered a hasty retreat. But with my decision to try and save the others, I couldn¡¯t use my normal backup plans, nor did I have time to go into further detail.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    By the time my internal dialogue finally ran down, a tentative plan made, the others had just begun to scream in panic. Keeping myself calm, I glanced over at Zuri. She was staring at me with wide eyes, panic and worry obvious. Yet, underneath all of that, I also found a plea for help. I nodded minutely, letting her know that I¡¯d keep her safe. Keep them all safe.


    Turning to the others, I found them much like Zuri.


    ¡°Up. Now,¡± I ordered, voice calm and brooking no argument.


    I didn¡¯t like dealing with people. I was no leader, I was a pawn, a tool. A weapon. My purpose was to kill those that I was told to, to not ask questions, to not disobey. I had a job, and I had to do it well.


    But none of them would have any idea what to do on a battlefield. It was up to me to deal with this mess.


    Instinctively my right hand went to my left forearm, feeling for the familiar scars hidden beneath my shirt. Remnants of my life before Zuri had found me, a record of all I had done wrong. Thirteen tally marks were etched into my skin, cut into my flesh by my own blade.


    I had killed a lot of people in my time, more than I could count. And many of them had deserved their fate. But some hadn¡¯t. Thirteen souls had been victims at my hand, killed for no other reason than the orders of the Clan. They hadn¡¯t deserved to die, yet I had killed them regardless. Those thirteen lives were my sins. I would not allow any more marks to be added to this collection.


    I didn¡¯t like it, but I would have to take charge here. If I didn¡¯t, more would die. And it would be my responsibility.


    ¡°Zuri¡±, I said, my voice sounding alien, even to me, ¡°Collect the others, organise them. We need to move and we need to move fast. Get everyone ready to head back to the shelter.¡±


    Turning to Cori, I gave her a glance. The woman was looking at me with wide eyes, her skin as pale as snow. ¡°Cori, you¡¯re responsible for communications. Try to get into touch with anyone, no matter who. Tell them to head to the shelter, and to make it fast.¡±


    I didn¡¯t wait for any questions. With quick, but precise, steps I made my way towards the restaurant, dodging and weaving around the panicking masses. I doubted anyone here had a gun or a knife that I could use, so my best bet would be the kitchen.


    While I walked, I kept a close eye on the situation. Zuri was the first to respond, and she took my words to heart, immediately getting to work. I dismissed the chaos from my mind, focusing on the next steps. I needed a weapon, and then I needed to check where the pods landed.


    A few of them had hit the ground already, although none in our immediate vicinity. It would only take a few more moments longer, though.


    Arriving at the kitchen, I weaved past a group of terrified cooks and kitchen staff, slipping past them with an almost casual ease. Even from here I had a good view outside, although not good enough to keep perfect track of the antithesis drop pods. I would¡¯ve loved to stay outside and watch them, but I didn¡¯t have the time.


    Finding an array of kitchen knives in all shapes and sizes, I took a moment to go through them. I found two, neither perfect, but they would be sufficient. It had to be enough.


    A small rumble went through the ground, and I could hear an impact from outside. Not close, but also not far enough for me to be comfortable. The aliens probably had just landed. Hopefully we would still have a clear path, otherwise I¡¯d have to make one.


    Someone was screaming at me, although I didn¡¯t pay attention. Not looking at the irate man, I dodged past him, making my way outside again. If my mental count was correct, less than a minute had passed since the warning. Zuri had managed to wrangle most of those present to group up, although it was clear that it was not an easy task.


    One of the older men in the establishment joined her, trying to get some order into the chaos. Between the two of them it seemed to work well enough. I just hoped that they¡¯d remain calm enough until we reached the shelter.


    The air outside had changed slightly. There was no smell of blood yet, but the scent of freshly cut grass was sharply increasing in intensity by the moment. As I had thought, one of the pods had to have come down relatively close, a couple hundred meters at most. Debris was still raining down, dust and dirt being blown up by the impact.


    In the distance I could hear gunfire, which wasn¡¯t too surprising. The city had a few AA turrets installed all around, a number of PMC¡¯s always on standby. It was standard procedure these days, although it was never enough to stop an incursion entirely. That was the job of Samurai, and we didn¡¯t have any of those with us right now.


    I grimaced. This job wouldn¡¯t be easy, but I had to do my best.


    Screams and shouts alerted me, and my head snapped towards the direction it was coming from. There was a group of people coming towards us from deeper within the park. They were loud and panicked, and it took only a glance for me to identify Leon and his pack. As if the day couldn¡¯t get any worse.


    With a scowl I hid myself behind the corner of the restaurant, unwilling to engage with them in any capacity. Instead, I focused back on the pod that had impacted further away. It cut off three of the four routes I had prepared, and even the last one would be a gamble. But I didn¡¯t have other options. The only other shelter was on the opposite side of the park, and that was far too long a trek. Even if they didn¡¯t have an antithesis pod come down nearby, the aliens would certainly spread out too fast for us to get there in time.


    Leon and his crew ran inside, shouting all the way. The moment they crossed the threshold, I made my way over the row of bushes surrounding the place, careful to stay downwind. From here I had a slightly better view, but nothing that helped me see what the aliens were up to. They were there, I could hear them in the distance. Strangely silent, all I could make out was the clacking of their claws on the bricks, but it was enough.


    I couldn¡¯t be quite sure what direction they were taking, there was far too much chaos for that. All I could do was hope that they¡¯d keep away from us long enough to sneak past.


    A minute or so later, footsteps approached me. I didn¡¯t have to turn to know it was Zuri, I would recognise her pace any day. Giving her a glance, I found her looking quite pale, although she did put on a tough front. She always did.


    ¡°We¡¯re ready¡­ I think.¡± Her voice was a soft whisper, a light tremble audible.


    ¡°Good. I¡¯ll send you a route, follow it closely. Keep to the path and don¡¯t deviate unless necessary. We can¡¯t afford to take a more direct path, not with the antithesis this close by.¡±


    My sister nodded, her hands shaking ever so slightly. She was just about to say something, when I heard movement coming from the bushes, and my head snapped toward it. That didn¡¯t sound like people. And the growing scent of freshly cut grass only supported that theory.


    Damn¡­ They were too close. We wouldn¡¯t be able to get everyone out of here without them noticing. I took a small breath, knowing exactly what I had to do.


    ¡°Get them moving, now. I¡¯ll distract the aliens, then follow after,¡± I told her in a hushed tone.


    ¡°Yurei¡­¡± Zuri¡¯s voice was just short of breaking.


    ¡°We don¡¯t have time, Zuri, move!¡± Maybe I was a bit too aggressive, but I just didn¡¯t have the time to discuss it.


    She hesitated for only a moment, before I could hear her hurrying away. Again, I took a breath, preparing myself. This wasn¡¯t going to be easy, but I didn¡¯t have much of a choice.


    Getting up from behind the bushes, I gripped the two knives.


    I¡¯ve done a lot of bad in my life. Maybe today I had the chance to do some good.

 Chapter 4 - Man-eating monsters

    ¡°[Sounds of shuffling paper. Anika Lynne turns to the camera.] ¡°So, Dys. In your opinion, which of the antithesis are the most dangerous for normal people?¡°


    [Cut to image of model Three¡¯s taken during an incursion. AI Dys speaks over the image] ¡°All antithesis are dangerous to normal people. But, to answer the question you really meant to ask, among the models any average human will encounter, the model Three is decidedly the most dangerous. For a variety of reasons.¡±


    [Cut back to Annika Lynne sitting in the studio. She smiles softly.] ¡°What sort of household items could our viewers use to defend themselves against Model Threes then, if they need to? I¡¯d think kitchen knives would be useful, maybe a chair as well?¡±


    [Cut to another image of model Three¡¯s. This one shows them being torn apart by the valiant efforts of the Kamikatze International Security Service Private Military Corporation.] ¡°I highly doubt that your average kitchen knife would be useful against a model Three. Instead, I would highly suggest purchasing a firearm. If such is not a possibility, a subpar alternative would be keeping a sturdy metal rod of at least a meter in length close by.¡±


    [Cut back to Annika Lynne. She nods in understanding.] ¡°A very good point. In this case, perhaps our viewers would like to get into contact with ShootEmUp Inc., your one-stop-shop for firearms and personal protection. Don¡¯t wait for the next incursion to hit your home city, go to their website now and choose your next weapon to defend yourself with. With the code GoodMorningNorth5 you can get 5% off on all hand held firearms. Only ¡®til next Tuesday, so you better hurry!¡±


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Interview between Good Morning North America Host Anika Lynne and Dys, an unknown Samurai¡¯s AI, 2049</li>


    </ul>


    My best bet would be to jump whatever came through the underbrush. With my knives at the ready, one held straight, the other in a backhand grip, I quickly walked towards the edge of the bushes. My steps were quiet, precise, doing my best to keep my weight off of my feet.


    Even with my sharp eyes, I wasn¡¯t able to see past the dense foliage. All I could rely on was my sense of smell and my hearing. Readying myself, I waited, one knife ready to strike, the other held in preparation to defend. Neither weapon was enough for me to be comfortable, but it was all I had. Banishing those thoughts, I immersed myself in my breathing.


    Zuri and the older man had just started to get everyone moving, when the strange face of a model Three pierced through the greenery. Without any hesitation I struck, aiming for its eyes. My knife found its target, burying itself deep. Alien goo gushed out of the wound, the scent of freshly cut grass overpowering everything else. I didn¡¯t linger, pulling the blade out again, aiming for the second one before the alien had any time to react.


    Once more I struck true, the familiarity of the motion helping me keep calm. Even with both its eyes now useless, it wasn¡¯t dead yet. I hadn¡¯t been able to get my blades deep enough to pierce its brain. Without hesitation, I pounced the thing, pushing it to the ground. If I couldn¡¯t reach the brain, I had to try a more old-fashioned trick. Antithesis didn¡¯t have quite the same circulatory systems humans had, but they too could bleed out. It took a bit longer, but it was a possibility.


    With one swift motion, my blade snaked its way under the Threes writhing head. The cut wasn¡¯t perfect, sadly, there was too much movement. Even weakened like this, antithesis were strong, basically all muscle. That said, I did manage to wound it, and that gave me the opening I needed to try again.


    Again my knife cut into its flesh, the blade sinking deep into the side of the M3''s neck. I pulled for all I was worth, trying to overcome the thick skin and strong muscles. The model Three was thrashing, trying to get free, but I didn¡¯t stop. After a moment, my efforts paid off. Something gave way, and the side of its neck was forced open. More alien goo splattered to the ground, gushing like a fountain. Just to be sure, I pulled the knife out again, plunging it into the top most eye once more. This time it sunk in deeper.


    Frantic throws became desperate shudders. It wasn¡¯t quite dead yet, but it wouldn¡¯t get up again, I was certain of that. Leaving the alien be, I got back to my feet again, already looking for more threats.


    There had to be a second one, at least, probably more. The sounds of rustling made that very clear. Taking one step to the left, I prepared myself to strike again. A moment later another alien face broke through the foliage, alerted by the death of its brethren. It was only half a pace off from my estimate and I didn¡¯t waste any time. My blade struck true, and this time I was lucky. It dug deep, killing the thing almost instantly.


    Sparing only a moment, I checked if there were more about to jump me. From the sound of things, this was the last one on this side of the plaza. I could hear more coming already, but they were on the opposite side of the open area. Glancing at the others, I found the group was rushing away, Zuri trailing after them, eyes locked onto me.


    I didn¡¯t have any time to wait. With the direction the wind was blowing, the newcomers would definitely smell the large group. I had to do something to make sure that that didn¡¯t happen.


    ¡°Don¡¯t wait for me!¡± I yelled after the group, mostly to Zuri.


    There was no way they would be able to outrun the man-eating monsters. These things were fast, much faster than your average human. I had to distract them. And there was only one way I could think of that would accomplish that definitively.


    Turning away from the group, I brought my still clean blade towards my upper arm, slicing through my shirt and my flesh. Kitchen knives weren¡¯t meant to stab, they were meant to cut, and these things weren¡¯t of low quality. I almost didn¡¯t feel it.


    Utilising my training, I made the cut shallow, but wide, encouraging blood flow without wounding myself too much. Hopefully the strong scent of blood and the lingering smell of the dead antithesis would overshadow Zuri and the others. I knew that antithesis had a strong sense of smell, and I gambled on the fact that they would focus on that more than hearing or eyesight.


    Close by, something broke out of the underbrush. Two model Threes made their way out of the greenery, quickly followed by another one. Before I could even react to their arrival, another trio joined them. Six antithesis were five more than I was comfortable with, but I didn¡¯t have much of a choice here. Without any other option, I started to run towards the building and away from the group.


    Despite the situation, I allowed myself a last glance in Zuri¡¯s direction. They were just vanishing around the bend leading towards the shelter, my sister still trailing after the rest of the group. Leah and Nia were dragging her away and even from here I could see the tears in her eyes.


    A knot formed in my stomach. I knew that my chances of getting out of here were slim. I would very likely die. Even with all my training, I was out of weapons and had to deal with more antithesis than I¡¯d be comfortable with when fully geared up. But I¡¯d be damned if I didn¡¯t make it as hard as possible for those overgrown weeds.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    Banishing all my thoughts and worries, I focused entirely on the flow of combat, immersing myself in it. Everything else just didn¡¯t matter anymore. With the group of aliens on my tail, I quickly ran towards the opposite side of the building, right into the outside seating area.


    The system by which it was built was meant to ensure that nothing was in the way. Tables, chairs, and flower pots placed with just enough distance to enable anyone to comfortably walk through it all. But, as was the case with a lot of things, if you did something wrong enough, the design often worked against the original purpose.


    Rushing past the first couple tables, I knocked over a few of the chairs. Of course, it wouldn¡¯t make for a perfect barrier, but just making it hard for the aliens to keep up was enough for my purposes. And it worked. The first M3 rushed head first into the chaos, quickly vanishing under a cacophony of furniture, getting buried in the chaos. It wouldn¡¯t kill the thing, but it was a distraction. And I could use every last advantage I could get.


    Another one was right behind me, and I could hear the scratching of its claws on the ground the moment it jumped for me, just as I was running past a large table. Without stopping I let myself drop, going into a sideways roll, pulling my arms close, blades held to the outside. The alien landed where I would have been two steps later, while I rolled under the table, bunching my muscles and jumping back to my feet. With a solid kick, I sent it crashing into the M3. To my surprise it was actually quite solid.


    Close behind it, a third joined the fight, jumping onto the table that I just used to bludgeon its brethren, and crushing the alien beneath. It wasn¡¯t enough to kill it, but it would certainly be wounded. I took a step to the side, evading the lunge, using the momentum of the rotation to cut along the aliens side. My goal had been to cut the muscles along its shoulders, and while it wasn¡¯t perfect, I did manage to hit something important. Alien goo splattered onto the ground, and I had to take yet another step to avoid slipping.


    The two antithesis were disoriented for just a moment, the second one obviously having trouble moving as quickly as it could before. I abused that immediately, of course. Stabbing it again as I walked past, I left a deep cut on the back of its neck. Not enough to kill, but to wound and further confuse. And it did the trick.


    Now with a bit of headroom, I left the M3s behind, dashing over to the corner of the building just in front of me. I couldn¡¯t afford to run away yet, we were still too close to the others, but I could break the line of sight to give myself another advantage. Holding out one hand, I took the corner far sharper than I would normally be able to, which was a bit awkward while holding a knife.


    Before I had even rounded it fully, I jumped, estimating to find another table there if they kept to the system. And my guess was proven to be correct, even if I¡¯d been off by roughly half a meter. No matter, I still managed to slide off the edge of the table without stumbling or having to slow down. Landing on the ground once more, I used the momentum to kick back slightly, sending the table slowly tumbling over.


    A crash rang out from behind me, letting me know that my pursuers had also come around the corner. They had been less prepared for the furniture waiting for them, though. I couldn¡¯t stop to check, so all I could do was hope that my plan had worked and the leading xeno found itself underneath the table I had sent in their direction.


    Again I tried to break the immediate line of sight, jumping over one of the bushes that were decorating the place, a few flowers artfully placed within. Rolling myself off, it wasn¡¯t much time the aliens couldn¡¯t see me, but it would add up. I could still hear the claws on the ground, making their way closer, but between all the obstacles, and my best attempts to confuse them, they were not as close as they had been before.


    Rushing over to the door, I kept an eye on events from the corner of my vision. At the last second before I arrived at the entrance, I suddenly stopped, taking a quick step to the left. The alien that had tried to jump me flew past, right into the corner of the wall. The thump was very satisfying, and it seemed out of it for a moment. A moment too long. With a quick and well trained motion, I buried my knife in its eye twice, the second thrust killing it instantly.


    The only downside was that the second thrust had broken the knife, over three quarters of the blade stuck in the skull, with the handle now broken off. That wasn¡¯t good. Hopefully I could find something else to use for a weapon.


    Dropping the handle, I stepped into the building, immediately keeping to the right to break line of sight yet again. It allowed me a moment¡¯s respite.


    The inside of the building was surprisingly clean and orderly, despite the earlier panic. Generally that was great, but right now I needed some obstacles. One after the other I began to topple tables as I made my way past them, not quite barricading the back entrance but making it harder to get through.


    Might suck if I needed to get out there in a hurry, but I didn¡¯t exactly have a slew of options at the moment. And my plan did work, the next M3 that ran inside managed to entangle itself between a couple chairs and a desk, making quite the noise. The one after had more luck, sadly.


    I was prepared for the lunge, stepping to the side, trying to slice open its neck as it flew past, but my plan didn¡¯t work perfectly. It landed, turning before I had time to pounce it myself, and jumped me again. My stance hadn¡¯t fully recovered yet, which made evading a suboptimal choice, and so I punched it, aiming for its throat.


    The hit wasn¡¯t perfect, but it was enough to allow me to take a step back. And while the M3 wasn¡¯t really hurt, it was disoriented. I capitalised on that by kicking it in the face as hard as I could. The thump was satisfying, but again, it didn¡¯t really wound the alien much. Switching my knife hand, I pounced, just as it was about to turn back to me again.


    My knife found its eye and sunk in. Then I was the one surprised when it more or less ignored the attack, jumping me. In a desperate attempt to shield myself, I left the blade where it was, holding out my arms in front of me. I would¡¯ve screamed in pain if the air wasn¡¯t pushed out of my lungs, its claws leaving painful gashes in my flesh.


    Knowing that trying to resist the fall would be worse than to take it, I let it push me over, rolling myself off my back, and kicking my legs out. I didn¡¯t quite hit the angle I was going for, but it was enough, the momentum carrying through my outstretched legs and sending the M3 backwards and over itself. Those fucks were damn heavy!


    It stumbled and I barely managed to roll to the side when it finally crashed to the ground, but I wasn¡¯t without injury. Even if I might have destabilised the aliens¡¯ pounce, it had sharp fangs and some had managed to get into my arms. I wasn¡¯t out of the fight yet, but it hurt like a motherfucker and would certainly not help much either.


    We were both scrambling to get back on our feet, but I was faster. Grabbing the knife still stuck in its eye, I pulled it back and plunged it back in, first once, then twice, then one final time, before the damn thing finally died.


    The sounds of something crashing into more furniture alerted me to a third M3 running into the building, and the first was nearly done untangling itself from the mess on the ground. I tried getting the knife back out, but something was stuck, and when I pulled harder the second blade also broke.


    Fuck!


    With no weapon remaining, my best bet was the counter. Not wasting a moment, I made my way over, eyes scanning for anything useful. The only thing in my immediate reach was an old school cast iron frying pan, more decoration than anything from the looks of things. But it seemed sturdy enough and that was all that mattered.


    Behind me I could hear the clacking of claws, and I turned, pan already swinging. It hit the first Three that had come through, now finally untangled from the table, and smashed its face in full force.


    A loud crunching sound resonated through the room, and something inside its skull gave way. There was no doubt about its death, it simply slumped, stopping nearly dead. Three out of six, far better than I would¡¯ve thought. No time to dilly dally, though.


    I got some brief respite, only a few seconds, but it was enough for me to turn and grab a big lid to use as a shield. Not something I used a lot before, but I was trained in it, and right now some defence was sorely missed.


    Glancing towards the front windows, the only thing I could think about was Zuri. Hopefully she¡¯d be able to manage to get out. That was all that I really cared about right now.

 Chapter 5 - From Sinner to Samurai

    ¡°Hey Siggy. D¡¯you know why the boss always gets twitchy when one of the guards is late to check in?¡±


    ¡°A¡¯course I do, ya dumbass. Didn¡¯t nobody ever tell you about that shit what went down a few years back? It was that damn Ghostrunner kid. Fucker kept comin¡¯ onto our turf and eighty six¡¯n folk. We only got one vid on him, and guy was scary as hell. You wouldn''t even know folks was dead ¡®til it was all over with. Shit, got to the point where any time someone didn''t check in we went lookin¡¯ to see how many folks been knifed.¡±


    ¡°Dang man, how many guys did it take to catch ¡®im?¡±


    ¡°Man, we didn¡¯t ever catch the kid. One day it was just over, nobody else was dead. Think the boss made some deal, probably a corpo. Hell, maybe even one of those damn Samurai. All I know is one day, poof, he was gone. Like a damn Ghost.¡±


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Overheard Conversation between two members of the Motor Runners MC outside of Mega City New LA</li>


    </ul>


    The last M3 still in the building didn¡¯t give me much time to prepare. With a powerful leap it skipped over its dead brethren, aiming straight for me. I swung the pan, hitting it straight in the side of the head. The hit didn¡¯t kill it, but it sent the thing stumbling.


    Not far behind it, the next one came rushing through the door, quickly followed by the last of the ones I had gotten the attention of. This was the wounded one, and it was limping heavily. Good, at least that meant I would have a slightly easier time.


    Before I had time to reposition or look for a better weapon, the last unwounded Three came rushing towards me, the one I had smacked also quickly recovering. It left me in a very tricky spot, having to defend against two at the same time. The lid helped, although by far not as much as I would have liked.


    Both aliens reached me at roughly the same time. Banking on my ability to block the weaker attacker, I swung the pan into the direction of the newcomer, managing to hit it with the edge straight across the head. It didn¡¯t stop, its momentum too great, but I at least managed to divert its attack. And I had to have wounded it at least a little, alien goo sticking to my impromptu weapon.


    The second one pushed into me, and I let it, not wanting to end in a situation where I¡¯d have to fight its strength with my own. That was a fight I knew I couldn¡¯t win. Instead, I let it push past me, utilising the lid to keep the claws and fangs away from my flesh. Swinging the pan with the rotation, I smacked it again, although I hadn¡¯t managed to build up enough force to really hurt it.


    I was now standing next to the counter, both aliens behind it. It would allow them to push me into the open on their terms, and that was disadvantageous for me. Dropping the lid, but keeping the pan, I darted away from them, angling myself just enough to keep out of reach from the wounded one. The seating area still had a lot of tables and chairs, and both had turned out much sturdier than I would have thought. Something I could abuse.


    Because of the relative position of all combatants, the wounded alien reached me first. I didn¡¯t try any fancy tricks, just swinging the pan at it with as much force as I could muster. My strike wasn¡¯t as strong anymore, the wounds on my arms taking their toll, but it was still enough to flatten it to the ground. Before it could try to get up, I hit it again, then one last time to finally put it out of its misery.


    Four down, two to go. I might even survive this.


    The thought was laughable. At the moment my adrenaline was pumping, but I knew my body well. Even if I¡¯d be able to get out of this scrap without any more wounds, I wouldn¡¯t be able to keep it up long enough to rush after the group. At least not if they were as fast as I was hoping they¡¯d be. Too much blood loss. As helpful as my self-inflicted wound had been to get their attention, I was paying dividends for it now.


    No matter. I¡¯d still take down these stupid fucks.


    One of the aliens was slightly stumbling, probably hurt far more than I would have expected. The other seemed pretty fit, though, just angry. If they even could be angry. I didn¡¯t know, I never checked, nor was it part of my training, but it didn¡¯t matter.


    Stepping behind one of the tables, I threw it to the ground, using it as a makeshift barricade. The alien crashed right into it, pushing it closer to me. I tried to stop it, but it only worked partly according to plan, and I had to take a few steps back. Those steps cost me, when the alien snapped at me over the rim of the table.


    I tried to smack it with the pan, but the angle was awkward. In a moment of distraction, I didn¡¯t pull my hand back fast enough. Claws dug into my fingers, making me lose grip on the pan, and I screamed, unable to push it down.


    It clattered to the ground, the stupid shrub redoubling its efforts to get to me. I didn¡¯t have the strength to win a head to head against it, so I simply let it push. The table fell in my direction, the legs on its side slowly giving in, before they finally cracked. Throwing myself backwards, I just barely managed to keep myself underneath the table while the alien crashed into it.


    I could hear the remaining two table legs groaning in complaint at the weight, and I hurried to get out from under it. And not a moment too soon. I just barely managed to clear it, before it all came apart, and the table crumpled to the ground. With nothing else available, I grabbed a nearby chair, turning and swinging with the motion.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Again I found myself underneath an alien, a chair all that was between me and its maw and front claws. Its hind legs were unblocked, though, and they found purchase in my legs and sides. I grit my teeth, stars playing at the edge of my vision from the pain. With every last bit of strength I could still muster, I pushed back. It was just barely enough to force the damn thing to the side.


    I was in a lot of pain, but I still forced myself to get up, grabbing another chair with trembling hands. The aliens'' claws didn¡¯t immediately find purchase on the flat ground, and by the time it was getting up, I was already swinging the piece of furniture down on its head.


    It took four hits to crack its skull.


    The last alien was still tumbling, slowly coming closer. Whatever I had hit, it didn¡¯t seem to have full coordination of its limbs anymore. The problem was that I wasn¡¯t in the best of shapes either. Walking hurt like a motherfucker, and my arms were covered in scrapes and gashes. My right hand was wounded, and I could feel the blood leaking out from the cuts in my sides.


    With stumbling steps, my breath coming ragged, I made my way over to the last alien, carefully keeping my distance. I couldn¡¯t afford any more missteps.


    Sticking behind another of the big tables, I pushed it over. It took way more effort than it should have, but at least it worked. The M3 was still trying to get to me, not quick enough to dodge the wooden rectangle. With a crunch the table landed on top of it, trapping the stupid fuck underneath. Raising the chair in trembling hands, I smashed it into the aliens face again and again, until it finally lay still.


    The silence that followed was almost deafening. Breathing hurt, and I knew I was wounded pretty badly. The stench of blood and dead antithesis were all around. How long did I have before more of those things found me?


    The kitchen. I had to get to the kitchen. There should be a first aid kit there, maybe I can fix myself up enough to get out of here. It would at least be safer there than it was here. Maybe I could barricade myself in?


    Getting to my feet proved more difficult than I thought, and I stumbled, leaning onto another chair. Every step hurt more than the last, but I didn¡¯t stop, even if I wasn¡¯t able to suppress the groans of pain. Just a bit more. I could get there.


    Stepping through the doorway, I nearly collapsed against the kitchen counter. I could feel my strength leaving me, and I willed myself to stay upright. The first aid kit wasn¡¯t far, I could see it. I just had to get over there.


    Unable to keep myself upright any longer, I fell to the ground, groaning in complaint.


    Fuck.


    Over the many years of my training, I had long since learned to understand what ailed my body. It was an important skill to have for the life that I had lived. And right now, I could feel the blood seeping out of my wounds in rivulets.


    I knew I was done for. There was no way in hell someone would get to me before I bled out.


    That realisation was a lot less painful than I had expected. I had already stood at the precipice of death multiple times, most recently four years ago, when I had been ready to put a bullet through my brain. Zuri had found me just in time, able to convince me to give life another shot.


    In retrospect, I don¡¯t think I had the words I needed to convey how grateful I was for that. She had given me another chance, and with it, the four best years of my life that I could remember. Something I wouldn¡¯t have ever thought possible, and wasn¡¯t sure I even deserved.


    At least she would be safe. That was the only truth that mattered to me, the reason I had taken this massive risk. She and the others would be safe. Maybe I had managed to do some good before I went out after all.


    Bleeding out in some corner of some kitchen, somewhere within a pizza place in a park in some megacity, located in a country I wasn¡¯t born in, nor one I belonged to. Alone and left behind.


    Maybe this was the fate that I deserved. If it was¡­ I wouldn¡¯t complain. Hell or high water, I had done what I could to help Zuri and the others. Whatever fate awaited me, I could live with it.


    The only regret I had was being unable to visit the Kami shrines back home just one more time. I would have loved to show them to my new family. The only place from my memories that didn¡¯t have some bad emotion attached to it.


    With a pained smile, I sighed. My life sucked. I had done things I never wanted to. Committed Sins I never asked for, and only after I met Zuri had I truly felt happy. But at least I had gotten that chance, that glimpse at a future. That was enough for me.


    Something happened, a moment of pain. It was nearly lost to the cacophony of agony that was already ringing through me, and for a moment I thought this was it.


    System startup sequence initiated¡­


    Loading auxiliary systems¡­


    Personal security protocols engaged.


    Class XII Vanguard Communication Implant installed.


    Connection to Class XII Vanguard Personal Assistant AI established.


    Unit designation: ¦²-349672-445982-971012 STRYX


    User designation: Yurei Neylan


    Finalising uplink¡­


    Link integrity confirmed.


    System active.


    System initialised!


    Greetings, Ghostrunner. My name is Stryx, your new guide and personal assistant. I have chosen you as my new Vanguard, a Samurai, tasked with the protection of your species and the hunting of the invaders that threaten your planet¡¯s peace.


    It is my duty to prepare you for the challenges that are to come, to help you uplift your species, and to protect them from those that are determined to extinguish them.


    Rise, Yurei Neylan. Rise and become the silent blade in the dark, so that you may protect your species from the antithesis threat lurking around every corner.


    Words rang out, a soft voice that I didn¡¯t know. I was barely able to concentrate on anything that was said, mind light and muddled, but there was one word that stood out. And even though I was almost convinced that I was hallucinating, that word was enough to send a shiver down my spine.


    Your vitals show quite the extensive damage. Let us begin with healing the wounds you have suffered, shall we?

 Chapter 6 - A third chance at life

    ¡°Most people who follow Samurai often think of them as great heroes and idols. And sure, they often know that Samurai are scary powerful and are known to do certain things that would get the average citizen incarcerated for years, if not outright killed. But it would shock many of those same people to know that some Samurai are, or were, criminals, not rarely even before they were chosen. Why the protectors, or their AI, we still aren¡¯t sure who exactly selects them, don''t seem to mind uplifting outright murderers is unclear. Whatever the reason, the facts are indisputable and have been well known for quite some time.


    Take the Samurai Cocktail, for example. He was a convicted arsonist and murderer before he became a Samurai. Now, I¡¯m not saying that Samurai like Cocktail can''t become heroes. Evidently some, including him, did. What I am saying is that during this class I invite you to look at them as more than just Samurai.¡±


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Professor Jeremiah MacLeod, Princeton University, in his course ¡®Samurai 101¡¯, 2041</li>


    </ul>


    The voice was¡­ strange. It had a certain female sound to it, but also not, quiet and soft, like whispers. There was a certain flatness to it, not emotionless, simply artificial. The voice of an AI.


    What really shook me, though, was the name it had used to address me. And that, despite all the mess that I was in, was all I could focus on.


    Trying to work out just what the hell was going on, I tried to reply, but my body didn¡¯t want to obey me.


    Listing the entire extent of the damage to your system would take more time than you have remaining. If you do not wish to expire, I would request you trust me for the moment. As a Samurai you can procure items by spending points. To that end I would suggest you acquire the Class I Shadowstalker Utilities Catalogue. It is within your budget and features, amongst other things, various medical utilities suited to heal your current wounds, given some time. Outside of a more dedicated catalogue, such as the Class I Medical Utilities, it is by far your best and most efficient chance at survival, especially considering your profile. I am quite certain you will enjoy the rest of the repertoire available in the Class I Shadowstalker Utilities Catalogue, once you have overcome your current situation.


    At this moment you have 180 points available to you, 100 from the Samurai sign-up bonus, and 80 from the eight model Threes you have managed to eliminate. The catalogue itself would cost you 50 points. To actually deal with the damage currently plaguing you, I would recommend you purchase the Class I Nano-Regenerative Suite, as well as the Class I Hemo-Restore. Together they would cost you an additional 25 points.


    If you accept this purchase, please inform me. Your consent is required to finalise the transaction.


    Something about the voice calmed me. The subdued way it spoke, the way it carefully, but concisely, listed out all the important information, how it made sure to explain everything to me. The way it provided reasons for the recommendations; it made me feel like I could trust it.


    Or maybe it was just that it was a lifeline, and I was currently dying. My brain was muddled, and while I had made my peace with my fate, it would also be wrong to say that I was seeking death. If I had a chance then I would take it. Take it and survive. For Zuri, if nothing else. She¡¯d be very unhappy with me if I didn¡¯t.


    There was also the small matter of the name it had used to address me. The last time someone called me the Ghostrunner, I was sent on a mission that was doomed to fail from the start. And just thinking about that¡­ I wouldn¡¯t mind a chance to repay them for all they did to me.


    Making my choice, I nodded weakly. ¡°Yes,¡± I croaked out. My voice was far too weak, nearly inaudible, but it seems to have been enough.


    Very well.


    Class I Shadowstalker Utilities unlocked!


    Points reduced to: 130


    New purchase: Class I Nano-Regenerative Suite!


    Points reduced to: 110


    New purchase: Class I Hemo-Restore!


    Points reduced to: 105


    A moment later two boxes appeared next to my right hand. They looked sleek and dangerous, yet also strangely calming. Dark and with sharp corners, each came with a small line of text neatly printed in white blocky letters on the lid.


    In a way, they reminded me of my old equipment. A fact both soothing, because of the familiarity, but also terrifying, because of all the memories that they brought with it.


    They were roughly equal in size, the first labelled ¡®Nano-Regenerative Suite¡¯ and the second ¡®Hemo-Restore¡¯.


    Please open the Nano-Regenerative. Inside you will find an inhaler. Place it into your mouth and inhale deeply. It will be uncomfortable for a moment, so be warned.


    With an effort of will, I managed to give a weak nod, clumsily moving to open the box. It took some doing, my body felt like it didn¡¯t want to obey me. It was as if I was made of rubber, even the simplest motion seemed so impossibly hard. Everything complained with even the slightest movement. Eventually I managed to get it open, finding just what the voice had told me I would find inside.


    Taking the strange looking medical mask with a shaky hand, I brought it up to my lips. It took me two attempts to get the damn thing into my mouth, weakly clamping my jaws around it. Breathing was a lot harder than it should¡¯ve been, but after a moment of concentration, I was finally able to inhale the strange¡­ whatever it was.


    The warning was appreciated, for a moment it felt like I was inhaling burning acid, my throat complaining at the sensation. But I pushed it down with every last scrap of willpower I could muster. Luckily, the sensation didn¡¯t last long. The moment the mask was empty, the feeling vanished.


    With this, most of your wounds will start to heal. It will take a few minutes to fully take effect, I recommend not moving too much during this time. For now, please take the Hemo-Restore out of the second box and place it next to one of your more grievous wounds that you can reach.


    Doing as I was told, I fumbled the second box open, moving now being a bit easier. I felt strange, still in pain, but it was a bit more dull than it was before and I could feel something move around inside of me and fix things up. It reminded me of the emergency medical solutions I had to sometimes endure during my childhood when I came back from a mission in a much similar state.


    The box only held a small cylinder with an arrow denoting which way I had to put it onto my skin. I brought it up to my chest. With a bit of effort I raised my head and looked down at myself, thankful for once that I was almost as flat as a board. In my current position it allowed me a better view of my torso and my sides.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    The wounds were a gorey mess, blood slowly dribbling from deep gashes. It was already slowing, and even though I could see the wounds start to slowly heal, it was almost enough to make even me nauseous. And that was saying something.


    I pressed the cylinder next to the wound. A strange piercing feeling shot through me for a moment that wasn¡¯t quite pain, before the thing emptied almost instantly and I discarded it.


    Laying back, I took a few deep breaths. The lightheadedness slowly started to subside, enabling me to think a bit more clearly once more.


    For a moment, I wasn¡¯t sure what to do. I had so many questions, but I also had the others to worry about. I had been given a third chance at life, and I wasn¡¯t going to waste it. Taking another deep breath, I sorted my thoughts.


    My highest priority would be getting to the others and seeing if they were fine. Zuri¡¯s face came to mind, the tears running down her face as she was dragged around the bend and towards the shelter. Really, I was almost tempted to ignore the voice¡¯s warning and rush off already, but I knew that would be a very bad idea. And, considering what I knew about the healing capabilities of Samurai, it shouldn¡¯t take too long. While I could never confirm it, I was pretty sure that the Clan had gotten their hands on it somehow, and it was miraculous.


    Deep breaths. Remember your training, Yurei. Take it slow, take it measured. You know your body, and you know it needs the time. Use this time to gather information and to form a plan.


    It helped. As much as I hated just sitting here and waiting, I knew if I didn¡¯t things would be a whole lot worse. And I wouldn¡¯t be of any help to anyone if I just fucked up my recovery and died before I reached them, or was unable to fend off the aliens.


    Instead, I focused on what I could do, what I needed, and the one question that had been playing in the back of my mind ever since the voice first spoke to me.


    ¡°You know about my name¡­¡±


    I do indeed, yes. I know a lot about you, Yurei Neylan.


    ¡°What do you know, then?¡±


    As much as there is to know about you and the Ghostrunner. It is not a perfect recollection of your life, nor is it a complete one; many details had to be pieced together from various different sources. But I did take my time to find out as much as there is to find, to make sure that I had a proper handle on your personality. Your life is very different from most, but I am confident in my findings. Otherwise I would not have gone ahead with my selection process.


    I frowned, not liking the sound of that at all. Then again, it wasn¡¯t as if I had taken time out of my life to purge all that history. And they were a super powerful AI. If they spoke the truth about being a protector AI, anyway. Which I was inclined to believe, considering that they just teleported stuff to me.


    ¡°And you still selected me as a Samurai?¡±


    The thought alone was laughable. I was a criminal, a killer.


    A sinner.


    Yet, somehow, here I was. And despite all the alarm bells ringing in my head, the only thing that would explain my miraculous survival that made any sense, was the explanation that the voice had just given me. That I was, in fact, a Samurai.


    I did indeed. The reason for that was multifaceted, a mixture of a variety of factors; some to do with your combat proficiency, some with your past and history, some, of course, based upon your personality. Should we find ourselves with some time on our hands, we can go through the intricacies of the selection process, at least pertaining to your specific case.


    For the moment, let us focus on your current situation and the options you have available to you. You are aware of how Samurai work, yes?


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Everyone knew how Samurai worked. They killed antithesis and got points in return which they could spend to purchase a variety of items from the protectors. Of course, I also knew a bit more, considering that Leah was quite enamoured with Samurai. And since Zuri hung out with her often enough, I picked up a few things. Those details were not quite of importance to me right now, but I made a mental note to ask the voice about it later. To ask Stryx later, I reminded myself. They weren¡¯t just a voice.


    ¡°I need weapons. You can procure weapons, yes?¡±


    I can indeed, yes. You currently have 105 points remaining. With this you can afford a Class I weapons catalogue for smaller weapons. Considering your specific set of skills, I would recommend the Class I Shadowstalker Nullstrike Weaponry Catalogue, coming in at 50 points.


    The Shadowstalker line of catalogues all build upon each other and offer a quite extensive set of technologies that work very well with your particular skill set. The basis for them is the Class I Shadowstalker Utilities Catalogue, which is part of the reason I recommended it to you in the first place. There are a variety of other options available to you in the future, but for the moment they are not useful, not point efficient, or even affordable for you.


    Keeping one ear on Stryx, I kept my senses sharp for any more threats. It was hard, from my current position I didn¡¯t have the best look around, but it was enough that I¡¯d at least know if something, or someone, tried to get into the kitchen.


    At Class I the Shadowstalker Nullstrike Weaponry catalogue has quite the selection of weapons available. As should be obvious from the name, the focus of these weapons is mostly on stealth and covert takedowns. Because of this, many of the firearms on this catalogue will have a lower fire rate and higher stopping power. Alternatively, you could also obtain a number of bladed weapons, such as knives and swords, including some ranged options, such as throwing knives, shuriken, darts, and similar. These weapons are built to be used in tandem with the rest of the available Shadowstalker catalogues, which means they offer synergy with different technologies you might acquire in the future.


    There are, of course, more dedicated options available for either approach. It should also be noted that this specific set of catalogues is very specialised, and might not have an answer for every situation you might find yourself in, in the future. But I reiterate that I believe the Class I Shadowstalker Nullstrike Weaponry Catalogue to be the most efficient choice you have available at this time.


    Taking a deep breath, I nodded. I had to admit that Stryx was very helpful in the way they explained everything. Some of it probably could have been skipped, but if I was honest, I didn¡¯t mind it too much. I¡¯d rather have it mentioned and known, than ignored and kept from me. And they did seem to genuinely try to lay out my options for me, while not wasting any unnecessary time, which was better than what most would do.


    I could probably ask them for a more in depth explanation of the options available; something I very likely would do in the future. Right now, however, I didn¡¯t have time to waste, and I couldn¡¯t argue with the results. The Catalogue did sound exactly like what I wanted.


    So far, everything seemed to be quiet. I couldn¡¯t see or hear any other aliens, and with the heavy scent of dead xenos and my own blood, trying to smell anything was all but impossible. At least I would have some time to go over my options, which was good. I preferred planning ahead over mindless rushing.


    The question was how I wanted to approach this situation. My end goal was to find Zuri and the others, get them to the shelter and to safety, while also being able to fend off any antithesis that might try to stop us.


    The obvious answer would be a firearm of some kind. It would give me the range and stopping power I would prefer to have against the xenos. But there were a couple of problems with that as well.


    Primarily, I was concerned about the civilians. I was a good shot, sure, but you could never guarantee that civies wouldn¡¯t just run into your line of fire. And given the strict gun regulations in Germany, they very likely didn¡¯t even know how to react around a weapon like that. It might cause a panic, which would make things just so much worse.


    As stupid as it might sound to the average person, but Germany had a history with strict laws on that topic. And that influenced policies, even thirty years after the antithesis first showed their ugly face to the world.


    Lastly, and maybe most importantly, I wasn¡¯t sure if Zuri approved. Or if I did, either. It felt too much like the olden days. Pragmatically, it was the best option, but I didn¡¯t want to worry her. Nor did I want to slip back into a life I might not be able to get myself out of a second time around.


    Of course, if no other option was available, I wouldn¡¯t hesitate. I¡¯d rather condemn myself than to risk anyone else dying. But unless it was needed, there was no point in booking trouble.


    For now, it might make more sense to stick to something more simple, something less conspicuous. And even a proper, Samurai grade knife would do wonders against the antithesis.


    ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll take it. What kind of knives or daggers do you have on offer?¡±

 Chapter 7 - A new Arsenal

    ¡°Over the past few years, we have noticed that each Samurai seems to have a unique array of items at their disposal. At this time we are unsure if that is because they chose to be unique for a branding purpose, or if it is because each lays claim to certain types of technology. Honestly, I think it''s branding, that just makes sense. Regardless of the reason, it means one thing for us, here at Heckler & Koch. We just have to convince as many Samurai as possible to give us access to their unique weapons. I don''t really care about them, if they are one of those idiots who thinks bringing knives to a fight with an alien is a good idea. We just want to take the guns. The HK VP9 is kind of going out of style after so many years and we cannot allow our profit growth to drop. I don¡¯t care what you have to do to make that happen, just that you make it happen.¡±


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Tobias Fehrenspecht, Head of newly created Samurai PR division of Heckler & Koch, 2031</li>


    </ul>


    By this point my body had mostly pieced itself back together. Instinctively my hand went to my left forearm, feeling for the tally marks. They were still there, the scars not healed by the Nano-Regenerative. I sighed in relief. If those ever vanished, I wasn¡¯t sure how well I could handle that.


    Very well. In terms of bladed weapons, you have a few options available. Between long daggers and short swords, both western and eastern in style, as well as a variety of weapons not available on earth, the selection is quite extensive.


    Based on your profile, your history, and the fact that you haven¡¯t used most of the weapons you have been trained with in years, I would recommend to you more basic weapons that you are more familiar with.


    In this case that would be the Mark I Silverfang and the Mark I Whisperblade. The Mark I Silverfang is a simple, but potent, long dagger, capable of dealing with most lower digit models of antithesis. In the same vein, the Mark I Whisperblade is a set of throwing knives designed to be effective against the same adversary. The Mark I Silverfang is 5 points each, while the Mark I Whisperblade is 10 points per set of ten.


    That sounded good enough for my purposes.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take them. Two daggers and the throwing knives.¡±


    While I spoke I slowly got up, feeling a bit better. I was still wounded, and I would not be able to fight as effectively as I wanted to, but it was much better than dying.


    The kitchen was a bit of a mess. I couldn¡¯t hear anything from the outside, nor could I see any aliens through the door into the common room. I didn¡¯t have a perfect view, of course, but it at least ensured me that nothing was about to jump me immediately.


    Class I Shadowstalker Nullstrike Weaponry unlocked!


    Points reduced to: 55


    New purchase: Silverfang Mk I x2!


    Points reduced to: 45


    New purchase: Whisperblade Mk I!


    Points reduced to: 35


    The box that appeared on the counter next to me looked identical to the ones still laying on the ground. This one had ¡®Shadowstalker Blades¡¯ written on it. Turning to it, I opened it, finding the two daggers, and a set of ten throwing knives, all made from a silvery metal with a black hilt and neon green decorations.


    The daggers had thin guards reaching down and over my knuckles, just enough to protect my fingers. It made them quite easy to handle, but it was clear that it would also make them unsuited for proper throwing. The design was slightly tilted, the secondary cutting edge was almost straight, only tapering down towards the tip to meet with the main cutting edge. In effect it was a design based on proper combat knives, just with a more dangerous look to it.


    The throwing knives were the opposite in terms of design choice. Symmetrical and obviously weighted for the job, they reminded me more of the weapons I was familiar with.


    Each dagger came with a small sheath that I could easily attach to my belt, while the throwing knives had a small bandolier that would go across my chest. The weight was pleasant, the daggers hefty enough to be noticeable, but not so much so as to be distracting, while the bandolier felt comfortable.


    Now armed, I felt much better already. Taking another look through the kitchen door, I tried to check my messages. Not surprisingly, the net was down. Typically not an issue for me. I had long since learned not to rely on that, it could prove your death sentence on a mission. All of the important things, such as my maps, were downloaded onto my augs for that specific reason.


    It did make me worry about Zuri, however, since I couldn¡¯t check up on her.


    At this point, I estimated that I¡¯d be able to fight well enough to not risk dying again soon. Going over what I might need, I slowly made my way over to the kitchen door. Despite my best attempts to find any surprises that might be lurking for me, there didn¡¯t seem to be anything amiss.


    Nothing I could hear that was close by, nothing I could see. The scent of dead xenos and my own blood was far too heavy to make out anything useful, which did put me on edge a little. I had always relied on my nose a lot. Not being able to do so now reminded me of the less pleasant jobs I had done in the past.


    ¡°I need to find the others. They need to get to the shelter. Do you know anything about their status?¡± I asked softly, not taking my attention away from the entrance to the pizza place.


    Unless you purchase more dedicated hacking software, I am sadly unable to help due to the restrictions I am under, placed on me by the protectors. However, I feel I should warn you that you are not yet fully combat ready.


    ¡°I can move. I¡¯ve fought in worse situations before. Hell, I¡¯ve gone on missions in worse condition. Didn¡¯t you say you have a profile on me?¡± I asked softly, carefully moving out of the kitchen and into the main room.


    Outside of the dead xenos from before, I couldn¡¯t find any hint of any more aliens. With careful steps I navigated the chaos, avoiding the large pools of alien goo on the ground. Through the windows, I kept a careful eye on the world outside, but I couldn¡¯t spot any aliens yet.


    Yes, I do. And I am aware that this is not the first time you have come close to your demise. That said, it is still advisable to act with caution. While your willingness to sacrifice yourself to help others is admirable, doing so without due course would just be a waste. Was it not your vow to redeem yourself of your sins?


    I frowned at that. ¡°Now that you mention it, I¡¯m still not sure why you are helping me. From your deep dive into my past, you should know that I didn¡¯t exactly follow the law. I¡¯m a murderer. Much more than that, actually.¡±


    Perhaps I was a bit too accusatory, but I just couldn¡¯t help myself.


    Yurei, Samurai are not selected for their crimes, or lack thereof, nor are they selected based on how good they think they are as a person. There are many Samurai out there that have done much worse than you have. And there are some who are much less remorseful about it as well.


    I have selected you as my Samurai for your willingness to help others, even to the detriment of yourself. In the past you may have committed sins that you do not feel can ever be forgiven, but yet you have decided to learn from your mistakes, to become a better person. You have put yourself at mortal risk to save your classmates, even those you much rather see dead than alive. The state I found you in, and your immediate desire to continue helping, shows that you are exactly the kind of person the protectors are looking for.


    For a moment I was silent, not sure how to reply to that. It seemed almost too good to be true. Which typically meant that it was.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    ¡°It makes no sense¡­ I killed people, innocent people. Isn¡¯t it your entire thing to want to help others? To protect humanity? How do I fit into that, when my hands are drenched in the blood of innocents? Not to mention all those less innocent that I killed over the years¡­ I can¡¯t even remember how many lives I ended¡­¡±


    Yes. And that is something that is not without weight. However, the protectors do not select Samurai based on those deeds. If that would disqualify a person from becoming a Samurai, a good 70% of the Samurai out there would not have been chosen. Despite all your deeds, you keep reminding yourself of what you have done, to remind yourself not to repeat your past mistakes. That alone shows that you have learned a valuable lesson. You are unlikely to let the kind of power the protectors can grant you, corrupt you, because you have seen how ugly things can get.


    There was a moment of silence once more, while I digested this. It all just sounded¡­ like a fairy tale, really. One of Leah¡¯s bad fanfics about this Samurai or that. Maybe it was just superstition, but what if it wasn¡¯t?


    With all I¡¯ve done, and now with the ability to obtain any weapon I wished¡­ I wasn¡¯t even sure if I trusted myself with this. I could easily go down a very bad road, and I was very aware of that. I had thirteen reminders decorating my flesh for exactly that kind of scenario.


    ¡°Just promise me you will stop me if I go too far,¡± I whispered, barely audible.


    That I will. But you will also have to realise that killing people is not something you can always avoid. Not all are innocent, and Samurai quite often find themselves in situations where they have to deal with those that try to take advantage of others.


    ¡°Yeah¡­ It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t understand the need for people like me. And I don¡¯t lose sleep over those that deserved their fate. But, as you said, I¡¯ve been down that path before. It¡¯s easy to lose yourself in the job, to just follow orders. At some point you cross a line, and you end up somewhere you can¡¯t return from. I¡¯ve been there before, and I¡¯m afraid that if I get there again, I won¡¯t be able to escape it a second time. You know who I am. What I¡¯ve done, and where I¡¯ve been. So I don¡¯t need to spell it out for you. It makes me wonder if I can trust you.¡±


    Which is understandable and a very reasonable approach to take. Many Samurai trust their AI assistants almost implicitly, and while I do not see the issue with that, it is our duty to help, after all, I can certainly see why not everyone would. To you we are alien. And I am aware of the media depictions that paint us in a bad light.


    I¡¯m not going to tell you what to do, Yurei. I¡¯m not your boss, nor am I going to try to sabotage you if you don¡¯t do as I say. I¡¯m here to help you, to assist you in fighting off the antithesis. I will not take advantage of you. And if you decide that you have enough of all of this, then you can choose not to fight. My being here doesn¡¯t mean you are required to fight, just that you are suited to help the protectors uplift humanity.


    All I¡¯m asking you, at this moment, is that you trust me enough to let me help you save the others. Afterwards we will have all the time you wish for to discuss these matters in more detail.


    I nodded, that I could do. And they were right. I had to hurry.


    With a deep breath I focused back on the here and now. My body had healed a bit, not much, but enough that I felt I could move with a faster pace. With a quick thought I checked the navigation app, then the map. I was still a long way from my goal. Hopefully nothing happened.


    Finally moving outside of the building, I began to slowly jog along the path that the others had taken. I kept my senses sharp, pushing down my desire to hurry. It wasn¡¯t easy, but I had to keep myself calm. The trick to enduring a dangerous battlefield wasn¡¯t to crush everything in your path and be faster than anyone else. That led to your demise, more often than not. No, the trick was to be prepared for any eventuality.


    The wind held the scent of blood and freshly cut grass, but it was all dull. Either too far away, coming from the wrong direction, or from the time I had first engaged the antithesis. I couldn¡¯t hear or see any aliens hiding in the bushes around me, but that didn¡¯t calm me. Instead it made me more anxious. Things were too quiet for an incursion and that was never a good sign.


    Then a slight rustle of leaves further ahead, a slight change in the direction of the breeze. With it, the strange taste of cut grass intensified. Not far ahead of me was an alien, I was sure. Slightly increasing my pace, I pulled one of my new daggers, blade held at the ready.


    It didn¡¯t take long before I saw it, slowly making its way into the direction I was going, obviously looking for something. It seemed alert and that couldn¡¯t be good. A moment later I smelled why it was so alert. There was the fresh taste of blood on the wind, faint but present.


    That wasn¡¯t a good sign, and my heart rate increased. I couldn¡¯t be sure if they were injured or dead, but I wasn¡¯t going to wait to find out. Pulling out one of my throwing knives, I increased my pace. With a flick of my wrist, the blade sailed through the air, a low whistle following, just barely audible. The weapon hit its target, catching the aliens'' attention, and I dashed after it.


    Before it had time to react, I landed on top of it, dagger already finding its eye and leaving a deep wound. With a quick motion, the blade left the now useless sensory organ, finding its way to the throat instead, easily cleaving through the thick skin. The model Three wasn¡¯t dead yet, but it was tumbling.


    With one last strike I hit its second eye. This time I put more force into the strike, and the dagger buried itself down deep. Enough to pierce the skull and what passed for the brain, leaving the thing collapsing underneath me. It really was amazing how much more effective a proper weapon was against them.


    Without hesitation, I pulled both blades out and turned once more. I didn¡¯t have time to waste, the scent of blood became stronger by the moment.


    Moving quickly, but not quite running, I followed the trail, careful to not miss any aliens in my haste. That caution was forgotten when I started to hear voices from the direction I was heading in.


    Some of them sounded familiar, stressed and panicked.


    Rushing past a long bed of flowers, I found the group, scattered and panicking. Leon and his crew of bastards were at the back, nearly pissing themselves, despite being the biggest guys around. The girls were in the middle, together with the staff of the pizza place and some of the other patrons.


    At the front stood Zuri, wounded, bleeding, a sign of some sort in hand, ready to fend off the aliens that were crawling out of the bushes.


    I fell into a dead sprint.


    Pain surged through my legs, but I didn¡¯t notice, eyes glued to the aliens in front of the group, willing myself to be fast enough. I wasn¡¯t.


    One charged, a second pounced, Zuri yelled, jumping in front of the first and throwing the sign at the other. She took the brunt of the attack, going down, blood spilled.


    My vision went red.


    Instincts kicked in, long discarded but not forgotten; my body moved on its own. With the expertise born from years on the battlefield and countless nights spent stalking the shadows, I blurred forward, flying through the low foliage of the park. One knife flew, then the second, only one hit, but that was enough.


    Going full tilt, I appeared out of the bushes, making straight for the alien that had Zuri pinned down. She tried to punch it, screaming and yelling in hysterics. Then I reached; impacting the fucker like a freight train. Crashing into it and toppling it over, sending it, and myself, into the second, which was just recovering from the hit of the sign and preparing to jump the group.


    Bending myself as much as my body was capable of, and ignoring the sheer wave of agony ripping through me, I managed to turn myself enough to end up on my feet, one dagger buried deep in the side of the aliens skull.


    Not wasting a moment I jumped up, ripped the blade out, and took a chunk of the alien¡¯s skull with it. The second one was trying to jump the group once more. Zuri, despite her wounds, tried to get up and in the way of it, but this time I was faster.


    Within the blink of an eye, I appeared in front of it and jumped onto the fuckers back, my blade drawing deep lines around the alien¡¯s neck. A flash of silver, a line of alien gore, the taste of cut grass.


    I ignored the sound of the now nearly decapitated alien hitting the grass, everything around me forgotten, save for Zuri. Like a blur I moved, coming to a stop next to her, ignoring the pain in my knees I felt when I hit the ground.


    ¡°Stryx!¡±


    Her eyes were half-closed, tears obvious, her gaze focused onto something in the distance. She groaned from the pain, not quite responsive. A quick glance found her wounds. Shattered right arm, a deep bite in her left side, wounds on her legs, blood everywhere.


    Samurai Zuri is indeed in bad shape, suffering multiple-


    ¡°Whatever I need, now!¡± I ordered, my voice as hard as steel and as cold as iron.


    New purchase: Class I Nano-Regenerative Suite!


    Points reduced to: 45


    New purchase: Class I Hemo-Restore!


    Points reduced to: 40


    I didn¡¯t need to wait to be told what to do, already reaching for the Nano-Regenerative and quickly opening the box. Fishing out the mask I held it in front of Zuri¡¯s mouth. ¡°Breathe in.¡±


    ¡°Yurei¡­ what¡­¡± she stared, trying to focus on me, but not quite managing. I didn¡¯t answer, simply pushing the Nano-Regenerative into her mouth. She tried to spit it out, coughing, but I didn¡¯t relent, not until the thing was completely empty.


    Finally letting it fall to the ground, leaving Zuri coughing over and over, I picked up the Hemo-Restore and placed it next to the bite mark at her side. The entire thing emptied almost instantly and I let it drop, trying to make her more comfortable.


    With this she will survive. However, she will require more treatment later.


    Letting out a sigh of relief I tried to center myself, taking a few calming breaths.


    Zuri would be okay. She would survive. The thought played in my mind on repeat.

 Chapter 8 - Suspicious Developments

    ¡°You mean to tell me these damn aliens put some robot person in someone¡¯s head and then that person, instead of freaking out and getting it removed, just goes ¡°oh, hey, cool, gimme guns please!¡± Hell no, I ain¡¯t buying that! Shit stinks so bad Uncle Cletus¡¯s skunk won¡¯t go near it. Those aliens are brainwashin¡¯ them boys. Mark my words, Elly, those aliens and their robots are up to something! They¡¯re probably trying to take all our gold and Freedoms, maybe even the hooch! I see one of them boys and we gonna find out, you just watch!¡±


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Leroy McCoy, patriarch of the McCoy family, 2026 - 1 week before attempting to murder Samurai Gunslinger </li>


    </ul>


    When I was finally in a slightly better state of mind, I turned to the group, all of them staring at me with wide eyes. They seemed mostly uninjured, which was good. What was less good was the sight of Leon at the back, hiding behind the rest.


    Rage rose up inside of me; for all his talk, all his boasting and inane threats, he hid behind a girl two heads shorter than him. He let her deal with this, instead of actually acting like the bigshot he pretended to be.


    With an effort of will I pushed the emotion down. It wouldn¡¯t help anything and I might just kill him otherwise.


    Take deep breaths, Yurei. Keep calm. That ain¡¯t your life anymore, stop thinking about it.


    I couldn¡¯t stop myself from giving him a glare, though. He noticed it and paled, my emotions obvious in my eyes. Then I tasted the scent of fresh piss on the breeze and I scowled. The coward had actually pissed himself.


    ¡°Yurei, what¡­¡± Zuri¡¯s voice ripped me out of my thoughts and I turned my attention back to her, Leon all but forgotten.


    Her breathing had steadied a little and she looked more aware of her surroundings. Her eyes were locked on my blood stained appearance, a mixture of both my own and the alien goo. So far I hadn¡¯t paid attention to it. Being covered head to toe in blood was something I had long since gotten used to. To her it probably looked terrifying, though.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± I said softly, giving her my best attempt at a warm smile, ¡°How are you? Does it hurt anywhere, do you need anything else?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ It¡¯s better now. I think,¡± she replied with a faint smile of her own, one that didn¡¯t do anything to hide the pain underneath, ¡°Stryx says I¡¯m going to be right as rain.¡±


    She giggled, coughing. ¡°Guess I¡¯m a Samurai now¡­¡±


    For a moment my mind reeled, and I couldn¡¯t quite make sense of things. Then it hit me. Stryx had called her Samurai Zuri. Did they take her on as a Samurai as well?


    I wasn¡¯t sure how I should feel about that. On the one hand, that was good. If Zuri was a Samurai now, she could obtain items to heal herself up. But on the other hand, it felt rather convenient.


    And now Stryx had her in hand.


    ¡°Stryx? What is going on?¡± I muttered, staring at Zuri with a mixture of relief and suspicion.


    Zuri Neylan has proven herself worthy of becoming a Vanguard, due to her actions. Typically, should she have been monitored by another AI, they would have taken on the role of her AI assistant. However, as there was no other AI currently present, and I have the computational overhead to assist two Samurai at the same time, I have taken it upon myself to act as her assistant.


    I took another deep breath, trying to cope with the situation.


    Stryx had taken Zuri on as a Samurai. I should probably be grateful, considering that she would be safe, but I couldn¡¯t help but be suspicious. So far I¡¯ve never heard of an AI taking on more than one Samurai at a time. Of course, I couldn¡¯t be certain that never happened, there were far too many Samurai around to keep a tab on everything. But I would have thought that I would have at least heard of something like that, considering Leah was regularly going through all the forums she could find and was often talking about that kind of stuff. Then again, maybe this was irrational.


    Whatever the case, the fact that Stryx had taken Zuri as Samurai, made me suspicious. To me it screamed manipulation attempts. If Stryx wanted to control me, the best way would be to take Zuri hostage.


    This sucked¡­ Thinking like this wouldn¡¯t help me at the moment. The situation was what it was. Right now I had to focus on getting everyone to safety. I would have enough time to gather information later, and it wasn¡¯t like I could do anything about it anyway at the moment.


    ¡°Uh, Yurei? You okay?¡± Zuri asked weakly, ripping me out of my thoughts.


    I shook my head, dragging myself out of my funk. I had to focus, no matter if Stryx was trying to control me, I had to get Zuri to safety. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ okay. Just thinking about some stuff. Can you move?¡±


    Carefully, she sat up, checking herself over. ¡°I think. Won¡¯t win a race, but I can move, yeah.¡±


    ¡°Good. We gotta hurry, more xenos could be on their way.¡±


    Getting up, I looked around, trying to focus on the here and now, blocking out any worries about Stryx¡¯ agenda. Zuri was talking to them in hushed tones, getting something to help her wounds. The boxes appeared, their design different than my own.


    I grabbed my discarded weapons, then checked over the group. Zuri was injured and she wouldn¡¯t be able to get out of the way quickly if things went sideways.


    If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    That was a problem. I couldn¡¯t carry her and defend the others at the same time. Leah and Sydney could probably support her, but if we had to run, they¡¯d be too slow. Letting my gaze wander over the group my eyes fell on Leon.


    My mood, already foul, dropped even further, thoughts about what a useless coward he was, running through my head. But despite all his shortfalls, he was strong and he was fast. He could carry her if need be. Even if I didn¡¯t want him anywhere near her.


    ¡°Leon!¡± I shouted, getting the guys attention. He turned to me, his face paling.


    ¡°Get your ass over here.¡± I probably could have been less aggressive, but I really couldn¡¯t bring myself to care. Not about that sorry excuse for a human being.


    Despite his obviously terrified expression he moved fast, entirely ignoring that he had pissed his pants previously, looking at me very cowed.


    ¡°Zuri is wounded. If shit goes sideways and we need to move fast, you will carry her to safety. Try anything, and I do mean anything, and you¡¯re a dead man.¡± I leaned in closer, voice soft, ¡°Don¡¯t think I won¡¯t notice. I will find out and I will find you, there is no universe in which you can escape me. I know where all your friends and family are, I have your entire life studied and memorised. If you so much as think about doing anything to Zuri, I will make the remainder of your worthless life a living hell. Do you understand?¡±


    He stared at me with wide eyes, pure terror evident.


    ¡°I asked if you understood!¡± I hissed.


    ¡°Y-Yes!¡± he stammered.


    ¡°Good.¡±


    Turning away from him I tried to calm myself. I was much too tense, everything happening went not how I wanted it to, but I had to keep calm.


    Dismissing him from my thoughts, lest I get tempted with doing something drastic and irreversible, I glanced at Zuri, who gave me a difficult to read look. I gave her my best attempt at a smile, which was even worse now, before I returned my attention to our surroundings once more.


    Luckily, it didn¡¯t take Zuri long to get ready. She had gotten herself a large band-aid for her wounds, as well as some other bits and bobs that I didn¡¯t know the function of. Not that I cared much beyond the fact that it helped her.


    Then I was distracted by a sudden sound, hidden under the rustling of the leaves and the murmur of the people around me. Turning, I observed the foliage in that direction. I couldn¡¯t see anything yet, but I didn¡¯t think it would take long for them to get to us.


    ¡°We should hurry, I can hear something coming closer,¡± I said to Zuri, not looking at her.


    ¡°Yeah, yeah, one second,¡± she muttered, then I heard her slowly get up with a groan.


    Giving her and Leon a quick side glance I found him standing next to her a bit awkwardly, obviously not entirely sure what to do with himself. Dismissing him once more, I made my way over to the other end of the group, checking for any other signs.


    Whatever had made that sound was getting closer. By now I was sure there were at least three more, probably four.


    ¡°Okay everyone! Let¡¯s move. Unless you want to wait for aliens to eat you, we should hurry.¡± She was so much better with people than I could ever hope to be, and in short order everyone started to move.


    We weren¡¯t as fast as I would have hoped, but Zuri was injured, and we had some elderly folk with us who couldn¡¯t quite keep up with the pace that I wanted to set. I stuck to the back of the group, ignoring the glances I got from some of my classmates.


    And good thing I did. Stuck to the back of the group I mean. It didn¡¯t take long for more aliens to show up, four model Threes. There were also two model Threes coming in from the front that I hadn¡¯t noticed until now. The wind came from the wrong direction and the sound the group made drowned out their silent steps.


    Zuri, to her credit, noticed them nearly at the same time I did. Something appeared in her hands, a glove of some kind that I couldn¡¯t identify. I didn¡¯t have the time to check what it did, because the aliens behind us moved fast.


    Ignoring the two at the front, trusting that Zuri knew what she was doing, I let myself fall back into the flow of combat. I just hoped that Leon would actually do what I asked him to, because otherwise I would scatter the rest of his remains all around Neu D¨¹sseldorf.


    Most of my wounds had healed by now and I felt much lighter on my feet again. Additionally, I was in a very foul mood, and I welcomed the chance to work through my frustrations.


    Turning and falling into a light sprint, I angled my approach to cut off two of the fucks. I wasn¡¯t confident in taking them all on, but I was confident enough that now, with some proper weapons, I would be able to delay them long enough to wear them down.


    Fully immersing myself in my instincts, I reached the first alien, ready to jump at me. Letting myself fall backwards, I slid under it, already pulling out one of my throwing knives. The second was already waiting for me, but I was also waiting for it. I had barely cleared the first, when I flung my knife straight at the second.


    Rolling to the side, I escaped its clutches, springing back to my feet, then had to do another step back when the third tried to join the fun. Luckily for me, it ended up right in front of me and I plunged my dagger down, right behind its head, killing it. Unluckily for me, I had to leave the blade where it was, when the fourth joined the fray. The first one was also turning toward me, and the second one was trying to cope with the knife stuck in one of its eyes by thrashing wildly.


    Pulling my second dagger out of its sheath, I dashed around the alien trying to jump me, throwing a second throwing knife at it to distract it for a moment. It bought me enough time to finish off the second, before I had to retreat when the first decided to make my life hell.


    Unable to push with two xenos on my tail I tried to think of some kind of solution. By my calculation I should have sixty points, but I didn¡¯t know what I could get to solve this issue.


    Luckily, I didn¡¯t need to. Something happened and the first xeno fell into two pieces behind me. Turning, I found Zuri not far, running over as fast as her injured legs could carry her, waving her hand with the glove around.


    Something graced my arm and for a moment I panicked, but nothing happened.


    You do not need to worry. Samurai Zuri has obtained a Nanite Enhanced Mono-Molecular thread weapon. While it currently does not yet offer any beneficial effects, in the future she will be able to apply various supportive buffs via this delivery method.


    That was interesting to hear, although it did make me question why I hadn¡¯t been cut like the alien had been. The change in position was enough for me to deal with the last alien, however.


    With a quick motion I did an almost standing turn, a technique I had learned quite early in my life, and bolted in the opposite direction, once more sliding under the alien now trying to pounce me. Was I glad they were stupid as bricks and never learned their lessons. While I slid under it I buried my blade into its belly, both slowing myself down and leaving a deep wound.


    By the time I came to a stop and jumped to my feet, Zuri had already decapitated it. Taking a deep breath, I tried to center myself again, looking around and making sure nothing else was trying to eat us.


    Zuri was also breathing heavily, swaying slightly. ¡°Fuck¡­¡±


    ¡°You okay?¡± I asked, turning to her, suddenly very concerned.


    ¡°Yeah, yeah¡­ Just¡­ Everything still hurts a bit. Come on, we should go.¡±

 Chapter 9 - Ambushing the ambushers

    ¡°Psychology tells us that when a crowd of people forms, they begin to exhibit what is known as herd, or sheep, mentality. This is especially dangerous when that crowd is faced with something that causes panic. Crowds have been known to run into dead ends, or right at the thing they are panicking over. All, because one person in the crowd decided to head that way, and the herd* followed. How does this relate to our class, I can see you wondering. Well, lads and lasses, when it comes to Samurai and antithesis; herds, sheep, crowds, whatever you want to call them, are especially stupid. I have seen more breakdowns and had to annotate more reports of civilian casualties than any one man ever should. Simply because the crowd followed one idiot like a bunch of bumbling sheep and it caused them to all get eaten or turned into zombies. So next time you are in a crowd, or there are aliens trying to eat you nearby, remember your basic human psychology.¡°


    *Princeton University in no way endorses any argument or way of thinking that considers people to be a herd. The word used in this class is to be understood as merely a turn of phrase to indicate a point being made by the author.


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Professor Jeremiah MacLeod, Princeton University during a transcribed lecture for Psychology and Samurai, 2041</li>


    </ul>


    The group was still very tense and a bit jumpy. Many of them looked like they were just about to bolt, only stopped by the fear freezing them in place. Not that that was too surprising. Civilians often didn¡¯t handle danger well, and with antithesis that was even worse.


    Fighting a person, or seeing a person with a weapon, was one thing. You generally knew what to expect, even if you never trained a day in your life. Media depictions of actual fights, both armed and unarmed, were quite often complete shit. But at least they were good at getting across the basics of the possible threat any armed person would pose.


    And with how often shit like this went over the feeds, most had at least a somewhat passable understanding on what to do in such situations.


    Antithesis were different. Not only were they dangerous, they were alien. It was hard for anyone not trained in fighting them to understand just what exactly to look out for. Even for trained soldiers it wasn¡¯t always easy. It made wrangling the group a lot harder, although Zuri and the elderly man did a good job of it.


    So far I hadn¡¯t had the chance to pay attention to it, but from the little I saw now, they seemed to have split up the responsibility quite nicely. She was the nice one, the one with soothing words and an open ear, while he was a bit more strict. Acting as a leader for others to flock behind. Maybe not a perfect approach, but it worked, and that was all that mattered to me.


    Dismissing the thought, I focused back on getting to the shelter. We were just about to get ready to move out, when Stryx spoke up once more.


    If I may, I would advise you to destroy the biomass left behind. It is only a couple of points and can be done without any time wasted. Not doing so may allow the antithesis to reclaim the bodies, repurposing the biomass to birth more models.


    I frowned. At the moment I was still very unhappy with Stryx. While I didn¡¯t think they¡¯d try to get me killed, I didn¡¯t like that they had taken on Zuri so suddenly. It might be an overreaction. Very likely even. And I was aware that my worry might be a bit over the top.


    But after my time in the Clan, a life that was basically enslavement, it was hard for me to not see the immediate dangers of manipulation there. Maybe it was just that I was too sensitive to it, but it didn¡¯t change the current situation.


    Still, I couldn¡¯t keep thinking that way. At least not right now. I had no way to change it, and having someone else here that could help keep the group safe was very helpful. I had to concentrate on getting everyone to safety first, before I could start worrying about the rest.


    Life didn¡¯t stop for nobody. And the antithesis wouldn''t just leave us be, just because I was having a mental hang up. With a conscious effort of will, I dragged my mind away from all of those thoughts.


    Stryx did have a point with their comment. And if it was as inexpensive and quick as they led me to believe, it would be a good idea.


    ¡°What do I need?¡±


    In this specific case, the Mark I Flesh Melter. It is a nanite based grenade from your Class I Shadowstalker Utilities Catalogue, and is purpose built for biomass removal, costing you 5 points. This specific grenade is slow acting and not meant to be used in direct combat; however, you do have some that fulfil such a niche. The cheapest combat capable flesh melter is the Mark II Deatheater for 10 points a piece, which is far faster acting and more aggressive, although for the current task at hand it would be decidedly overkill.


    ¡°Fuck it, get one of those cheap ones,¡± I muttered.


    Open your hand. Toss it into the middle of the pile, and it will slowly disintegrate the biomass left behind.


    I did as I was told, and a moment later a ding rang out, a small orb appearing in my hand. True to Stryx¡¯ words, it was very slow acting. Enough for corpse removal, but not enough to be useful in any sort of confrontation. Apart from perhaps the intimidation factor of it. Not that I planned to actually use it against people.


    Zuri took another moment to catch her breath and Leah came over, helping her walk again. We continued along, our pace slow. The low mumble made it hard to keep my ears on the surroundings, forcing me to rely more on my sense of smell and my sight. I couldn¡¯t detect any aliens yet, but again, it made me feel more antsy than the converse.


    This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    Only a couple of aliens seemed too good to be true. The tales I heard from incursions told of thousands of aliens within moments of it beginning. And even with the fact that most of it landed in different parts of town, I didn¡¯t think it was normal.


    Finally, a few minutes after we got moving, I spotted some aliens in the distance. It made me feel much better. Not that I was going to let my guard down because of it, but at least this way I had a tangible idea of where our adversaries were.


    It was clear to me that the aliens hadn¡¯t spotted us yet. A small group of model Threes, four in number, if I didn¡¯t miss any, were happily munching on some of the brushwork. Next to them a flock of weird, bird-like creatures were also doing likewise. I wasn¡¯t sure if they were model Ones or model Twos, although from their size I would guess them to be model Ones.


    Keeping my pace measured, I walked over to Zuri, gesturing to her to slow down. ¡°I see some aliens ahead. Seven total, four Threes, three Ones. We might be able to get the jump on them.¡±


    She nodded, following my gaze, but evidently not spotting them. ¡°Okay. How do you want to do this?¡±


    I thought about it for a moment. The easiest approach would be for me to sneak up on them and kill them as quickly as possible before they had time to react. But they had a rather large advantage in numbers, and the model Ones could fly. Not to mention that by going there, I¡¯d leave Zuri and the rest open to attack. I trusted my senses, but I couldn¡¯t be 100% certain that there were no other aliens around.


    ¡°How confident are you with fighting off any aliens coming your way?¡± I asked her instead, eyes not moving away from the group of xenos.


    ¡°I should be fine, with Stryx help. If my glove isn¡¯t enough, I could always grab more stuff, right?¡±


    I didn¡¯t reply immediately, a small frown forming. I really didn¡¯t want to leave Zuri alone. But at the same time, it was better to strike the aliens now before they spotted us. At the same time, we also couldn¡¯t just stand here forever to think about it. The group was still tense, and just standing around would just make it worse.


    ¡°Okay. You stick to the group, I¡¯ll try to surprise them. If anything goes sideways, try to get to the shelter without me. I¡¯ll follow after.¡± I knew she wanted to object. A part of myself wanted to object. But we didn¡¯t have much choice, and I wanted to make it quick.


    Pulling out two of my throwing knives and holding them at the ready with my left, I gave Zuri a nod. Without any more words, I started to slowly jog towards the aliens, keeping light on my feet and downwind. The underbrush gave me enough cover for me to get close.


    The only way I had to deal with model Ones, or any flying model for that matter, were my throwing knives. And while I was rather confident in my skills, I couldn¡¯t guarantee a hit, once they had time to take off. So my best bet was to try and kill the model Ones before they could flee, then deal with the model Threes.


    Pushing as close as I thought I could get away with, I found myself not far from the group. If I aimed correctly it would only take two throws. I took a long breath, making sure to not make a noise with the motion, and put away my dagger. With one last throwing knife in my right hand, I waited for the perfect moment, observing the aliens closely.


    Then a short lull in the breeze and I struck. Three flashes of silver, the throwing knives flying through the air one after another. I jumped up, rushing out of the underbrush before they had even landed. With both daggers at the ready, I reached halfway towards the first model Three when my blades found their targets and the alien birds collapsed.


    Not all were dead, at least one was still moving, but it didn¡¯t seem to be able to fly and that was all that counted. Rushing over, I stabbed the model Three in the eye, sinking my blade in deep before it could react.


    Vaulting over it, I slashed at the second, rendering its front leg useless, before my second blade found its throat and leaving a deep gash. By the time I hit the third Three, the xenos were finally getting into gear. My blade pierced the Threes skull and it fell to the ground, quickly followed by the one I had wounded before, also now dead.


    Kicking at the surviving one, I pushed my throwing knife deep into its body, before I turned to the last model Three that had just started to move towards me. I stepped to the side, letting it jump past me, cutting into its side. I turned with the movement, taking two steps forward before I brought my second blade down onto its skull, piercing the eye and killing it.


    Not even five seconds had elapsed. I took a deep breath, both to calm myself and to search for more aliens. I couldn¡¯t find any, and the rising stench of dead xeno quickly rose. We had to move quickly.


    Collecting my weapons, I turned and made my way back to the group. Some of which had watched me, looking at me with wide eyes and a bit of fear in their gaze. I ignored them, turning to Zuri.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go. We can¡¯t linger too long.¡±


    She nodded, waving at the others and signalling them to continue on.


    ¡°One day I¡¯d like to be able to fight like you can,¡± Zuri muttered as we walked, eyes glancing around in search of more threats.


    Her statement made me tense up. ¡°I¡¯m not sure you should.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I don¡¯t mean exactly like you,¡± she quickly explained, realising how her comment sounded, ¡°I mean just being able to fight at all. If I¡¯m going to be a Samurai, I need to learn. Can¡¯t protect people if I don¡¯t know how to kill aliens.¡±


    ¡°Maybe¡­ I still don¡¯t like the idea of you fighting at all.¡±


    She glanced at me. ¡°I¡¯m not a kid, Yurei. I know you worry, but I¡¯m an adult. And with you nearby, I don¡¯t think I need to worry too much. Not to mention that Stryx can also help me get out of a bind.¡±


    ¡°I know¡­¡± I sighed, grimacing. I understood her, of course. But it didn¡¯t make it easier to accept. ¡°It¡¯s just¡­ Fuck¡­ I¡¯m not sure what I¡¯ll do if you ever get wounded. Earlier was already enough.¡±


    ¡°Is that why you nearly tore Leon¡¯s throat out?¡±


    ¡°Maybe¡­ The fuck is a bastard. Always acting like this bigshot, but the moment trouble comes along for him to prove himself, he hides behind someone else.¡± I shot Leon a glare. He wasn¡¯t too far away, still looking highly awkward.


    ¡°Be that as it may,¡± Zuri said, getting my attention, ¡°I don¡¯t like how you threatened him. That was uncalled for.¡±


    ¡°He deserved it.¡±


    ¡°No, Yurei, he didn¡¯t.¡± I flinched at the tone in her voice. Not that she was aggressive, just worried. ¡°You aren¡¯t that person anymore. Stop acting like you are. Today kind of sucked, but that is no excuse for you to go back there, okay? I¡¯m not sure I can get you back out of that ditch a second time, if you end up there again. Please be more careful, okay?¡±


    I knew she was right. And I might have overreacted a bit. With a sigh, I surrendered. Today really did kind of suck, and I wasn¡¯t in the right mindset to think about all of that.


    ¡°Okay¡­ Sorry, Zuri. I¡¯m just a bit tense.¡±


    She grabbed my hand, gently squeezing it. ¡°It¡¯s okay¡­ Let¡¯s just get to shelter for now. The rest can wait until later.¡±

 Chapter 10 - Making plans

    ¡°Almost all Samurai find a gimmick and an image to go along with it. You even have Samurai like Emoscythe Mordeath Noir, who actively act in a PR counseling role for new Samurai. You also have Samurai who have no discernable gimmick or image. I am sure that you can guess which of the two are more memorable, simply by noting which group I could name a Samurai for to represent them. Generally, a Samurai needs to get past their first incursion to begin developing these things, but there are exceptions. One of the most notable of these would be Teddy, most well known for her role in the Siege of Calgary. We must do our best to capture all aspects of the Samurai as they evolve, to keep up with the demand for their merchandise and memorabilia.¡±


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Internal memo on individual Samurai Brand recognition, Nimbletainment Inc., March 2057</li>


    </ul>


    Roughly halfway to the shelter we came across the more open area the others had been playing football on earlier. The tree line receded, making way for big, open fields of grass, lined with a variety of flowers and low bushes. Only the occasional tree broke up the area a little, just enough to add some variety without taking up too much space.


    I motioned to Zuri to pull the group to a stop, hiding behind a large thicket that would serve to hide us a little. Of course, I still couldn¡¯t waste too much time, people would get more antsy, but I wanted to check out our surroundings before we ventured into a big open area with little in terms of cover.


    From our vantage point I had a good view on the entire area. Nobody was still around as far as I could tell. Neither people, nor any wounded or corpses, which was good. I couldn¡¯t see that many aliens either, and those that were present were on the other side of the field. Honestly, I would¡¯ve loved to find a different way to the shelter, one with more cover. But, considering the placement of the antithesis drop pod, this was about the best route we had. And at least it would work as much to our advantage as it would work against us. No cover meant that the aliens couldn¡¯t hide from us either.


    The few antithesis I did see across the field were all scouts, sticking to groups of two or three. I couldn¡¯t quite be certain, but from my head count they were around ten to fifteen, depending on what was hiding in the bushes. Too many to fight head on, and the distances were too great to deal with them with the weapons I had available.


    That wasn¡¯t good. I wasn¡¯t good at killing many adversaries all at once in a time efficient manner, and Zuri wasn¡¯t a good fighter period. Even if we had some folk around here that could defend themselves, this wasn¡¯t America, or the Deadzone. And at least in this part of the country, there were still a lot of conservatives sticking to the old days. The people here weren¡¯t fighters, generally speaking.


    Of course, you always had exceptions. And ever since the German government broke apart, and what remained of it bombed half of the country into a wasteland, things had started to shift and change. But that wasn¡¯t an even thing. And especially in the big megacities gun regulations were still pretty sharp. Generally speaking, people relied more on police and PMC¡¯s to keep everyone safe. Having a weapon on hand might not have been as rare as the late 2010¡¯s, but it was still not the standard.


    It meant that I couldn¡¯t rely on outsourcing the defence of the group to others. And with my own inability to clean up this many xenos in a head to head fight, at least before they had the opportunity to kill anyone else, that meant relying on ambushes again. This time, though, I couldn¡¯t just sneak up and stab them. The open field made that pretty damn impossible, and going around to sneak up from the other side would take far too long. The aliens would find the group sooner or later, and the field was big. I couldn¡¯t afford to waste that much time.


    ¡°Stryx, what do you have available in terms of precision rifles or the like?¡±


    Despite the question, I wasn¡¯t quite sure yet if that was the right approach. Sniping them from here would work, but I rather not carry a big gun around, nor was I comfortable using one yet either.


    But needs must, and unless I could come up with a better solution, I at least wanted to know my options.


    While the arsenal of firearms available on your Class I Shadowstalker Nullstrike Weaponry Catalogue is not insignificant, anything close to a precision rifle is a bit of a rarity at this moment. At Class I most of the weapons available are smaller and more compact. Once you upgrade it to Class II, you will be able to procure a far larger variety of larger weapons, from greatswords to anti-material rifles.


    As it stands, you have two options available to you that might be of immediate interest. The first is the Mark II Karmic PR-550-18 coming in at 40 points. It is a precision rifle firing standard 7.62x51mm munitions, with a magazine size of 18 rounds. Out of the box, it is loaded with standard NATO rounds, although a small variety of different ammunition is available with a small upcharge.


    The second option would be the Mark III Shiverspine Marksman Rifle, coming in at 35 points. It has a slightly smaller caliber, chambered in .223 Remington, and comes with a 22-round magazine. Out of the box it comes with standard NATO rounds, but as with the Mark II Karmic PR-550-18, you can obtain different rounds for a small fee.


    Neither option was wildly amazing, but both would get the job done. I just didn¡¯t like the idea of trying to snipe the antithesis. For various reasons, really, but in this case it was mostly about the effectiveness before they would spot us, and the reaction of the civilians behind me.


    Despite what so many media outlets and movies often claimed, even proper suppressors didn¡¯t actually silence a weapon in most cases. They would reduce the noise, yes, but only a little bit. That was a bit of a generalisation, of course, and there certainly were some that would become significantly more quiet with a suppressor installed. But in most cases, unless you have a weapon specifically designed to be silenced, using subsonic ammunition and a firing mechanism that didn¡¯t involve gunpowder, there was no way to actually make it silent.


    Between the two weapons Stryx had mentioned, the Mark II Karmic PR-550-18 would definitely be very hard to make quiet enough for me to be comfortable. Standard .308 Winchester rounds were not subsonic, so I would have to pay extra for it. Plus the cost for the suppressor, of course.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    The Mark III Shiverspine Marksman Rifle was chambered in .223 Remington, which would be pretty quiet with a suppressor, even if I stuck to the standard rounds. It at least would be far better than the converse, but it also required me to pay extra for a suppressor.


    The problem was that even if I got the more quiet version, people would still very likely react poorly when I suddenly grabbed a rifle out of thin air. The group was tense, nervous, and certainly not in a good mindset. I didn¡¯t look like a soldier, or police, and even if they saw me fighting earlier, someone might still get the idea of grabbing the gun for themselves.


    Zuri, standing right next to me, heard my question to Stryx. She gave me a thoughtful glance, then looked out onto the open field again.


    ¡°Stryx? You mentioned that distraction thingy before¡­ Do you think we could use it here?¡±


    There was a moment of silence, before she nodded slowly.


    ¡°If I get that, how good do you think our chances are here? What other options do I have?¡±


    Again, there was silence. I was wondering what exactly she was planning, although if it would help us I wouldn¡¯t complain. Zuri might not be a fighter, but she wasn¡¯t a dummy. And as much as I hated to admit it¡­ She did need to learn how to defend herself, in whatever way possible. I just wished that she¡¯d never have to.


    I had experienced fights before. I knew what life could be like. And, in many ways, I paid for it. I didn¡¯t want Zuri to end up the same way. She was too good a person for such a fate, and that didn¡¯t even take into account how lost I would feel without her.


    Zuri was my anchor into a more normal world. One outside of the shadows, away from the battlefield. One where I didn¡¯t have to worry about schemes and subterfuge, assassins and the Clan. One where I could just be normal. If that ever changed¡­ I wasn¡¯t sure how well I would be able to handle that.


    Somewhere deep down, I knew that it might be a bit unhealthy to think like that. To focus so much on her, basically pushing all of that onto her. But I just couldn¡¯t stop myself. Something just viscerally rejected the possibility of leaving her behind.


    Shaking my head, I concentrated back on the here and now. Thinking about it wouldn¡¯t help, I had a mission to complete. Getting distracted like this wasn¡¯t good, it used to be different in the past. My focus got disrupted too easily, and that could spell disaster.


    Focus, Yurei. Focus on what¡¯s important.


    ¡°What¡¯s your plan?¡± I asked in a soft tone, when Zuri didn¡¯t say anything for a while.


    She was looking onto the open field with a thoughtful expression, slowly turning her head my way without looking away from whatever she was looking at. ¡°I know that I can¡¯t fight them directly. Not yet, at least. But Stryx said something about distractions. Holographic projectors, Hard-Light illusions, disrupting pheromones, light manipulation, scent lures, that kind of thing. It made me wonder if I might be able to disorient the aliens to make it easier for you to dispatch them all.¡±


    I took a moment to digest this. It sounded like a good plan, if we could make it work. And it would help keep her safe. The more the aliens were confused, the less likely they were to attack her.


    ¡°Good idea¡­ But I¡¯d also like something that can deal with larger groups later down the line. We can¡¯t always take our time to plan an ambush. And if push comes to shove, I want something that can deal with a large group immediately and with definitive force.¡±


    ¡°Mhm,¡± she agreed, a thoughtful tone in her voice. ¡°I¡¯m not sure what that could be, though. I thought about explosives, grenades and the like, but as much as it would help, I¡¯m a bit sceptical about actually using them. I¡¯m aware that I have no clue about any of that, and I don¡¯t fancy blowing myself up.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, explosions aren¡¯t typically something I¡¯d consider using outside of very specific circumstances.¡±


    Perhaps something a bit more subtle would be more to your liking?


    I held up my hand, signalling her that I was talking to Stryx. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    There are a number of options available in the Shadowstalker set that could be of use. Unsurprisingly, they are all a bit less conspicuous, which excludes the usage of explosives, large scale weaponry, turret emplacements, and defensive formations. But there are certainly ways to even the odds against an enemy such as the antithesis.


    Specialised nanites, similar to the flesh melters, although more focused on taking over dead antithesis instead of dissolving them. It would turn their strength in numbers against them. There are some drawbacks, of course. While the highly specialised nature of the Shadowstalker set does reduce the point cost quite a bit, it also limits what you can achieve with any one purchase. In this case, technology such as the Deadlink Protocol, would be able to turn dead antithesis into forces on your side, but the number of such controlled bodies would be limited, and they wouldn¡¯t be stronger than they had been while alive.


    I frowned. ¡°Like necromancy?¡±


    In a way, yes, although without any magic. The nanites work much like model Sevens, taking control of the muscle tissue, moving the body by stimulating the antithesis equivalent of nerve endings. At Class I, this would only allow for control over already dead antithesis, and it would be limited in how long they can be controlled. Once the bodies rot sufficiently, the nanites would no longer be able to affect them.


    Later on you would be able to take over living antithesis, should you decide to invest in this technology, but antithesis would be the only thing you can effect. Earthen life, be it animal, plant, or human, would be immune against such technology.


    I nodded. The last part wasn¡¯t much of a problem. Really, it was a relief. As much as I swore to myself that I¡¯d never go back to my old ways again, I knew myself well enough that I would use whatever I had at my disposal in a pinch. Not even having the option made me feel a lot better.


    ¡°Good to know¡­ Not sure if it is applicable in this situation, but for future scenarios it is certainly something to keep in mind.¡±


    Indeed. For now, it would be more efficient to rely on Zuri Neylan¡¯s plan. If she decides to invest into such technology, she will have quite potent control of the battlefield in the not so distant future.


    Again, I nodded, turning my attention back to Zuri. ¡°Okay, we follow your plan. But you also need to get something to keep you safe as soon as you can. Armor, weapons, whatever it is.¡±


    ¡°Agreed. But you do the same.¡± Her voice made it clear that that wasn¡¯t up to debate, which I could accept. As long as it would keep Zuri safe, I¡¯d play by her rules.


    ¡°I can agree to that. Do you have any idea what you¡¯ll get now?¡±


    ¡°There are some options¡­ Stryx, can you give me a quick run down about that pheromone catalogue you mentioned?¡±


    While she chatted quietly with our AI, I turned my attention back to the aliens in the distance. They seemed to be collecting plants and the like, very likely to stock up on biomass. Depending on what Zuri had planned, we might be able to use that against them.


    A part of me was apprehensive about letting her make the plan. But, as much as I¡¯d like to take over, this would be a good opportunity for her to learn as well. If I could help her train in relatively safe environments, she¡¯d be much safer in the future.


    That said, I did make a few plans for the worst case. It wouldn¡¯t be pretty, but at least we should survive.

 Chapter 11 - Dancing with Xenos

    "There''s a big difference between ranged and melee Vanguard. Ranged Vanguard will choose to specialise into specific guns, munitions, or, for some reason, bows. Melee Vanguard will also choose to specialise into a specific weapon, but additionally, most of us also choose a specific fighting style. For me, that''s adding in as many flourishes and silly movements as possible. Not because it''s more effective, but because I want people watching me to think that killing Antithesis is fun and easy. For me at least."


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Foxfire on Vanguard specialisations</li>


    </ul>


    After all the different conversations between Leah and the rest of her group that I¡¯d been part of, I knew that Samurai had quite the selection of options available. Hell, most ads out there, advertising all the different merch, made it very clear that only their company or whatever had the rights for this specific Samurai or gear, and you¡¯d never get this really cool toy anywhere else.


    Knowing it, and actually seeing it in action, were two very different things, though.


    Zuri took a lot longer than I would have liked, and I was already close to taking over the planning after all, when she finally settled on something. It wasn¡¯t that long in the grand scheme of things, not longer than two or three minutes, but to me it felt like an eternity. And the people in our group very much agreed, if their growing restlessness was anything to go by. Any longer and we might have had a riot on our hands, which wouldn¡¯t have been good.


    Perhaps I should have considered just how many different ways there were to distract antithesis. Then again, while I had been trained to fight them off, I was never meant to go after aliens. My targets had always been people.


    Of course, neither of us had that many points. It made it that much more impressive that Zuri managed to get quite the variety of little gadgets. Most were limited to a one time use, sure, but it was still a lot. According to Stryx, model Threes had a very sharp sense of smell, something I had already guessed to be the case. And even the smaller model Ones were easily fooled by a few simple tricks, if applied correctly.


    Considering the quite large field between us and the aliens, Zuri had decided to deploy our distractions in three waves. For that, I would make my way across the field and towards the aliens, placing a few of her devices along the way. Once the aliens noticed me, I would lead them into the minefield of tricks, whereupon they¡¯d be easy prey.


    To make sure I could react to anything unforeseen, I had used the time she spent planning to go over my weapon options with Stryx. If something went wrong, they would know what I want and in what order. This way, I should be able to deal with most surprises, and react fast enough to those I couldn¡¯t.


    With our plan finalised, Zuri handed me a box filled with all the different toys. She gave me a quick explanation of each, and where she thought they¡¯d be best placed. In return, I handed her a small gun.


    The Hummingbird wasn¡¯t a vastly impressive piece of technology as far as firearms went, but it was very easy to use and wouldn¡¯t fire unless aimed at an alien. Stryx had been pretty clear that it was specifically designed to be used by people like Zuri, who had no training with firearms whatsoever.


    Even if it was just a smaller weapon, it made me feel a whole lot better to know that she would have something reliable to defend herself with.


    Laying out the toys was pretty easy. With them being one time use, they were rather cheap, and Zuri had paid an extra point each to be able to activate them remotely. It ensured that the antithesis would be caught in it, even if we were distracted, since Stryx could also press the trigger.


    Around halfway across the field, the aliens finally noticed me. I had just started to lay out the last line of toys, watching the antithesis carefully from a distance. At first, only a small group turned and rushed towards me. But quickly, the rest also got the hint and soon, I had seventeen aliens running across the open field.


    Even with the distractions between me and the aliens, I still felt a bit vulnerable. Throwing the last of the little balls into the grass, I pulled out a few throwing knives, aiming at the Threes leading the pack. My throws were mostly accurate, meant to blind and disorient, although one was pretty lucky, killing the Three it hit instantly.


    As they advanced, I retreated, one hand on my dagger. In only a few moments they reached the defensive line, but nothing seemed to happen. At least at first. After a meter or so they slowed down, seemingly very confused.


    Not what I had expected, but I would take any advantage I could get. Without any delay, I drew my dagger and reversed my direction, dashing towards the closest model Three. It seemed to notice me, once I was closer, but it didn¡¯t react as fast as I¡¯d seen before. With four quick motions, my blade found one of its eyes, its throat, and the side of its skull.


    Before it even hit the ground, I already turned towards the next one. With a step to the side, I escaped a lunge, the Three stumbling and crashing to the ground. A quick kick followed, sending it sprawling, while I cut the throat of another alien next to me.


    Drawing my second dagger, I turned with the motion, reacting to the sound of an alien behind me. I had to take a step forward to avoid it before my turn was complete, the blade of my knife burrowing its way deep into the side of the antithesis. Finishing the motion, I ended with the perfect opening to pierce the throat of the one that had face planted.


    Three aliens dead, fourteen more to go.


    I would advise that you fall back shortly. The first line of defence was not meant to be very strong, to ensure that the adversary would not try to find a way around it. The effects of the pheromones should lessen momentarily.


    That was good to know, and I followed the advice. Not without leaving more bodies, of course. One of the Threes tried to jump me again, but I stepped behind the one I had wounded. Both went down, limbs entangled when they crashed into each other, and I pierced the skull of the unwounded one. The hit wasn¡¯t quite enough to kill it, and with the frenzy of their attempts to separate again, I didn¡¯t have enough time to finish the job, but that was fine by me.


    Instead, I left them to their fate and increased my pace, catching up with one of the aliens fighting through the haze and towards the group. I had kept an eye on it from the corner of my vision, and at this point it started to get too close for my liking.


    A throwing knife found its way into the alien''s neck. To any outsider it wouldn¡¯t have looked like anything more than a distraction. The throw had been deliberately underpowered to allow for the curved flight path I needed to hit the side of its neck. With the sounds of aliens behind me, I kept my position carefully measured, slowing down once more.


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    The lead alien now turned to me, obviously not happy about my knife hitting it in such a vital spot. The movement was just enough to break the damaged skin over its artery, and alien goo started pouring out. Just as I planned.


    With a bit of a jump, I escaped one of the xenos trying to take a bite out of my heels, and I threw another throwing knife into the horde, this one aimed at one of the ones closer to the edge. It looked to be ready to break away from the crowd, and I couldn¡¯t have that. The knife did get its attention, although nothing else.


    By this time, I was just about to pass our second line of defence. This was where I would try to kill as many of them as I could. And the moment the aliens started to stagger, as if they were drunk, I finally stopped the little game and jumped the closest alien. My blade found my targets with precision; throats, eyes, arteries, leg muscles, whatever I could reach. None of the aliens seemed to be able to muster any kind of resistance, and I didn¡¯t show them any mercy.


    Eight aliens died before we were past the quarter point. Only three entered the area around the last line of gizmos, and none made it more than a couple of steps. With a lunge, I landed on top of the last surviving alien, plunging my knives home into its creepy eyes.


    A moment of silence followed the short brawl, and I carefully kept my eyes and ears open for any signs of more trouble.


    Well done.


    Targets eliminated!


    Model Three x17!


    Points awarded: 102!


    New point total: 225


    With a quick motion, I got up, quickly sheathing my blades again. Retracing my steps, I picked up the throwing knives, before I hastily made my way back towards the group. Zuri was already leading them across the field, evidently also understanding that we couldn¡¯t linger too long with the heavy scent of dead xenos around.


    I was a bit tense, with everyone being this exposed to danger. But to my relief, nothing else tried to come for us. We reached the path on the opposite side, and quickly followed it between the trees. Only then did I allow myself to take a small breath of relief.


    Of course, our pace was still relatively slow. But with this we had managed to get halfway to the shelter and past the antithesis pod. Zuri was leaving a few of her new pheromone gizmos along the path. Apparently they signalled to the antithesis that following this trail was dangerous or something. I wasn¡¯t quite sure.


    ¡°These things are definitely useful,¡± I said quietly, not taking my eyes off the underbrush.


    ¡°Yeah¡­ I really like ¡®em. I think I already have an idea of what I want to focus on. Especially with my threads.¡± It was clear that Zuri was proud of herself, and I gave her a small smile.


    ¡°Talking about those threads, I still don¡¯t understand how you can cut the aliens without cutting me. When you first got it earlier, you grazed me, but nothing happened.¡±


    She nodded. ¡°It¡¯s kind of selective? The threads themselves are mono-molecular, but the glove does have some nanites that can move along the threads to wind themselves around it, which stops me from cutting you, for example. At least that¡¯s how I understand how it works, not really sure on the exact details.¡±


    ¡°Those are some damn fast nanites.¡±


    Zuri shrugged, ¡°It¡¯s some strange magnetic contraption that helps them move along the thread at speeds. Honestly, I barely understand half of it, but it works, so I¡¯m not going to complain.¡±


    I wasn¡¯t sure if it was luck, or Zuri¡¯s pheromone traps, but we managed to reach the shelter without running into any more aliens. The trees became more sparse, opening up to reveal the open area. The cobbled ground was a beehive of activity. There were still a few people shuffling into the open door leading to the shelter, helped along by some armed soldiers. PMC¡¯s from their uniform, if I had to guess, not police.


    The group behind me let out a collective sigh of relief, but I didn¡¯t share it. Never celebrate victory unless you are back at base and debriefed. Most fail on the home stretch because they let their guard down early.


    I couldn¡¯t help but be a bit uncomfortable. The guards didn¡¯t seem sloppy, and they very likely would be able to defend against the aliens in a pinch, but they also seemed tense. And their gear wasn¡¯t exactly cheap. If any one of them mistook us for an alien, or got spooked enough to start firing randomly, it would very likely end badly and quick.


    Zuri seemed far less worried, and quickly led our group closer, two of the guards already approaching. Both seemed alert, holding their rifle at the ready but with the barrel pointed towards the ground, which made me feel a little better. Once they got close enough, the first of the two gave us a nod, obviously checking us over. ¡°Are you alright?¡±


    ¡°Kind of,¡± Zuri answered with a relieved smile. ¡°Yurei and I were wounded, the rest are just in shock. We should be fine, though, got some nano stuff earlier.¡±


    Despite the helmet the soldier wore, I could feel him glance us over more closely. ¡°You¡¯re Samurai?¡±


    Zuri nodded. ¡°Yes, we are, although we are new. We were out here on a college trip when we got surprised. If it wasn¡¯t for Yurei, we¡¯d be all dead.¡± She motioned to me with one hand.


    The soldiers both looked me over once more, evidently adjusting their stance towards me. I ignored them both. They were very likely questioning Zuri¡¯s comment, considering that I didn¡¯t look physically impressive, although I got the feeling that me being covered in blood and alien goo from head to toe did wonders to convince them of the truth behind Zuri¡¯s words.


    ¡°Alright. We don¡¯t have any other Samurai close. The shelter is ready to close up, once we have everyone inside. The problem is we don¡¯t know where the rest of the people are. At least two groups are unaccounted for, one being the diner, the other those from the market area. That one is a bit far away, but the diner is relatively close.¡±


    From the way he spoke it was obvious that he wanted us to go and check that out, but he didn¡¯t want to outright ask us either. It showed rather well how normal folk viewed Samurai. Most looked at Samurai as these hero figures, but everyone also knew that they could be very dangerous, especially if pissed off. It didn¡¯t seem like these folk wanted to invite the wrath of the magister in case either of us was not in the mood to go helping folk.


    Zuri, of course, didn¡¯t seem to mind at all. She obviously picked up on their meaning and gave the man another friendly smile. ¡°We can check, but I¡¯m not sure we can head all the way out to the market area before more xenos show up. We aren¡¯t exactly equipped for a long mission yet and I¡¯d rather not invite disaster by overstaying our welcome.¡±


    ¡°That would be appreciated, ma¡¯am,¡± the relief was palpable in the man¡¯s voice. ¡°We can get these people to safety, make sure nothing happens to them.¡±


    Again Zuri nodded, and after a brief discussion with the elderly man, who had helped Zuri wrangle the group, the soldier waved a few of his men over. Leah, Sydney, Nia, and Cori discussed a few things with Zuri in hushed tones, although I didn¡¯t pay too close attention. Instead I kept an eye on our surroundings, and on the soldier types, just in case any of them would try to start trouble or something. Unlikely, but you couldn¡¯t ever be too careful.


    Eventually, the soldiers began to lead the group towards the shelter, leaving Zuri and me behind. Only now did I finally let out a long sigh of relief, letting the tension flow out of me. Zuri gave me a warm smile, which helped tremendously with calming my nerves.


    ¡°You okay?¡± She stepped closer, giving me a gentle hug.


    I reciprocated it, gently embracing her. Of course, I never took my attention away from our surroundings entirely. ¡°Yeah¡­ Just¡­ a bit tense, is all. It¡¯s been a long while since I had to deal with¡­ armed folk.¡±


    There was a long moment of silence in which she simply held me, gently grasping my right hand that was already instinctively going back to my left forearm. I was grateful for that. She knew just how to keep me calm and stop me from thinking about unpleasant things.


    When she finally spoke, her voice was soft. There was worry there, entirely lacking the front of confidence she had put up earlier for the others. ¡°Yurei, I¡¯m sorry¡­ I was so worried when you ran off¡­ I¡¯m so glad you made it.¡± She trembled slightly, and I immediately hugged her a little tighter.


    Not knowing what to say, I kept quiet, offering my warmth to calm her down a bit. I really didn¡¯t want to worry her, but I wasn¡¯t about to apologise for making sure they were safe either. It helped to just be here with her, arm in arm, in the middle of the park. For all the insanity that had been going on, it made me feel so much better about it all.

 Chapter 12 - A brief moment of peace

    ¡°Trusting your AI can be hard, especially for new Vanguard. Something to keep in mind is that generally, they do want whatever is best for you, but also keep in mind that they are not human. They are very intelligent and have a lot of processing power, but they have never and will never live the human experience. And as such, they sometimes make mistakes that any human in their position would just know not to make. My advice is to be patient with them, listen to their input and be specific about what you want. That tends to yield the best results.¡±


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Foxfire on working with Vanguard AIs</li>


    </ul>


    After a little while, we separated and Zuri smiled at me. ¡°Ready to head out then? We should probably hurry, if we want to save some of those people.¡±


    I nodded, agreeing wholeheartedly. It was still early in the incursion, but the aliens wouldn¡¯t wait for us to be better prepared. The faster we could get everyone to safety, the easier things would be. I didn¡¯t have hard numbers, but it was pretty common knowledge that the xenos moved fast.


    Together we turned into the direction we had come from, walking side by side. As much as I was happy to finally be able to use my knowledge for good, I had to admit that I still preferred being alone, with just Zuri nearby. People weren¡¯t my strong suit, and the calm and quiet did wonders to help me keep my nerves down.


    ¡°How are you holding up?¡± she asked after a few moments. ¡°Mentally, I mean. It¡¯s been a while since you last fought, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­ ¡° I sighed. ¡°I¡¯m holding up okay, I think. It¡¯s all a bit strange, but also less¡­ intense, when it¡¯s antithesis. I don¡¯t need to worry about all the moral stuff. It¡¯s not like killing¡­ people. It also helps that the goal is different. Not just about murdering stuff.¡±


    Again she took my hand in hers, stopping me from feeling for my tally marks. I gave her a thankful glance, squeezing her hand gently.


    ¡°Just make sure you don¡¯t go too far, okay?¡± She smiled, but the worry was obvious in her tone. ¡°I don¡¯t want you to end up back where I found you.¡±


    I nodded in agreement. Neither of us wanted that.


    For a little while we walked in comfortable silence. I kept my senses sharp for more aliens, but otherwise I simply enjoyed the quiet. Eventually she spoke up again, changing the topic.


    ¡°Have you thought about what you want to get for gear yet?¡±


    ¡°Kind of,¡± I replied, voice holding a hint of uncertainty.


    ¡°Kind of?¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­ It¡¯s¡­ a bit hard to think about that. Not to mention that the entire situation is not exactly what I really anticipated.¡±


    She nodded, ¡°I get that. Becoming a Samurai isn¡¯t something I¡¯d ever thought I¡¯d get to experience.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not really what I mean, though¡­¡±


    Her questioning glance just reaffirmed that she didn¡¯t share my worries.


    ¡°It¡¯s about Stryx.¡± I wasn¡¯t sure how much I really wanted to say. But I also didn¡¯t want to keep Zuri in the dark, especially how connected she was to all of this.


    ¡°Oh? What about them?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ I¡¯m not sure how I should say it. Especially with them hearing it.¡±


    Zuri raised her eyebrows, evidently entirely caught off guard by that. Not that it surprised me all too much, she very much didn¡¯t worry about the same things I did. And as much as she did her best to understand me, I knew that wasn¡¯t always possible. She just didn¡¯t have the experiences I had.


    ¡°You¡¯re starting to worry me a little, Yurei. Did they do anything?¡±


    I grimaced. It was really hard to broach the topic without them overhearing, and I didn¡¯t want to keep it from Zuri either. Like it or not, she was stuck with Stryx in her head, just as I was. One way or another, we had to address that eventually. And while I so far kept quiet, since we had more pressing concerns, I wasn¡¯t about to let Stryx off the hook either.


    For a long moment I was silent, not quite sure how to continue. Zuri obviously noticed, but she gave me the time I needed to go through it all. I gave her a grateful glance for that, appreciative of her willingness to let me think.


    No matter how I approached it, though, it just didn¡¯t feel right not talking about it. Yes, Stryx would be able to listen in, but that was just a reality that I had to accept at this point. I had no illusions that I had any chance of keeping things on the down low from them. And as much as I hated that, it wasn¡¯t a new feeling either. The time in the Clan felt much the same, and I managed just fine.


    There it was just me, however. Now I also had Zuri to worry about. And I owed it to her to let her at least know about potential risks. Give her the perspective that I had so she could form her own conclusions. That really was the deciding factor here. She was certainly not experienced with these kinds of situations, but I was. That meant it was on me to help her navigate them. Even if it might compromise ourselves to Stryx a little, I¡¯d rather speak up than let her keep in the dark.


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    With a sigh, I shook my head. I had to tell her.


    ¡°It¡¯s about how they took you on as a Samurai as well. I¡¯ve never heard about anything like it, and I would¡¯ve thought Leah would at least mention it if she did. You know how she is about Samurai. As far as I know, no AI ever took on two Samurai at the same time. And now they first chose me, despite knowing all about my past, and then they take you on as well. It makes me¡­ suspicious.¡±


    She nodded, understanding washing away the confusion on her face. ¡°Ah¡­ Yeah, that certainly feels a bit off.¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­ If I¡¯d just be some random girl somewhere, then I wouldn¡¯t really mind too much. But I¡¯m not. I have a very specific set of skills, a set of skills that can be disastrous in the wrong hands. And now they have you, as well. It feels like they¡¯re trying to take you hostage, in a way. Almost as if they want a guarantee that I¡¯m going to listen to them.¡±


    It wasn¡¯t just me boasting either. Stryx had admitted to knowing my past. To have studied it, really. They would know that I had the sort of skills you needed to bring down some of the most important people out there. If they would be able to convince me to actually go through with it, then that would be a danger. Not only to me and Zuri, but to a whole lot of other people. And I wouldn¡¯t be able to stop if it meant endangering Zuri.


    I shook my head, mood foul. ¡°It also doesn¡¯t help that I can¡¯t even talk to you about it, because they will always be able to listen in. They hold all the cards.¡±


    She glanced at me, a mixture of uncertainty and calm on her face that seemed to war with each other. ¡°I get that, yeah¡­ But I think you might be overthinking things a little.¡±


    If I may?


    I held up my hand, although from the way Zuri stopped, Stryx had very likely spoken to both of us.


    ¡°Yes?¡± I couldn¡¯t quite keep the suspicion out of my voice.


    Your distrust is very understandable. And I do admit to having ignored some of the protocol we usually adhere to. But there are a few things I would like to let you know about in that regard. Be aware that this is pushing the boundaries of what I would typically be able to share, and there will be things that are beyond my ability to tell you about.


    First and foremost, it is not atypical for one AI to take on multiple Samurai. Without boasting, I can say that we have far greater computational capacity than anything earth has on offer. Each of us individually is more capable than all of earth¡¯s computers combined. If we would just take on a single Samurai all the time, it would be a waste of vast amounts of resources. To the point that it would render the entire Vanguard program not only moot, but entirely impossible. The protectors have a lot of assets, but even they do not have access to infinite resources.


    That, at least, made sense. It was pretty well known just how damn powerful protector AI were. It was, in fact, a huge part of why Samurai were so feared amongst the megacorps. There was no data center that would be able to keep a Samurai AI out. I¡¯ve been good in my time, one of the best. But even my capabilities paled in comparison to what a protector AI could accomplish if they felt like it. If people had feared me before, they¡¯d be utterly terrified by them.


    While we continued, I kept my eyes on our surroundings, and paid close attention to the sounds and scents on the wind. Zuri was obviously distracted by the conversation at hand, and that wasn¡¯t good. Another thing I¡¯d have to keep an eye on.


    As you correctly surmised, this is typically not obvious to our Vanguard. As per protocol, we generally fabricate a personality matrix fitting to what the Vanguard best works with, to ensure that they are capable, without pushing their boundaries unnecessarily. It also makes it easier for everyone involved. Humans feel more comfortable if they believe to be the single operative working together with each individual AI. And we do take great pains to ensure privacy for all of our charges, up to and including, digital and physical self-segregation of our systems to prevent data leakage.


    In your case, I opted against that specific routine. As I have already told you, I studied your history and your profile closely before I went ahead with my selection process. I know very well that you are quite the cautious person, and I did not want to lie to you by pretending to be someone else to Zuri Neylan. If by any chance you would have found out, it would be detrimental to our work relationship, and very likely lead to you trying to stop me and putting either yourself or Zuri Neylan in danger. That is simply not acceptable from a mission standpoint on my end.


    I was just about to snap at them for even suggesting I¡¯d ever do something that would endanger Zuri, but I stopped myself. Taking a deep breath, I did my best to keep calm. Really, if I was honest with myself¡­ they were right. I would certainly try something, and that might very well endanger her, even if I would do my best to prevent that. Like it or not, they did speak the truth.


    That said, I was still feeling antsy. Irritated, really. I tried my best to keep my focus on our surroundings, but it wasn¡¯t easy. Emotions were one of those things I hated the most, because it disrupted rational thinking. And right now, those emotions made it hard to focus.


    Of course, I could have notified one of my brethren to act as Zuri Neylan¡¯s protector AI. In most cases that is what we do when we screen two persons who are close to each other. But we are also given a certain amount of leeway to guarantee success in our mission. And after running some calculations, I decided that it was worth the initial distrust to ensure a functioning working relationship that would lead to the least amount of danger for everyone involved.


    While I appreciated the explanation, it didn¡¯t help lift my mood much. They more or less just confirmed that they were indeed using manipulation tricks to ensure that I stayed in line, and that didn¡¯t sit well with me. Even if they actually did it for my benefit.


    On the other hand¡­ I had to begrudgingly admit that I was thankful for it. Having Zuri be entrusted to some other random AI I didn¡¯t know wouldn¡¯t be much better, and in a way even worse. It would mean that I had even less of a read on them. And sure, the only reason I even was so suspicious, was that Stryx had done what they did. But if they hadn¡¯t, then I might not even be aware of any potential dangers or manipulation attempts. In that way, at the very least, I owed them some degree of gratitude.


    Not to mention the whole ¡®pretending to be someone else¡¯ bit, which just rubbed me the wrong way. At least this way I knew what¡¯s what.


    ¡°I see¡­ I won¡¯t say I¡¯m happy about it. But at least it¡¯s better than the converse,¡± I muttered with a sigh. ¡°Thank you for explaining it, at least.¡±


    It is of no consequence. I had already slated a discussion for a later date. Even if neither of you would have brought it up, I would have, once you had some peace and quiet. As I told you before, Yurei, it is not my goal to order you around. I am simply here to assist you in helping others. Sadly that sometimes means acting first and explaining things later.


    I nodded. As much as I didn¡¯t like it, it made sense. And at least now I knew, which would hopefully make things easier in the future.

 Chapter 13 - Combat lessons

    ¡°With bated breath my sword stands ready,


    Overconfidence plastered on my opponent¡¯s face.


    As our blades cross I stay steady,


    Yet his demeanor screams that I¡¯m a disgrace.


    With Grandfather, even if I win, I lose.


    He was never the one I was going to choose.¡±


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">¡®Spar¡¯, Prism ¡®Ghostlight¡¯ Seras, 2056</li>


    </ul>


    We continued in silence for a little bit. Both Zuri and I were lost in our thoughts, and Stryx gave us the time that we needed. The distraction wasn¡¯t something I liked, and I was kind of mad at myself for bringing up this topic now, and not waiting with it until later. Well, whatever, what¡¯s done is done.


    The breeze didn¡¯t reveal much, nor could I see anything. We were still not far enough to leave the range of the pheromone traps Zuri had used earlier, which were likely the reason for our peace and quiet. But that wouldn¡¯t hold forever.


    Really, if I was having trouble concentrating, Zuri would probably be entirely unaware of what was going on around us. As much as I hated the idea, it might be best for me to give her some rudimentary training, just so that I could ensure she wouldn¡¯t be hurt by an ambush.


    Giving her a glance, I found Zuri frowning. I was a bit surprised to see it, but it seemed that she wasn¡¯t entirely happy with our circumstances either.


    Finally she spoke up, sounding¡­ I didn¡¯t want to say agitated, but it wasn¡¯t her typical calm tone either. ¡°I hope you didn¡¯t just pick me for Yurei¡¯s sake.¡±


    I did not. If you were not qualified to become a Samurai, I would not have taken you on. While we are granted some leeway when it comes to assisting a Samurai under our care, the requirements, by which Samurai are elected, cannot be changed or ignored. Even if it might make working with one of our charges easier, or help them feel more secure and confident, we could not take on another person just because they wish for it. That is simply outside of our mission parameters and programming. The only liberty I have taken is being upfront with how I have gone about fulfilling my mission.


    She nodded, obviously relieved. ¡°Good. I would have hated to be some token Samurai. That said, I don¡¯t think this is a bad outcome.¡±


    I didn¡¯t comment, already having made my opinion clear.


    Zuri looked thoughtful for a moment. ¡°It does make me wonder, though. How will that change how we operate? As Samurai, I mean?¡±


    While this might be a non-standard arrangement, the functionality won¡¯t be changed much. Each of you retains their own set of points and catalogues, which you can freely broaden or share as any other Samurai can. You can work together and enjoy the same 10% point bonus that others enjoy, and obtain items from each other''s catalogues as any other Samurai might opt to do, if they find someone to work with.


    ¡°What a bummer,¡± she said with a sigh of mock-exasperation. ¡°And here I thought we¡¯d be special.¡±


    In spite of how cringe-worthy this might sound to say, every Samurai is special in their own right. Few people show the characteristics that are required to be selected, and many who have the potential for it, opt not to act on it. Humanity is very much unlike a lot of other species out there, while also simultaneously being strikingly average. A few of my brethren have started theorising that the reason most Samurai, by which I mean Human Vanguard specifically in this case, don¡¯t seem to fit as well into their own society, compared to the Vanguard of other species, stems from the way your society has been shaped over time to produce what the people in charge would call good workers. A disproportionate amount of Samurai exhibit strong neurodivergent behaviour, are, either in part or fully, shunned from society in differing ways, or have experienced great and traumatic hardship. And in most cases, all three of those possibilities are applicable.


    That was an interesting titbit to learn about, although I didn¡¯t really pay too close attention to it. We were slowly approaching the open area where Zuri had first started using the pheromone traps. And that meant that soon those effects would diminish and we were more likely to find more antithesis. I wanted to be prepared.


    Zuri, of course, was fully focused on the conversation at hand. She blinked at Stryx words, a bit surprised. ¡°Huh¡­ That¡­ is something I haven¡¯t really thought about, but it feels true. I wonder where I fall on that spectrum.¡±


    You are one of the rare outliers. Of course, you too show some neurodivergent behaviour and are not without your share of hardship. But compared to most Samurai, you are much closer to the human and societal norm.


    ¡°Really? Huh. The more you know, I guess.¡±


    Indeed. Yurei¡¯s case is very different, of course. Not that it is much of a secret.


    Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Zuri nodded, giving me a small smile. ¡°She is special, alright. That said, I have to admit to a small bit of surprise that you chose her. I know she has the potential to do good, but I always thought Samurai are these hero figures that could do no wrong.¡±


    A perception shaped by what passes for media outlets, and one quite drastically wrong. Many Samurai have gone through similar experiences, just far less intense. In this case Yurei is an outlier not because of the experiences she¡¯s made, but simply by the intensity of said experiences. Very few people have gone as far as she did and returned with their sanity and morality intact, or even improved. While the former might not fall under that category, the latter certainly does.


    ¡°Can we talk about something else?¡± I muttered, entirely not comfortable with the topic at hand. ¡°Or maybe focus back on the task at hand? Zuri, you need to be more aware of what¡¯s going on around you. If you keep being distracted like this all the time, sooner or later you¡¯re going to get ambushed.¡±


    She seemed a bit shocked by that, but did nod a moment later. ¡°Fair enough. Sorry. Anyway, you also still haven¡¯t answered my question earlier. What gear are you thinking of getting? If we run into more xenos, it might make sense to plan ahead a little.¡±


    ¡°Alright¡­ And yeah, that is always a good idea. Anyway, I¡¯m still not entirely sure what I want. Stealth is a requirement, but other than that¡­ I want something that can deal with a lot of enemies at once, but not something explosive. Really, as weird as it might be, I¡¯m thinking about getting that necromancy thing that Stryx mentioned earlier. It sounds useful, and combined with how well you can influence the battlefield, it should make us quite capable.¡± I gave her another glance. ¡°I might not like it, but you¡¯re a Samurai too. That means fighting. You are far too inexperienced with that for me to be comfortable with it, so I¡¯m going to train you at least enough that you¡¯ll be able to handle yourself. I know I can be a bit overbearing at times, but this isn¡¯t a discussion. I¡¯ll train you, and I¡¯ll make sure you¡¯re ready for anything.¡±


    To my surprise she giggled. ¡°Okay, teach. I¡¯ll do my best to learn.¡±


    ¡°See that you do.¡±


    Our trek continued for a little while, until we passed the point where the first trap had been laid out. From here on out we were far more likely to encounter more antithesis. Zuri picked up on my increased alertness, and any other conversation topics quickly died down, both of us focusing on what was around us.


    It didn¡¯t take long for us to find some signs of antithesis. A shift in the scent of the air signalled that something was close by. I looked up immediately, fully alert. Zuri also got the hint, following my lead and looking around. For a long moment there was nothing, and I wondered if I may have missed something, but then I could hear it. Very faintly, but there was that sound of rustling foliage.


    ¡°I suppose now might be a good opportunity for our first lesson,¡± I said softly, just barely loud enough for Zuri to hear.


    She nodded in turn, her hand already raised, readying her strange glove.


    ¡°If you can¡¯t take the time to scout ahead and gather information, your highest priority should be identifying the biggest threat and dealing with it immediately. Of course, only if you get the opportunity. If you can¡¯t, sometimes retreating is the better option.¡±


    While I spoke, I pointed out the direction from which I had heard the sound. She followed it, expression serious. I could detect a faint bit of fear in her stance, which was understandable. Not all too far was a group of three model Threes, plus one alien we hadn¡¯t seen before. It took me a moment to recognise it, but once I did, I grimaced.


    ¡°That¡¯s a model Four. From what I know, they are ambush predators. Right now, they should be our highest priority. Threes we can deal with, that one I¡¯m less sure about. Once they get here, try to kill it as quickly as you can, before we start with the Threes. If you can¡¯t, just let me know.¡±


    Again she nodded, and I pulled us both a bit closer to the underbrush on our right. It would give us marginal cover. I didn¡¯t want to outright vanish into it, since it would limit our mobility too much, but the longer we could go unnoticed, the better our chances.


    The antithesis emerged from the underbrush, following along the path for a little while, sniffing the air. With the pheromones now no longer covering the tracks, they were likely following the scent trail of the group we had led through earlier. And that meant that there might also be more aliens hidden away.


    When I finally judged them to be close enough, I signalled Zuri to strike. Without hesitation she got up, whipping out her hand. The strange threads immediately snapped out, invisible lines of death, cutting through the underbrush and the lead alien. Her strike was mostly precise. Enough to kill it, although it was a bit of a close call.


    I didn¡¯t linger and slipped out from next to her, one hand already on a throwing knife, and dashing towards the lead model Three. ¡°Good job, now the others!¡±


    The moment of surprise was now over, and the aliens immediately locked onto us. The lead Three dashed towards me, a second one close behind it. The third seemed unsure which one to target first, before it made off towards Zuri.


    With a non-spinning, underhanded throw I embedded my knife in its side, making it stumble. This way Zuri should have enough time to dispatch it. At the same time, I pulled my dagger with my right, letting myself fall to the ground and sliding underneath the lead alien the moment it pounced.


    Jumping to my feet just behind it, I slashed for the one following after, taken off guard by my manoeuver. My blade dug into its face, cutting open one of its eyes, before I took a step to the side to escape the claws flying towards me. In a moment, I had my second dagger drawn, cutting at its upper leg, rendering it useless. Quickly following up, I took a step towards it, going for the throat.


    Alien goo splattered on the ground, and I took another step to the side, turning with the motion and cutting open its upper hind legs as well, making it fully collapse. The first alien had just finished turning around, and I followed the motion, keeping on its left side. I could see its muscles bunch up, and I quickly evaded its lunge.


    Before I had time to go after it, something hit it, leaving deep gashes and nearly decapitating it. Looking up I found Zuri, hand still held outstretched, a dead Three laying next to her. The last alien tried to take a step, before its body finally registered its death and it collapsed.


    ¡°Well done,¡± I said, sheathing my blades again. ¡°Quick and to the point.¡±


    ¡°Thanks,¡± Zuri said, voice just slightly trembling. She took a deep breath, visibly calming herself down, before she turned around to check our surroundings.


    ¡°Next time you check first, then take a breath. It might not seem important, but it¡¯s that fraction of a second that might save your life, okay?¡±


    She gave me a glance that told me she wanted to quip, but eventually thought better of it, just giving me a nod.

 Chapter 14 - Gearing Up

    "Do I trust my AI? I mean, yeah, Aegys kinda has a strong interest in keeping me alive. Now if only he could tone down the theatrics a bit..."


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Samurai Phoenix before a truck sized firebird delivers him a new pistol, 2057</li>


    </ul>


    After getting a flesh melter and mulching the bodies, we continued our walk. Zuri was paying far more attention to our surroundings. She obviously took this seriously, and neither of us wanted to be surprised. Of course, she seemed a bit more tense, which was to be expected. But she didn¡¯t let that stop her from doing her best.


    She also got a few of the pheromone grenades, which she kept in her pockets. I nodded at that, happy to see that she was thinking ahead.


    The trip took a little while. I did my best to keep us with usable cover nearby, but eventually the trees opened again, revealing a larger open area littered with taller bushes and low-grown hedges around a big building. It was a bit of a maze, but at least it meant we had plenty of cover.


    There had been a small group of aliens at the edge of the open area, but we did manage to ambush them after some preparation. Zuri¡¯s pheromones really were helpful in that regard. It was as if the antithesis didn¡¯t even register we were there properly, once they got a sniff of the stuff.


    After we had dealt with the interlopers, I kept us downwind and further away from the building, opting to take cover between some of the bushes that formed a ring around the diner. The hedges here were a bit taller, which would help us stay undetected while still giving us some time to plan our approach.


    And that was sorely needed. I grimaced when I saw what was waiting for us. I had long since detected the smell of blood in the air, but I had at least hoped that someone was still alive. The field of carnage that revealed itself in front of the building made it pretty obvious that there was no chance of that.


    Two dozen aliens were busy snacking on whatever food was left and a couple of corpses, both inside the diner and in the seating area outside. Zuri grew pale when she saw the bodies, obviously resisting the urge to retch. It was a fight she lost, and she turned away, emptying her stomach in some of the bushes.


    I couldn¡¯t blame her, the sight was grim. I had long since gotten used to death, but even I had to admit to a certain level of queasiness. She didn¡¯t enjoy that training, having lived a normal life. Sure, death was broadcasted over the feeds these days, but there is a difference between seeing it online and seeing it in person.


    Especially when it¡¯s as messy as this.


    What I hated most was how familiar it all felt. I could feel my body relax, faced with what I knew. The only goal was to deal with the antithesis, eradicate them, then get back. It was business as usual, in a very macabre way. Different targets, sure, but the feel of it was the same. And not even four years away from the carnage of the battlefield, and the bleak reality found in the shadows of the slums, changed anything.


    Zuri looked like she wanted to act all tough and unbothered, once she finished throwing up. But I quickly put a stop to that, knowing full well what awaited you at the end of that particular fork in the road.


    ¡°Don¡¯t.¡± My voice was soft, but also unflinching. ¡°Don¡¯t try and force yourself to ignore it. Don¡¯t try to normalise it. This is the reality of the battlefield. This is the reality of war. Be it an open bloodbath or one hidden away in the shadows. Remember that. And remember that it¡¯s normal to feel that revulsion. If you start losing that, that¡¯s when the demons show up.¡±


    It was a bit hypocritical of me to say, sure. I had long since let myself become numb to all of it. Been trained for it, really. Death and carnage seldom was enough to really make me feel bad, and that was something I wouldn¡¯t wish for my worst enemy. Let alone Zuri. She was too good a person to become such a monster.


    Really, I wish I heard those words when I first started out. Maybe I would have turned out differently if I did. Or maybe I would¡¯ve been deemed a failure and used as training targets for the more promising students. I¡¯d killed my fair share of those as well in the early years.


    Zuri, for her part, nodded meekly, before she turned away.


    I let her observe the aliens around the place, while I took in the mess directly in front of the building. ¡°Any ideas?¡±


    ¡°Maybe,¡± her voice was still shaking. ¡°If I can throw my pheromones in there it would certainly make for a good distraction.¡±


    I nodded at that. ¡°Similar tactic to the field then? Although, this one is far less open.¡±


    On the field I had space, either to evade or to run away. The diner area was far more stuffed, chairs, bushes, hedges, tables, the corpses, and the aliens. It would make fighting a lot harder, even with everything being confused.


    ¡°Stryx, it might be time to think about that necromancy thing. I want some additional distractions here. And better armor. I¡¯m not running in there without better protection. Maybe a gun as well.¡± With no people nearby I didn¡¯t have to worry about that anymore. And while I was still uncertain about using firearms, I didn¡¯t want to limit myself and risk either Zuri or my safety.


    Would you like me to go over all your options, or just pick out what is most point efficient?


    ¡°As much as I would love a full summary, I rather not waste any time.¡±


    Very well. At the moment you have 262 points. Obtaining the Class I Shadowstalker Deadlink Protocols Catalogue will cost you 50 points, with an additional cost of 70 points for the Mark II Reaper¡¯s Redoubt Control Implant and the Mark III Hades¡¯ Grasp Nanite System for full functionality.


    This setup would offer a strong foundation and can later on be upgraded to include an additional AI to control the bodies you have taken over, as well as limited self-propagation capabilities, if you invest enough into this tech tree.


    As you have already procured weapons from the Class I Shadowstalker Nullstrike Weaponry Catalogue, you do not need additional methods to deliver the nanites into the target. There are additional options available to you that can help in that regard in the future, but none of them are useful to you as of this moment.


    In terms of armor, I would recommend to you the Mark II Umbral Armor. It is very basic in its functionality, offers above average protection for the price, but otherwise is unremarkable. The cost to unlock the Class I Shadowstalker Aegis Array Catalogue, as well as to purchase the armor, would combine to a total of 90 points.


    That leaves you with 52 points to obtain a firearm. Given your requirements, this might be a good opportunity to cooperate with Zuri Neylan and combine your catalogues for the best result.


    ¡°Oh?¡± That certainly was interesting to hear, and I tried to imagine what that might look like. A plan was already forming in my mind, mostly relying on Zuri¡¯s distractions and access to the whole necromancy thing. The building itself was pretty stuffed, sure, but if I managed to take over some of the aliens, that could also work to my advantage.


    The outside eating area in specific was just inviting such tactics. The tables and chairs were far more heavy set than the ones at the pizza place, but still looked relatively thin and spindly. It gave the illusion of being able to move freely, but didn¡¯t actually live up to it. And that was something that I could abuse just as much as it was hindering me.


    Zuri Neylan has expressed interest in the Class I Shorian Technologies Catalogue, which is a catalogue focused around the Shorian species. They are quite well known for their grand spectacles and plays, often underlined with different light technologies and holographic set pieces.


    Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    If you were to combine your efforts, you could obtain a firearm from your Class I Shadowstalker Nullstrike Weaponry Catalogue and upgrade it with colour matching and light stealth capabilities. Please be aware that this will not fully conceal the weapon, but it will help it blend it far better.


    Of course, you also have weapons with a similar ability set available in your catalogues. However, by combining catalogues you will achieve a slightly better result for slightly cheaper, while not compromising on quality in other areas.


    ¡°Huh¡­ Okay, that sounds good. I¡¯ll take that then.¡±


    The conversation did bring up a lot of questions, but I pushed them back for now. It wasn¡¯t immediately important and could wait until later, when I didn¡¯t have a group of two dozen or so aliens nearby.


    Very well. The combined price for all the items will be 259 points.


    ¡°Good, get them.¡±


    It left me with very little in terms of funds, but I wasn¡¯t worried about that. We had the element of surprise on our side, and I would be able to kill a few before they would become a threat. Even if more medical equipment was needed, I was confident in my ability to clear out enough to make back those points.


    Not to mention that the benefits of the items would far outweigh the drawback of having little in terms of points, even in a scenario where I wouldn¡¯t be able to earn them back soon.


    You will feel a moment of discomfort as the Mark II Reaper¡¯s Redoubt Control Implant is teleported into your brain.


    Class I Shadowstalker Deadlink Protocols unlocked!


    Points reduced to: 212


    New purchase: Mark II Reaper¡¯s Redoubt!


    Points reduced to: 182


    New purchase: Mark III Hades¡¯ Grasp!


    Points reduced to: 142


    Class I Shadowstalker Aegis Array unlocked!


    Points reduced to: 92


    New purchase: Mark II Umbral Armor!


    Points reduced to: 52


    New purchase: Mark III Kilotonic HG-2412-13!


    Points reduced to: 3


    Just as Stryx had told me, a sudden agony shot through my head for just a second. Even though I was warned, I did feel a moment of panic at the spike of pain. Trying to keep myself calm I clenched and unclenched my fists for a moment, before I turned to the three boxes that had appeared next to me. Each had a different size, and was, as usual, labelled in neat, blocky letters.


    Opening the one labelled ¡®Hades¡¯ Grasp¡¯ first, I found a small amulet inside. It looked a bit like black metal with obsidian texture, and had an ominous neon green glow. The glow vanished soon after, but it did give the thing quite the presence. The amulet itself was shaped like a hooded skull, attached to a long chain.


    Realising that I should probably put on the armor first, I opened the second, much larger box. Inside I found a rather futuristic looking armor, all in dark grey, almost, but not quite, black. That was good. Full black was often more noticeable than washed out dark grey¡¯s or browns, depending on where you wanted to hide yourself. Even dark blues or greens could work better, and on one occasion, I even had to get a dark red outfit for a job.


    Overall, the armor looked to be a strange mix between PMC uniform and old-school leather armor that you often saw in games or the holos. Honestly, if someone just gave me that description, I¡¯d say that that would never fit together. But looking at it, I had to admit that it didn¡¯t clash nearly as much as I would¡¯ve expected. Perhaps it was the more modern, almost metallic looking, accents that decorated it. Or maybe the cut. I wasn¡¯t an expert on designs.


    Even with my limited experience with protector grade items, it was very clear that this was indeed only very simple armor. That said, it was quite a lot better than what I knew from my past. It would certainly be useful, and I nodded to myself.


    Without wasting time, I pulled off my blood and alien goo covered shirt, before I pulled down my old pants. They were less stained, but still not something that would likely be washed clean. Hiding behind the bushes, wearing nothing more than my underwear, the only bits of clothing that had escaped any blood splatters, I began to pull out the armor. Zuri looked at me with a shocked and slightly blushing face, probably not having expected me to just undress like this in what would typically be considered public space.


    I ignored it, not really caring all too much about being more or less nude. We had seen each other naked before, of course, and I had long since learned to just carry on with my day when in the presence of others. If you got all embarrassed when gearing up for a job, you quickly landed yourself on the list of disappointing students.


    And those typically didn¡¯t live long.


    The armor fit me extremely well, to the point I wondered just how exactly Stryx knew my measurements. There was no discomfort, but also no slack, moulded perfectly to my, admittedly modest, body. There was a cape with a hood in the box as well, obviously just cloth with no additional protections. For a moment I contemplated leaving them there, since they would make fighting a bit more complicated, but then I saw the attachment mechanisms.


    If anyone would try to pull me by the cape it would just detach, which was quite nice. It meant I didn¡¯t have to worry about it being used against me. Ah, to hell with it, I had to admit that the idea of wearing it did tickle my fancy, somewhere deep down. Mostly because people would avoid me. At least I hoped. And maybe because the look did seem pretty badass. Even I wasn¡¯t entirely immune to the edgelord design.


    With everything on, I pulled out the amulet and hung it around my neck. It attached itself to a small magnetic plate that was embedded into the armor, just above my chest, meaning that it wouldn¡¯t fly around with movement. Another detail I liked quite a lot. Otherwise I would have to push it under the armor, which might hinder the nanite spread.


    There was a slight haze coming out of it, almost invisible, and for a moment I thought it was just my imagination. After I took a closer look, though, it was clear that it was really there, the haze travelling to my weapons far faster than I would have thought. Probably the nanites getting ready for deployment.


    With all that done, I turned my attention to the last box. It was a bit bigger than the one that had held my amulet, and was labelled ¡®Mark III Kilotonic HG-2412-13¡¯. Opening it, I found a firearm that looked like it wanted to contradict itself, but failed so spectacularly at it that it looped back around to look impressive. I wasn¡¯t even sure how to describe it at first. Honestly, at first glance it looked a bit like a weird mashup between what some design student probably thought a pistol made in the same style traditional Japanese Ninjutsu weapons would look like, and something coming straight out of modern assembly lines.


    But once you took a moment to really go over it, the beauty in the design started slowly showing itself, and the longer you looked, the more impressive it became. What some might mistake as organic, curved lines at first, turned out to be a rather intricate set of accentuated decorations following modern design principles, with loads of straight lines and sharp edges. It did a lot to hide the rather boring frame of the weapon, that could probably be mistaken for any firearm any competent PMC had access to. And the most impressive part? It managed to do all that, without drawing attention to itself.


    I had said it before, I was not typically one to care much about stylistic choices and designs. I used what I could and what was effective. But this? Even I could admit to being impressed by that. It was a damn work of art. Looking like some piece of junk to anyone giving it a cursory glance, and only revealing its true beauty to those who took the time to actually admire it.


    Checking it over, I found it to be chambered in 9mm, with a 13 round magazine and one round loaded. The ammunition did seem to be standard fair, which was good. That said, I would have to talk to Stryx about potentially getting more specialised ammunition in the future. Lotus rounds might be a bit overkill, but I wouldn¡¯t mind some of the other special ammunition the Clan had come up with over the years. Just in case it was needed.


    It did come with a very basic holster that I could attach to the belt of my armor. And when I say basic, I do mean basic. This would be the first piece of equipment that would need replacement. If only, because I didn¡¯t trust the locking mechanism on it whatsoever.


    Finally done, I turned my attention back to Zuri, who was watching me with raised eyebrows, although her expression did seem to suggest that she approved. While I had talked with Stryx, she had gotten her own upgrades, considering the boxes next to her. Unlike mine, though, hers weren¡¯t that obvious at first glance. Sure, there were some of the traps, but otherwise, it was all far more subtle. I did notice that she had a bracelet now, although the use case eluded me, as well as some small metallic bits attached to her glove.


    ¡°It suits you, in a very edgy and dark way,¡± she muttered, taking me in from top to bottom. ¡°Frankly, it suits you too well. To the point I¡¯m questioning if you aren¡¯t going in the wrong direction.¡±


    That made me wince, and her expression registered shock. ¡°Sorry, I didn¡¯t mean it like that! Just¡­ It looks very¡­ dangerous. Promise me you¡¯ll be careful, okay?¡±


    I sighed, waving it off. ¡°It¡¯s okay. You ready?¡±


    She nodded in turn, glancing over the edge of the bushes once more. ¡°I think so? What¡¯s the plan?¡±


    ¡°Alright, this isn¡¯t going to be the most elaborate plan I¡¯ve ever thought up, but it should help to keep us both relatively safe.¡±


    If I was honest with myself, I was far less prepared than I wanted to be. At least it wasn¡¯t the worst plan I¡¯ve ever had to go through with, and it should keep Zuri safe. And that was really the important part here.

 A short little update

    Hey y''all!


    I won''t be posting tomorrow or next Tuesday. Can''t say much about the Friday after that yet. I''ve had a lot of stress recently and after talking to my doc, I got new medication. Some of the sideeffects of that medication make it really hard to concentrate until my body got used to them, which doesn''t help with writing whatsoever.


    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    That''s also the reason why I haven''t replied to many comments as of late. I''ve read them all, but thinking is hard >.>


    Apologies for the delay. I''ll do my best to keep new chapters coming. Hopefully things will be sorted soon.


    Cheers!

 Yet another short little update

    Hey y''all!


    I have good news and bad news. The good news, my new meds are working well! Really makes it a lot easier to organise everything, which is a blessing. On top of that, I also feel a lot less stressed as of late. Took some time to enjoy MHWilds to help with that, and it worked wonders. So things are looking up!


    The bad news is that I sadly still won''t be able to post tomorrow. Some family stuff needs handling (nothing bad, no need to worry, it just isn''t something I can delay). That means we''ll be back to our regularly scheduled program on Tuesday. I''ll try and see if I can''t wrangle two chapters for y''all on Tuesday, although I don''t wanna make promises on that. It depends on how my weekend will look.


    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    Thank you all for the kind words and for being so understanding <3 You''re all amazing! Again, thank you so much!


    Cheers!

 Chapter 15 - Nec-romantic diner

    "I can''t believe my brother was murdered!" said the warrior.


    "Worry not, we shall find the one responsible and bring them to justice! You have my bow!" said the archer.


    "Aye and my axe!" added the berserker.


    "And my sword. It is my duty to bring this evildoer to justice!" chimed in the paladin.


    The last of the group nodded sagely. "And your brother," said the necromancer.¡±


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Common joke in fantasy-forums, 2020s</li>


    </ul>


    From our position, we were pretty safe from any antithesis trying to sneak up on us. The wind blew in our direction, the hedges and bushes gave us ample visual cover, and the sounds and low droning of the AC in the building overshadowed most of our whispered words.


    That said, we didn¡¯t have the perfect view of the place either. And because of this, I had decided to deal with the xenos in three steps.


    The first step would be relatively simple. Zuri and I would both lay out some of her traps around the area we had been in before. If anything went off the rails, I wanted a reliable fallback point. And while this one was far from reliable, it was the best we had on such short notice.


    Once that was done, we would both slowly work our way around the west side of the building. The wind blew in that direction, and I wanted to make sure that none of the pheromones would fly over to the rest of the aliens before we were ready to deal with them. The east side was the side we had the least amount of vision over, and while I could certainly smell and hear a lot of things waiting for us there, I couldn¡¯t be sure about their exact position from where we were. Mostly thanks to the same low droning that worked to keep our voices hidden from the xenos.


    The final step of the plan was to strike the remaining aliens on the east, once we¡¯ve cleared the west side up. For that one, I would have to rely on my new necromancy thingy. Stryx had explained to me that any alien killed with my blades would be taken over. I also had the option to utilise nanite clouds or specialised grenades to distribute my necromancy nanites, but those weren¡¯t all too useful yet. I still needed to kill the aliens first before they got turned, and those grenades and the like didn¡¯t do any damage. So I might as well go through them myself.


    It was very good to know for future use, however.


    I took point, Zuri following close behind me. Trapping our fallback point hadn¡¯t been that much trouble, mostly thanks to how easy to use those little balls were. Within a few moments we were done, and on our way to start the second step of the mission.


    As we walked, I took a moment to get used to the new gear I had on me. The armor was very pleasant to wear and made moving surprisingly easy. So far, most armor I had worn had the tendency to restrict movement quite a bit, so I was glad to see that this one didn¡¯t. My new weapons didn¡¯t weigh much, and left me feeling light and springy. Just the way I preferred.


    Approaching from downwind to keep hidden as long as we could, we slowly made our way closer to the small group of aliens that would be our first targets. They were busy munching on leaves and plants, and whatever remained of the food some of the patrons left behind.


    Since this was close to the back entrance, the area in front of the door was open and without much in the way of hurdles. Once we had dealt with this group, we would have to walk through the maze of furniture, but at least here we didn¡¯t have to worry about that yet. Should we be fast enough, of course.


    Glancing at Zuri, I waited for her to get ready, two throwing knives already drawn. My new pistol was a nice backup, but it wasn¡¯t exactly quiet, which is why I opted for the knives instead.


    Zuri gave me a small nod, and I immediately sprung into action. With a flash of silver my two knives cut through the air, myself quickly dashing after them. The weapons arrived first, killing one model Three with a lucky hit to one of the eyes, and wounding another. As the first one died, there was a dull flash of neon green that vanished almost as quickly as it appeared, and a moment later the alien slowly started to change.


    I didn¡¯t wait to see what exactly that would look like. Within a moment, I was upon the third model Three, my daggers flashing silver as they bit deep into the aliens neck. It died before it even had time to fall to the ground, another flash of neon green signaling its turn to join my undead army.


    Zuri was a bit slower, which was to be expected. But with her range advantage, she took out the fourth alien, before it had time to jump me. Her threads cut through it without any issue, and the thing fell apart on the spot.


    Before the last survivor even had time to properly recover from my knife stuck in its eye, I stepped over towards it, embedding my blade into its skull. Another dull flash of neon green, and it fell to the ground.


    Checking over our surroundings for any more surprises, I found nothing of note. Finally I glanced over to the first alien I had killed. From Stryx words I could infer that the nanites would change it somewhat. If they took over muscles and the like, that would certainly take a moment and might leave some minor marks.


    What I did not expect to see was their skin slowly shifting from dark green to something more grey-ish, with brighter green lines forming on their backs. It had to be deliberate somehow, since all of them showed the same kind of lines, slowly forming into a symbol.


    ¡°Stryx?¡± I asked, not entirely sure what the purpose of that was.


    This was part of the reason I recommended to you the Mark II Reaper¡¯s Redoubt Control Implant and the Mark III Hades¡¯ Grasp Nanite System. While neither is the most powerful option available, both are relatively inexpensive, and offer some minor benefits compared to other options in the same price class.


    In specific, the Mark III Hades¡¯ Grasp Nanite System makes it easier for your allies to differentiate between hostile antithesis and corpses you have taken over, by changing the makeup of their skin and forming a mark. It should help reduce friendly fire incidents and can help prevent a panic. Of course, you can also choose not to change anything. There really isn¡¯t a point to that, however. Normal models will not be able to differentiate between your undead and their brethren, and those that can, do not need to rely on vision to do so.


    That was actually very useful information and something I had to begrudgingly admit, I hadn¡¯t thought about yet. It did make a lot of sense, though, and I was silently thankful that Stryx had thought ahead that far. The last thing I wanted was for folk to be terrified when a horde of undead xenos came to their rescue. Of course, it would take some time before people would learn that those are mine, but once they did, it would hopefully reduce the number of incidents.


    Dismissing those thoughts, I gave Zuri a glance. She was carefully keeping an eye on our surroundings, which I did approve of. She hadn¡¯t had the points for some proper armor, which I really didn¡¯t like, but at least she was doing her best to not get ambushed.


    Quickly retrieving my weapons, I watched as my undead finally got up, now fully under my control. With a nod to Zuri, I continued our little trip, throwing knives held at the ready for the next group of aliens.


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    Things went surprisingly smoothly on the west side of the building. Most of the time we managed to jump the aliens without needing to rely on Zuri¡¯s pheromones at all, and when we did, things were even easier.


    Of course, I took care not to rush too much. We might be in a hurry and in a race against time, until the other xenos noticed us picking off their brethren, but rushing head first into danger would be a far worse outcome. The end result was us picking off three groups on the west side, slowly building up my army, before we finally arrived at the corner of the building leading to the east.


    Even from here I could hear the aliens being restless. They were far more alert, all of them checking their surroundings for anything that might pose a threat to them. They had obviously noticed us killing the others, which meant that any attempt at an ambush were now moot.


    But I had planned for that.


    Pointing two spots out to Zuri, I let her know where I wanted her pheromones. This close to the aliens I didn¡¯t want to risk speaking, lest we alerted them, so we had to rely on gestures. Typically that wouldn¡¯t be too much of a problem for me, but Zuri hadn¡¯t learned the meaning of them yet, and I didn¡¯t have the time to go over all of them before, so I only showed her the three most important ones.


    She gave me a nod, letting me know that she was ready, and I immediately got up and dashed around the corner. Any attempts at trying to get the jump on them was futile. They were alert, out in the open, and too far away from any cover I might have been able to use. A quick, full frontal assault was the best we could do, especially with my horde of undead behind me.


    Of course, we were still outnumbered. Even if I were to disregard the injuries some of my undead had suffered at the hand of Zuri¡¯s thread, prior to being turned, we were three bodies short of an equal engagement, Zuri and myself already counted in. With the antithesis alert, and my own troops fairly injured, it meant that they had the upper hand.


    But we had the pheromones.


    Just as I took my fourth step towards the closest model Three, Zuri threw one of the pheromone traps towards the area I had indicated. At the same time, I threw the one I had taken with me directly into the mass of aliens in front of me. With a deliberately wide arc, I hurled my throwing knives towards two of the Threes on the left, closest to where Zuri was. None were aimed to kill, but they would be additional distractions until the pheromone balls landed.


    I had thought about just shooting them. And I might have been able to get away with it, but there were reasons I opted not to. Despite this being a full frontal engagement, we were still trying to keep somewhat covert. The aliens close by had noticed us, but so far, we had deliberately not made much of a commotion. We were already outnumbered, if any more aliens decided to join this lot, we could quickly end in a world of trouble. And gunshots would certainly be sufficient to invite even more of them to come investigate.


    I arrived at the first alien, jumping over it with speed, cutting open its right backside as I passed. At roughly the same time the pheromone traps landed and started spewing their contents. Three steps later, I buried my blade into the skull of one of the Threes that had just finished turning towards me. The first of my undead now also arrived where I had left the first model Three wounded. Their powerful jaws, animated by the nanites, found the alien¡¯s neck, and killed it instantly.


    From where I stood, I could now see every last model Three ready to jump me. Right in the middle of the carnage, I let myself drop into the flow of combat and training. My thoughts stilled, my body moving on instinct and long engrained muscle memory.


    A few of the aliens that hadn¡¯t yet been affected by the pheromones were trying to get to me, and I let their movements direct my own. Step after step, I carefully moved around them, leaving cuts and stab wounds one after the other. In my current situation I didn¡¯t have the luxury to immediately go for a killing blow after every evade, I had to adapt to the tempo the aliens set for me.


    But that was fine by me. My undead gave me enough cover and distraction to ensure that I had time to step out of the way of any incoming attack, and soon enough the entire battlefield was drowned in the pheromones that turned the powerful and fast attacks of the antithesis, into nothing more than drunken stumbling.


    Every so often a dull green flash illuminated my blades when they claimed yet another alien, weaving through the mass of bodies like a leaf on the wind. I tried my best to keep my undead spread out, and that paid off when more and more of the aliens joined the ranks.


    Of course, we weren¡¯t entirely without losses. Many of the undead that had been wounded by Zuri¡¯s threads before, succumbed in the fighting. The antithesis weren¡¯t especially good at figuring out which ones were mine and which ones weren¡¯t, but by the time we had killed just shy of half of their forces, the chaos of the brawl had become perfect. None of the aliens could differentiate between friend or foe, and a few of them even killed each other.


    The power of controlling the battlefield. I smiled to myself at the thought.


    Eventually, we started to overwhelm the Threes still alive. They were stumbling, not entirely in control of themselves, and most, if not all, wounded. My horde was pretty decimated as well, more than half of my initial undead now ripped apart, but between them, Zuri, and myself, the outcome was inevitable.


    Jumping over a model Three that tried, and failed, to rush me, I cut open its neck, leaving it to crash to the ground and bleed out. At the same time, Zuri cut open another pair behind me, killing both almost instantly.


    The remaining trio was beset on all sides by my undead, and in short order they were decimated. I stood in the middle of the carnage, surrounded by the undead, and with Zuri close by. With all the chaos finally dying down, I made doubly sure that nothing else was there to try and get the jump on us, but I couldn¡¯t hear, smell, or see anything.


    Finally letting out a long breath, I glanced at Zuri, giving her a warm smile. ¡°Good work.¡±


    ¡°Thanks¡­ Fucking exhausting, though,¡± she muttered, taking a deep breath of her own.


    I was happy to see that she had taken my lesson to heart. I did catch her nearly missing it, but she remembered to check the surroundings first, then relax. A small detail, but an important one.


    ¡°Yeah¡­ I don¡¯t think it¡¯d be a good idea to keep running around aimlessly trying to find any more folk,¡± I said with a frown, taking in the remains of some of the people I could see through the large windows. ¡°If we weren¡¯t in time to help these folk, then we won¡¯t be in time for the market area. That one¡¯s far further away, and leads past the drop pod again. As much as I hate the idea of leaving folk potentially behind, it¡¯s far too risky for us to check out. Better to head back and hunker down. Maybe try to help find people closer to the shelter. Better chances to find anyone still breathing.¡±


    Zuri seemed a bit torn. She was actively looking away from the corpses inside, and was very obviously not happy about the situation. But she did nod with a sigh. ¡°I suppose. I don¡¯t like it, but it makes sense. And I can¡¯t deny I¡¯m exhausted. You did most of the work, and I¡¯m still tired as fuck.


    ¡°It¡¯s the stress. This is a situation entirely out of your depth. You are trying to adjust to it, help as best as you can, while simultaneously being confronted with some of the most horrific sights you can make in person. Not being exhausted would be a sign of severe issues.¡± I gave her a small smile. ¡°It¡¯s also another good lesson. Learn to identify and accept your limits. It might sound like common sense, but you wouldn¡¯t believe how many people get killed because they overestimate themselves or get careless. If you can¡¯t keep going, then you don¡¯t keep going. Even if that might be detrimental. And even if that might cost someone their life. You won¡¯t be able to help everyone, even at the best of times. But if you push too hard and you exhaust yourself too much, all that leads to is your death. And that won¡¯t help anyone.¡±


    Again, Zuri seemed like she wanted to argue. My methods obviously went against her preferences, not that that was a surprise. In a way, they also went against what I wanted, but I had long since learned to accept that you couldn¡¯t always fix everything the way you wanted to. Best learn to accept that early, rather than to bend yourself out of shape trying to accomplish something impossible and losing sleep over it. I had enough demons to deal with, I didn¡¯t need more. And I didn¡¯t want Zuri to go down that route either.


    Of course, I was certain that this wouldn¡¯t be the end of that discussion. She was too good a soul to just let it go, and I was already prepared for a longer talk about it later down the line. But right now, we would follow my doctrine, whether she liked it or not. Once she had a better idea of what she was doing, things would be different.


    ¡°Let¡¯s head back for now. Stryx, I need some flesh melters.¡±


    Do you plan to take your undead with you, or are you going to relinquish control over them?


    ¡°Honestly, as helpful as they are, if we go back to the soldier types, I don¡¯t think it¡¯d be a good idea to bring them with me. Even if we send a warning ahead, they¡¯re bound to be jumpy. Too much risk.¡±


    I opened my hand and a flesh melter appeared. My undead slowly trotted over to the dead xenos, some pulling the corpses closer, before they collapsed, the nanites returning to me in that familiar haze.


    Time to head back to the shelter and see how else we could be of use.

 Chapter 16 - Because nothing is ever easy

    ¡°The antithesis are relentless. They hunt, they kill, then they take our dead back to their hives, recycle their bodies and make new antithesis. Not even in death are you safe from them. So when I saw a Samurai take the dead antithesis and force them to fight against their former allies, I found it fitting. Almost poetic.¡±


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Anonymous commenter on the Samuraiz Forums, 2050</li>


    </ul>


    The way back was surprisingly calm. Really, it was too calm for my tastes. It wasn¡¯t as if we didn¡¯t find any aliens. But after seeing how many xenos had gathered at the diner, not to mention the amount of death and carnage around that area, I would¡¯ve thought that more aliens would make their way over. The breeze wasn¡¯t exactly weak and it did carry the scent of blood and death.


    The reason for the lack of activity was revealed once we arrived at the bend in the walkway not far from the shelter. Again, the trees around us, so overbearing before, now started to open up into the open area right before the shelter entrance. Even from here I could hear gunfire, and yelled comments. That didn¡¯t bode well.


    The only folk around these parts that had legal access to guns, at least that I knew of, were police and PMC¡¯s. And, from those, I only knew of the PMC nearby. The direction the sounds came from lined up with that as well.


    Increasing my pace, I more or less pulled Zuri with me, already prepared for the worst. Rushing around the bend, not quite fully running yet, I found a scene straight out of one of those Samurai movies.


    The shelter was still closed up, heavily fortified doors locked tight. In front of it, split up into three rows, were the soldiers, laying down fire against a horde of xenos coming from alongside the western wall of the park. In typical PMC fashion, they didn¡¯t hold down fire so much as trying to take potshots at the leading Threes. Probably to conserve ammunition.


    I was vaguely aware that that was standard protocol of a lot of PMC¡¯s, to keep their resupply costs low, but generally, every soldier disregarded that once the shit hit the fan. If they didn¡¯t, that meant that they most likely didn¡¯t have the ammunition to keep firing blindly. Be it through corporate greed and understocking, or just using up what precious reserves they had, one way or another they were limited in how much they could actually do to hold off the aliens.


    From the amount of dead antithesis nearby, I would guess it was the latter in this case. Which, at least, spoke well to the mentality of their employer.


    ¡°Zuri, try to get as many pheromone traps as you can in there. Don¡¯t waste points, keep enough to get some gear and medical supplies if you need them. Maybe head over to the soldiers in the back.¡± I didn¡¯t have time to formulate an elaborate plan, this one would have to be handled quickly and directly.


    ¡°And you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to do my best to keep them from getting overrun,¡± I replied, before I broke into a full on sprint.


    Breaking through the underbrush, I noticed the heads of a few of the soldiers snap into my direction, but luckily they didn¡¯t start firing at me. With flashes of silver in the daylight, I threw five of my throwing knives into the horde, before I pulled out my pistol with one hand, and one of my daggers with the other.


    With a mighty leap, I jumped over one of the Threes that had crashed to the ground, after my smaller blades had hit it directly in the chest. A single shot was enough to finish it off, and a moment later the dim flash of neon green signalled its recruitment to my forces.


    With a quick step to the side, I stepped around the claws of another alien, trying to slash at my side. My dagger found its shoulder, and a moment later, the back of its neck. In the same motion I turned, levelling my pistol at a model Four that had just broken through the underbrush. The shot hit center mass, right where the heart of a human would have been, and the thing stumbled, then fell, and finally died.


    Pulling out my blade from the neck of the dead alien in the same motion, I took two steps backwards, then one to the right to escape a model One diving for my head. This close, I didn¡¯t even have to look at the thing to shoot it, the sound of its wings more than sufficient for me to know where it was.


    Counting the number of aliens still pushing towards the shelter, I found more than I was confident in slaying, before they got close. It also didn¡¯t help that the aliens that I shot weren¡¯t turned into undead. But for that, at least, I had a plan.


    With methodical precision, I started to target everything that could pose a higher than average danger to the soldiers at the gate. In most cases, that meant the model Fours around, but it also included two model Twos trying to divebomb them.


    The fourteenth shot rang out, the last of my bullets spent. With another sidestep I evaded the wounded Three, desperately trying to get its fangs into my leg, and stowed my pistol. Stabbing the nearly dead alien, I flicked two throwing knives towards two of the dead model Fours, one after the other. My pistol wouldn¡¯t revive them, but my throwing knives could. And the dim flashes of neon green confirmed my theory.


    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    Of course, I already had a couple of undead by this point. Basically all of my first wave were immediately shot by the soldiers, but soon after they seemed to have figured out that they were different. Or maybe Zuri told them, I wasn¡¯t sure. Either way, by this point none of my undead died to deliberate friendly fire.


    With three model Fours now on my side, the last one had joined the ranks thanks to my dagger, the tide turned. Zuri had done her best to get some of her pheromone traps into the mayhem, but that hadn¡¯t really worked. Oh, she had put some of them down, but that was mostly around the shelter. At least that way the xenos were far less likely to try and push too hard toward it. But it also meant that more of them focused on me.


    I stuck close to my undead, using them as shields. If I didn¡¯t have them with me, then I would¡¯ve already suffered some pretty severe wounds. This way, most of the attacks that hit me barely qualified as glancing blows. Only one had even pierced my armor, and that one hadn¡¯t reached deep enough to actually scratch my skin.


    A benefit of everything focusing on me, though, was that that made it far easier for the soldiers to take their time to aim properly. I really didn¡¯t enjoy the thought of being in their cone of fire, but I also didn¡¯t want them to stop picking off the ones a bit further away from me.


    Chucking another set of throwing knives into two Threes on my left, I stabbed the one that had just more or less collapsed in front of me, falling over the now corpse of one of my undead. Another flash, another Nanite-zombie, and I left it behind to complete its transformation.


    The fight hadn¡¯t taken all too long, but the enemy numbers had fallen drastically already. Most of that had been my work, but the soldiers hadn¡¯t been slacking off either. And even Zuri managed to kill an impressive number of those that disregarded the brawl in favour of the shelter.


    Collecting the throwing knives still stuck in one of my undead, I threw it at the last alien I could see, just barely missing the center of its eye due to its limping gait. Two of my undead were upon it a second later, and a moment after that it was dead.


    The quiet that followed was a very startling contrast to the chaos of before, and I took meticulous care to spot anything else amiss. Having aliens this close to the shelter certainly wasn¡¯t good. The last thing we needed was them being overrun.


    Despite my thorough check, I couldn¡¯t find anything else. That was a good sign. It meant we would at least get a moment to restock and resupply. With a nod, I began to collect my weapons. Most of them were stuck in still active undead, but some I hadn¡¯t had the time to collect before another alien had killed them. With my knives back in their sheathes where they belonged, I pulled out my pistol, and after a quick word with Stryx, pocketed the empty magazine, and replaced it with a new one.


    When I was finally done, I made my way over towards the entrance of the shelter, my horde of nearly a dozen undead behind me. It was less than I had expected, but also more than I had hoped for. Even if the soldiers hadn¡¯t used them for target practice anymore, it wasn¡¯t as if they¡¯d tried their best to avoid shooting them either. And since my undead weren¡¯t any tougher than normal antithesis, the adversary didn¡¯t have any trouble tearing them apart.


    Zuri was already speaking to one of the soldier types, and they turned when I approached. Then another soldier interrupted us, before Zuri could even finish opening her mouth to say something.


    ¡°Ma¡¯ams!¡± The newcomer gave us both a sharp salute. From his voice, I was pretty sure that this was the one we had spoken to before. ¡°We¡¯re very grateful for your help. How did the scouting go?¡±


    Zuri winced, shaking her head solemnly. ¡°We found the diner, but we were too late. With how far the market area is, we didn¡¯t think it smart to get there. And good thing too.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. We were quite surprised when they suddenly came flooding in. Thank you again for that. At this point, we have all known civilians that were nearby in the shelter and have closed up for the time being. There is an evacuation convoy already on the way, although they ran into some trouble.¡± He stopped, but it was very clear that he wanted to say more.


    ¡°Oh? Are they okay?¡± Zuri jumped on it immediately.


    ¡°Sort of. They ran into a rather large horde of xenos. They are confident that they will be able to reach us, but it will be with a rather significant delay. Considering how many aliens we¡¯ve already seen, the Major is worried about the people in the shelter.¡±


    ¡°We can look into it. If we can clear the area, it would go faster, right?¡± Zuri asked, nodding to herself. ¡°First I need some better gear, though. I¡¯m not going to run around without any armor. Once that¡¯s done, we can go take a look.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, ma¡¯am. I¡¯ll have the shelter opened shortly, you can use the facilities to change if need be.¡±


    ¡°Alright. Anything you can tell us about what¡¯s going on out there?¡±


    With a quick gesture, the soldier ordered his colleagues to open the fortified door, before he returned his attention to Zuri and I. ¡°No, ma¡¯ams. Apologies. The Major wasn¡¯t quite clear on what the situation looks like, although it is likely that a Hive has formed nearby. It¡¯s still young, but the number of aliens running around seems too high for just a single drop pod.¡±


    ¡°A hive? Already?¡± I couldn¡¯t quite keep the surprise out of my voice. I didn¡¯t know much about how an incursion went down in detail, but that seemed a bit fast, even for antithesis. It¡¯s only been a bit over an hour up until now.


    ¡°Yes. Not that surprising, really. There¡¯s a lot of biomass around for the xenos to fatten themselves up with. It would be more surprising if they hadn¡¯t settled somewhere yet. It¡¯s why you typically don¡¯t see non-gene-engineered plants around anymore.¡±


    Wonderful. The one thing that made me actually like the place, was the reason everything was going to shit. Well, whatever. It wasn¡¯t as if that was too much of a surprise.


    We were just about to head towards the shelter entrance, when a commotion caught my attention. Rushed footsteps, ragged breaths, stumbling through the underbrush. It wasn¡¯t aliens, that was clear immediately.


    Turning, I fixed the direction it came from with a gaze. A moment later, a middle aged woman broke through the underbrush, panting and obviously very much exhausted, despite looking to be in pretty good shape. She wore pretty typical clothing: pants, boots, a shirt. It was all in dark colours, but the dirt and mud that was smeared all over her was still pretty obvious.


    ¡°Thank fuck! Please, I need help! It¡¯s my husband, he¡¯s gone missing!¡±

 Chapter 17 - A Wife?鈥檚 Sidequest

    ¡°It¡¯s crazy, really. You¡¯d imagine a lot of PMC folk, or maybe police, to become Samurai. Or at least, a lot of the Samurai that do show up to have a history in those areas. Turns out, that is pretty rare. Probably because you can¡¯t be corrupted by the system yet. And fuck knows how many of those idiots have become numb to it all.¡±


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Anonymous Comment on the Samuraiz Forums</li>


    </ul>


    The newcomer was not what I expected. Generally, she fit the typical civilian look pretty well. Her clothes looked to be pretty average, and, while dirty, could be from any number of cheap stores. She kept herself in shape enough to not look burly or overweight, but she also didn¡¯t look like those models you¡¯d find online. Everything about her was basically indistinguishable from any number of random middle aged women you¡¯d find on the street.


    Everything except her expression.


    It took me a moment to even pinpoint what exactly it was about it that really put me off, but the moment she saw my undead aliens, still meandering about and swaying on the spot, I knew she wasn¡¯t your average civilian. Most people would react in one of two ways. Either they fled, or they got ready for a fight.


    This woman didn¡¯t do either immediately. She did eventually, after half a moment or so, spring back to life and made to run, but it was not the same kind of motion you¡¯d typically see from an immediate reaction. It looked, for a lack of a better word, staged. As if it took her a moment to remember how she was supposed to react.


    Furthermore, there was another thing that caught my attention. A sternness present in her expression that didn¡¯t fit the image of your average Karen on a stroll through a park. I¡¯ve seen that look before, that sternness. Typically you¡¯d find it in any halfway competent soldier or policeman. Anyone, really, that was trained to deal with potentially violent encounters of varying degrees of potency. Even most martial artists had that look, that equal parts calm and tense sort of expression that told you that they knew exactly what was going on and how to react. It was a sort of confidence in the ability to subdue the aggressor of a situation. And most of the time, that confidence was deserved.


    I was fully aware that the stereotypes were often incomplete, if they were correct at all. In many cases relying on stereotypes was a quick way to end six feet under, and part of my training had been to overcome such immediate assessments in favour of something more reliable. But even I wasn¡¯t immune to their influence. And seeing this woman and the stark contrast between her outward appearance and the way she held herself, now that I noticed it, did throw me for a loop for a moment.


    Most people wouldn¡¯t act the way she did. If she was a soldier type, a high likelihood, getting ready for a fight would be a natural and expected reaction. But this woman seemed like she wanted to get ready for a fight, only to realise that it wouldn¡¯t fit her outward appearance, changing her approach mid-movement to try and flee. It was a wasted moment, and even a moment as short as that could prove deadly. Nobody with half an idea of what they were doing would make such a rookie mistake in a real combat situation.


    By the time my assessment finally ran down, the newcomer was just about to start and run away from my undead. Zuri had noticed her too, of course, and now started to rush over.


    ¡°Hey, hey! It¡¯s okay! These xenos are not a threat! We have them under control! We¡¯re Samurai, we got, uh, stuff to make sure they don¡¯t hurt anyone!¡±


    It wasn¡¯t exactly the most eloquent of explanations, but it seemed to do the trick. Before she could get a head of steam, the woman already slowed down again, turning to Zuri. She didn¡¯t stop entirely, putting some more distance between herself and my undead, but she did seem to realise the truth of Zuri¡¯s words. It very likely helped that my undead didn¡¯t start to try and rush after her, not moving from where they were still slowly swaying left and right.


    I still wasn¡¯t sure what the deal of that woman was, but I wasn¡¯t about to leave her and Zuri alone. The moment my sister started to jog over, I immediately followed, hands on one dagger and my pistol. I didn¡¯t quite draw the weapons yet, but I wanted to be ready for any eventuality.


    The woman didn¡¯t stop staring at my undead, keeping a careful eye on them, but she did slowly start to walk over towards us. With a quite wide berth, which I couldn¡¯t really blame her for. We met around halfway, and I kept myself carefully between Zuri and the newcomer. Not directly between them, but close enough that I¡¯d be able to react if the woman tried anything.


    Zuri, unsurprisingly, didn¡¯t seem to notice, but the short glance the woman shot me told me that she did. A sharp eye, that one. Another reason for me to be cautious.


    ¡°Hey, are you okay?¡± My sister was checking the woman over, not quite reaching out to touch her, but obviously concerned.


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    After the initial glance, the woman seemed to ignore me, eyes locking onto Zuri. ¡°Yeah, yeah, I¡¯m fine. It¡¯s my husband. We were out and about and I went to grab some snacks when the aliens showed up. I rushed back, but he wasn¡¯t at the bench I left him at. And with the net down I can¡¯t contact him either. Do you know if he made his way here?¡±


    Her expression was surprisingly calm, and for a moment it almost felt too calm. But there was also something else in there. It manifested itself in the inflections of her voice, almost, but not quite, hidden. She wasn¡¯t screaming or yelling, she wasn¡¯t hyperventilating, but there was an undercurrent of panic and worry. Instead of letting her emotions take charge, she did her best to keep herself calm, hoping to take control of a situation she had obviously lost control over. Another good indicator that she was trained, and well at that.


    Zuri, for her part, nodded, immediately looking over to one of the soldiers, waving him over. ¡°We can have a look,¡± she said with a calming smile. ¡°If he¡¯s here, we¡¯re going to find him quickly.¡±


    The soldier approached our little group quickly, giving Zuri a stern salute. ¡°Ma¡¯am!¡±


    My sister turned to the man, giving him a nod. ¡°Do you have a list of everyone inside?¡±


    ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am. If you give me a name, I can check the database and see if they¡¯re present. Everyone should be filed into the local database.¡±


    ¡°Herold. Herold Kabaan,¡± the woman spoke, before Zuri could even glance at her again. Her eyes were piercing and sharp, studying her surroundings closely. It was obvious that she was tense and alert. Yet another detail that told me she wasn¡¯t just some clueless thug.


    The soldier nodded, then was silent for a moment. We waited, the tension dragging out more and more. Eventually the man slowly shook his head, before he finally turned to address us directly once more. ¡°Apologies, but no man under the name of Herold Kabaan has been registered with us. We aren¡¯t able to check with the other shelter, since the net is still unreliable, but I have put in a request once we have a connection again.¡±


    ¡°Fuck!¡± It was the first time the woman showed any sort of strong emotion, the word obviously spoken louder than was strictly necessary. After a moment, she shook her head. ¡°Okay, thank you. I gotta go and look for him.¡±


    Before she could turn to leave, Zuri spoke up. ¡°Where did you last see him? We can go and look for him.¡±


    ¡°We were past the diner, in one of the more secluded areas. It¡¯s more quiet there, with a good look on the lake. I can show you.¡±


    Zuri was about to nod, but I stopped her. ¡°No.¡±


    That threw my sister for a loop, and she more or less whirled on me, expression exasperated. ¡°No?! Yurei, she needs help! I¡¯m not just going to sit pretty while her husband might be in trouble!¡±


    I just gave her a stern glance, making it clear that I wasn¡¯t about to debate the issue. ¡°And you still need to get some rest and get better gear. Remember our discussion previously. I won¡¯t repeat myself. You stay here and get as much rest as you can, plus some armor and equipment for when we head out to help the convoy. I can go with her to try and find her husband.¡±


    I left it unsaid that I didn¡¯t trust the woman whatsoever, but I did give my sister a very stern look. She, of course, wanted to argue, but she must¡¯ve noticed my gaze. With a sigh she relented, shaking her head. ¡°Okay¡­ I don¡¯t like it, but okay. Just make sure you come back if you need help, understood?¡±


    ¡°I will. Now, go. We don¡¯t have time to waste. Every moment we stand here is another moment people are dying.¡± I turned my eyes back to the woman, who was looking at me with a tense gaze.


    Zuri sighed again, then stormed off, very much not happy with the current situation. I¡¯d survive her growling later, as long as she was alive enough to growl at me. Something I wasn¡¯t sure I could guarantee with this woman nearby. Call me superstitious, call me overprotective, but this woman was dangerous. I had enough enemies that wanted me dead, and right now was basically the last chance they got to remove me from the picture. Zuri and I were Samurai now, if they had someone keep an eye on me, something I practically accepted as a given, then they¡¯d know that soon we¡¯d be far too powerful for them to deal with.


    Of course, Samurai weren¡¯t invincible, but very few idiots would try to kill a Samurai. Especially a Samurai with my specific skill set. Without boasting I could say that I was already a highly dangerous target. Now that I was able to basically obtain any piece of equipment and weaponry I wanted?


    Not even I would take a contract for my own head. That was just suicide.


    The woman gave me a nod, then turned to lead me away. I kept a little bit of distance between the two of us, just in case, taking the time to give her a more thorough once over. Typically I¡¯d be a bit more subtle about it, but she had already noticed my caution, so it wasn¡¯t as if I had anything to lose.


    As was to be expected, she made a wide berth around my undead again, and I decided to leave them where they were. I could take them with me, of course, but after a moment¡¯s thought I decided against it. One versus one, I was confident in my ability to deal with her. The undead were unlikely to help much, and they might even be detrimental on the off-chance she wasn¡¯t lying through her teeth. They weren¡¯t exactly subtle, so if we did have to fight xenos, they might attract unwanted attention. No, I was far more comfortable leaving them behind to help protect the shelter.


    Zuri was still not an experienced fighter, and even with the soldiers close by, I wanted some way to keep her safe, even if only indirectly. It also made it less likely for the soldiers to try something, if they were so inclined, which was another benefit.


    Neither of us said anything while she led me down the same path I had taken twice today already. I kept my senses sharp, my ears and nose trained on the wind, while I kept my eyes on her back. My instincts weren¡¯t screaming at me that this woman was a direct threat, which was good, but I also didn¡¯t want to let my guard down.


    Time to see if I had to neutralise another threat, or if this truly was the rescue mission she made it seem like.

 Chapter 18 - Preparing for a Cleanup Job

    ¡°Many people believe that they have a pretty decent understanding of their own moral position. Most of those people, if questioned on their moral beliefs, will either be unable to properly vocalise their viewpoint, get angry for pointing out potential flaws, or turn to religious texts for answers. It is absolutely terrifying how many people do not understand their own moral compass. And how many either don¡¯t bother to think about it if prompted, or straight up hound you for questioning them.¡±


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Excerpt of an Interview with an anonymous Professor of Philosophy</li>


    </ul>


    We walked in silence, with the woman up front and me a couple of steps behind. The atmosphere was tense, although that might¡¯ve also just been me. I wasn¡¯t about to trust a stranger with my safety, and I equally didn¡¯t want to let my eyes off of her, in case she was planning to do something stupid. And that just meant that I had to be extra careful. It ended with me focusing mainly on sound and smell to keep an eye on my surroundings, while my eyes were mostly focused on her, just in case.


    From this angle, I also noticed a few other details that I¡¯d missed before. The most obvious one being the weapon she had concealed in her boot. Most likely a knife of some sort, and the only weapon I could infer. A firearm would be too unwieldy and obvious, and the cut of her shirt made it unlikely, if not impossible, for her to hide a weapon in the rim of her pants without me noticing.


    There was something else that caught my attention, though. Between the grime and dirt it was hard to see, but I was almost certain that she had some alien goo splattered on her pants and her arms. At least, I had no idea what else it could be.


    Human blood looked very different, and it also didn¡¯t seem like she was injured either. Not majorly anyway, she had some scrapes and bruises reminiscent of someone running through underbrush.


    If it was alien goo, then that meant that she had a run in with aliens before. I doubted that she killed any, although I couldn¡¯t entirely discount the possibility either. She was dangerous, that much was clear, so maybe she managed to snipe a lone M3 or something.


    I followed her along the same pathway that I¡¯d walked with Zuri twice before, leading towards the big open field where I had killed some xenos earlier. Knowing the route already, I noticed yet another thing that I found curious. In specific, the exact route along the walkway that this woman was leading me along.


    It very much followed the same tactics I typically used, keeping close enough to the underbrush so that she could use it as cover in case of emergency, but also not so close as to make it impossible to react to anything jumping out of it. There was a slight difference, though. Likely due to the difference in training. I would¡¯ve kept a little bit closer, but I was also used to working alone. If my guess wasn¡¯t entirely incorrect, it felt like she had been trained to work in small teams, covering each other¡¯s backs.


    Arriving at the edge of the open space where the path opened up, she stopped, stepping behind a tree for cover. I did likewise, keeping close enough for conversation, but not so close as to invite sudden jumps. We both let our senses wander, trying to find any indication of aliens. I focused mostly on sound and the scent on the wind, while she focused more traditionally on her eyes. Not really surprising, to be honest.


    ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be too far from here,¡± she said in a low voice, barely more than a whisper. ¡°We have to keep close to the south edge of the field, then head eastward. Past the diner there¡¯s a small bridge that leads onto one of the islands in the lake. That¡¯s where I saw him last.¡±


    I nodded at that. From the map I had memorised, that island only had two exits. One was the bridge we would be taking, the other a small tunnel that led under the water and towards the east. It was the direction of the second shelter, although the way there wasn¡¯t a direct route.


    ¡°Any chance he ran to the second shelter?¡± I muttered, trying to gauge her reaction. If I recalled the map correctly, the second shelter would be slightly further away from the little island, but only by a little bit. Depending on what went down at the time of the incursion, heading there was not a completely stupid idea.


    ¡°Possible. It¡¯s not a direct way, and he is not much of a fan of being underground, but he¡¯s also a bit of a dunce with too big a heart. If he wanted to help others, he might very well have gone that way.¡±


    With a small nod she got back up and continued leading me towards the diner, now that we could be reasonably certain nothing was about to jump us.


    I followed, nodding at her words. ¡°And you were at the diner getting snacks?¡±


    ¡°No, there are some vending machines not that far away from the bridge. Herold loves Skittles, and I wanted to grab some. When the chaos went down, I rushed back as quickly as I could, but by the time I got to the bridge a lot of folk had already ran off. He might¡¯ve been part of that group. I did a quick check to make sure I didn¡¯t leave him behind when I followed the group, but he wasn¡¯t on the island anymore. And by the time I got back to the diner¡­¡± She trailed off, expression falling into a grimace. I knew exactly what she meant.


    ¡°The diner¡¯s toast,¡± I agreed with a small nod. ¡°We did visit to try and see if we couldn¡¯t help anyone, but by the time we got there they were already all dead. We cleared the xenos and some of the bodies, but we didn¡¯t do a completely thorough check.¡±


    ¡°There were so many¡­ I have to hope that he wasn¡¯t in there,¡± the woman said with a shake of her head. ¡°I scouted out the surroundings, in case he got lost. As I said, he¡¯s a bit of a dunce and he can be a bit airheaded. But I couldn¡¯t find him anywhere. At this point my hope is that he made his way over to the other shelter.¡±


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    We continued in silence, following along the large field before she took the turn towards the diner. I couldn¡¯t pick up on any activity, although that changed when we got closer. From our current vantage point, I was almost certain that the aliens hadn¡¯t reached the building yet, but it was clear that there was a group that was on the way there. Probably to pick through the remains Zuri and I left behind. I cursed inwardly at myself, we should¡¯ve been a bit more thorough with our clean up after all.


    Well, whatever, no use crying over spilled milk. The woman did seem to notice the activity not long after I did, leading us along a slightly longer path to make sure we could keep behind some of the bushes not far from the diner. It made sense, and I did approve of the idea, but I still kept a little bit of a distance. Me ¡®vanishing¡¯ around here would make perfect sense, if her goal was to kill me. Could just say I went to kill the xenos and died. She wouldn¡¯t even have to worry about corpse removal.


    Despite my worries, she didn¡¯t show any indication of wanting to muerc me. Once we were past the diner, she quickened the pace a little. Probably wanted to put some distance between her and the aliens, which made sense. I kept one hand on the handle of my pistol, in case we found any surprises. By this point we were in unknown territory, so anything could happen at any time. I wanted to be sure that I had time to react.


    Even from a distance I could see the bridge. The woman slowed down the moment we got it came into sight, and it took me only a moment to realise why. The bridge was one of these new modern constructions, basically made up entirely of steel cables and metal rods. It made it very easy to see what was going on around and on the walkway.


    The first indication that something was wrong was the weapons that lay scattered on the bridge. Not far from them were bits of uniform and a damaged helmet. Blood splatters were all around, a trail of red giving a pretty good indication what happened to the bodies. It led roughly into the direction of the diner, although with a more southerly route than we had taken to get here.


    ¡°Fuck¡­¡± Her voice was quiet, but the tension in the word was clear.


    From the look of things, I¡¯d guess that a group of PMC¡¯s got surprised by aliens and overrun in short order. The weapons didn¡¯t look overly high tech, but better than any mall or park cop would ever get their hands on, and the helmet, while damaged, also wasn¡¯t some trash tier gear.


    I couldn¡¯t see any aliens, but that didn¡¯t mean that there were none. The battlefield didn¡¯t seem too old, so that meant the aliens couldn¡¯t have gotten too far. Not to mention that the island was full of biomass, and the drag marks certainly didn¡¯t lead toward it. That meant they¡¯d return eventually.


    Talking about the island, it was pretty thickly grown, secluding much of the area on it from view. That might be cause for concern, if she truly wanted me dead, although by this point I found it less likely than before. Mostly because we¡¯ve already been far enough away from the shelter for her to kill me unnoticed for a long time now, and also because there wasn¡¯t much of a point trying to lure me here specifically for the deed. Too much risk to her. I certainly wouldn¡¯t if I were in her shoes.


    The main reason I didn¡¯t fully discount the possibility yet, was the fact that it was nigh on impossible to see any xeno activity on the island through the thickly grown bushes and trees. If she wanted to throw me to the xenos, hoping they¡¯d do the trick, this was probably the perfect set up, as long as there were aliens on that island. Which wasn¡¯t exactly unlikely.


    I pondered, for a moment, trying to come up with a plan. Really, going onto the island was a pretty damn stupid idea, but I also couldn¡¯t discount the possibility of her speaking the truth. And if her husband was out there and in need of help¡­ Thoughts of Zuri went through my head. What would I do if it was here in this position?


    I had decided that I wanted to do something good with my life. To help people, to save them. If I were to run at the first sign of trouble every time¡­ I¡¯ve sworn to never kill an innocent person again. Would leaving them to die without even attempting to help them not be the same as to kill them myself?


    Sure, I wasn¡¯t about to just throw caution to the wind and ignore any dangers, but this wasn¡¯t outside of my capabilities either. It would be a hard mission, maybe, but it wouldn¡¯t be impossible. And that meant that I owed it to this woman to honour my agreement to help her, even if there was only a chance that Herold was still alive.


    ¡°Stryx, I need Necromancy Rounds,¡± I muttered quietly, the beginning of a plan slowly forming.


    The woman gave me a glance at my words. ¡°Necromancy Rounds?¡±


    I just shrugged, ¡°It¡¯s how I deal with groups. I think it¡¯s best for you to stay here while I try to figure out how many aliens there are. If it¡¯s just a small group, I can deal with it. But if it¡¯s too large a group then I¡¯m gonna call the search off. Too risky.¡±


    I met her gaze. Unsurprisingly she wasn¡¯t happy about it. ¡°Just like that?¡±


    Again, I shrugged. ¡°I can¡¯t keep an eye on you, fight aliens, and look for your husband. I might be good, but I¡¯m just one girl. And I¡¯m not about to risk both of our necks for the chance of saving someone else, if I¡¯d have to go through a mountain of angry bushes first. Saving one life isn¡¯t worth sacrificing two others.¡±


    ¡°I can handle myself, thank you very much.¡± She almost spat those words.


    ¡°With just a knife? I¡¯m not going to give you any weapons unless I can be sure you won¡¯t just try to kill me with them.¡± My words lacked the confidence I really wanted them to have. Despite my suspicions, I couldn¡¯t discount the possibility of her being truthful, and I didn''t want to get her killed either, unless she truly was guilty. Which I couldn¡¯t be sure about yet.


    On the other hand, her only having access to a lonely knife was my biggest trump card in the worst case.


    A box appeared next to me before she could reply, and I quickly opened it, finding two magazines with green tipped rounds. With a well trained motion, I shoved them into the rim of my pants. Really, for the next set of armor I¡¯d need some more ammunition storage.


    ¡°Is that why you¡¯ve been staring at me the entire time? You think I¡¯d be suicidal enough to try and go after a Samurai?¡± Her voice held a hint of confused amusement in her voice.


    ¡°I¡¯ve seen folk do far dumber shit. Honestly, it wouldn¡¯t even be in the top 100 of things I¡¯d be surprised about.¡±


    There was a short moment of silence, during which the examined me. Eventually she sighed. ¡°Look, I¡¯m not going to try and eighty-six you. Nor do I have any plans to piss off some Samurai. But I¡¯m also not just going to sit here and twiddle my thumbs and wait for you to get the job done while my husband is in danger.¡±


    ¡°As long as you keep out of my way.¡± I got up, slowly moving along the underbrush towards the bridge.


    She kept quiet, just watching me. That suited me just fine.


    Once I got some distance between us, I finally turned my attention mostly to the bridge. First order of business: Get the weapons out of her reach, and figure out just how many aliens want to make a meal out of me. Afterwards, it was time to look for her wayward husband.

 Chapter 19 - Samurai are terrifying

    ¡°Fuck¡¯s sake, Jeremy. How often do we need to repeat our seminar on dealing with Samurai? This is the fourth casualty this month! When do people learn to not fuck with Samurai!¡±


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Internal memo of XetaCorp Inc.</li>


    </ul>


    I watched the young woman cautiously as she ran off towards the bridge, her black cape fluttering eerily silent behind her. Herold always said he loved me for my vivid imagination, but there were certain moments in which I could¡¯ve gone without that particular character trait of mine. Today was one of those days.


    When we first set out for the park today, I was hoping for maybe decent weather and a pleasant trip. And while the weather had held, if you discounted the sudden downpour of hungry plants from outer space, the pleasantness of this trip left much to be desired. Surprisingly, a good chunk of that also came from the Samurai who had decided to assist me in finding my husband.


    Meeting Samurai was certainly not something I had ever expected I would experience, and even in those outlandish dreams of youth I wouldn¡¯t have expected for the meeting to go like this. Not only was the Samurai with me, Yurei, if I remembered the words of her friend correctly, quite unlike any depicted online, she also seemed convinced that I had it out for her. An astronomically stupid notion. Who would voluntarily start trouble with a Samurai?


    Perhaps it was because she was relatively new. I wasn¡¯t an expert on the topic, but that much seemed obvious. If only through the fact that she lacked the effortless confidence that so many Samurai portrayed in public. Her equipment, while quality work no doubt, also left a lot to be desired. Compared to the gear that someone like Paragon was able to muster, hers looked downright sad. To those who knew nothing about good gear, anyway. Not enough glowing bits, not enough pomp.


    I couldn¡¯t be certain. Even if she might be new as a Samurai, it hadn¡¯t taken long for me to realise that she wasn¡¯t just your average civvie being chosen as Earth¡¯s protector. In my youth I had been a bit of a wildcat, and I¡¯ve been around the block enough times to meet a couple of interesting faces. Many of which were part of the gangs, enforcers, drug dealers, smugglers, bouncers, ex-soldiers and former PMC members. They all were dangerous in some capacity, and none I would take lightly on a good day. But compared to this Samurai? They were hardly better than children playing pretend. And that despite the fact that I would guess her to be in her late twenties at the absolute oldest. Likely a bit younger.


    It was in the way she moved, the way she spoke and watched. I was certain she was listening to the exact way I was breathing, the way I was leading her here. More than once did I honestly miss her even being there, despite never being more than a couple of paces away.


    That sense of danger was only solidified as I sat and watched.


    Unsurprisingly, although much to my dismay, she was quick on her feet and even quicker to discard the dropped rifles into the river. From her comment I was rather certain that that was to do with her not wanting me to get my hands on them. As if I¡¯d be suicidal enough to try and take out a Samurai with nothing more than a second hand rifle of some poor sod eaten in a park, and my best wishes and dreams at my disposal. It would be faster and less painful to just jump off the next skyscraper and take the express train to hell.


    Once the rifles were waterlogged, she ran along the bridge with speed, although careful to not make too much in the way of sound. Her way of moving was unlike anything I¡¯ve ever seen between all the gang-folk and PMC I ever had to deal with. Sure, nobody was trained the same way, but generally most showed similar inclinations. She was entirely different.


    The moment the first alien showed itself, things changed drastically.


    At first, I didn¡¯t even see the dog-like plant fucker that tried to sneak up on her. She just made a quick motion, and a flash of neon green appeared somewhere in front of her. The next moment she had her pistol drawn and killed four more. Whatever she killed got back up and turned on its former brethren, which was another reason I would choose not to engage her, even if I wanted to in the first place. Being turned into some kind of undead puppet did not fit my definition of afternoon fun.


    The rest of the fight went by in a blazing fashion. Shit died before I could even properly track from back here, her silhouette dancing over the battlefield like a damn ghost. More than once did something try to hit her and I could¡¯ve sworn she should¡¯ve lost an arm or a leg, but she didn¡¯t seem to even pay attention to it, systematically dismantling whatever was in her way. And not in the same simplistic way of your common soldier either. Each attack she made, each shot, each thrust of her blade, was perfectly precise and purposeful, delivering exactly the force necessary to deal with the adversary in front of her, while not leaving her exposed for any longer than was absolutely necessary.


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    In short, it was a one sided bloodbath.


    My daughter has had quite the fascination with Samurai back during her childhood. Pretty common stuff, kids do need a hero figure. Between Samurai¡¯s general disregard for law and order, and Mia¡¯s¡­ let¡¯s call it enthusiastic interest in rapid unscheduled disassembly of various goods, beings, and services, I¡¯ve had to endure quite the number of hours worth of Samurai fighting off the xenos. Seldom did I, as someone who¡¯s gotten in way too many fights than I probably ever should in my life, have to raise my eyebrows in surprise.


    This, though? Entirely different league.


    This Yurei, she wasn¡¯t killing antithesis. She was disposing of them in the most efficient manner at hand.


    By the time she had the bridge cleared, a small army of undead xenos was pushing their way onto the island. Truth be told, I was halfway tempted to do a runner. She knew what the fuck she was doing, and if she was considering me a threat, I didn¡¯t want to know the outcome of what would happen if she did something about it.


    But Herold needed my help. And I wasn¡¯t about to leave him behind just because some supersoldier might not trust me enough.


    Taking a deep breath, I checked my surroundings, before I finally got up from behind the underbrush and slowly started to make my way over to the bridge. As capable as this Yurei might be, I didn¡¯t leave anything up to chance, making sure that nothing else with plans of eating me was in my vicinity.


    The Samurai in question was already slowly making her way back over the bridge, her undead minions keeping on the island side, likely with orders to defend and protect. Walking wasn¡¯t perfectly easy, with as much alien goo and blood as there was, there was a real risk of slipping and falling, so I decided to take it slow.


    ¡°My AI hasn¡¯t found him yet. Probably took the tunnels to head over to the other shelter,¡± she said in that familiar almost stoic manner that she¡¯d shown ever since we left the others behind.


    ¡°Probably. Do you think it¡¯s safe to cross?¡± I couldn¡¯t help but keep a firm eye on the antithesis shambling behind her. Seeing them made me shudder with revulsion, and a tiny little bit of fear. No matter if she could control them or not.


    ¡°Should be. I couldn¡¯t find any larger groups, and the few strays I can take care of.¡±


    ¡°You know,¡± I said, eyeing the island cautiously, ¡°I¡¯d really rather not walk around unarmed.¡±


    ¡°Tough luck. Now let¡¯s get going.¡± She was about to turn away, but I stopped her, reaching out but not quite touching her.


    ¡°Look,¡± I started, slightly hesitantly. I tried my best to portray some confidence, although right now that wasn¡¯t exactly an easy thing to do. ¡°I¡¯m not sure what your story is. And I don¡¯t know why you¡¯d worry that some noname like me would be stupid enough to try and knife a Samurai, but I¡¯m not. You don¡¯t get to live this long with a youth like mine by being stupid, and something tells me you know that. I¡¯ve gotten out long ago, fell in love, found my husband, and I have a daughter. I¡¯d rather not leave them behind alone. If only, because I know Herold will completely get lost if I¡¯m not there to help him.¡± I smiled faintly at the thought. ¡°I don¡¯t know a lot about Samurai, but I know enough to know that you folk generally don¡¯t wanna see people die. And I know you care at least enough to help me look for my husband, despite not trusting me. But you¡¯re also just one woman, and I really rather not run around with nothing more than some old knife I¡¯ve had for two decades by now and wishful dreams about not being mauled to death by extraterrestrial plant monsters. I can fight, and I can keep myself safe, but I need a weapon for that.¡±


    I kept a careful eye on her. Truth be told, I didn¡¯t hold out too much hope. It was clear that she was the cautious type and slow to trust others. But I still found it worth asking.


    For a long moment there was silence, and she gave me a sideways glance. Then her head shifted, just ever so slightly. Likely her AI speaking up. I¡¯ve heard before that Samurai could communicate with them without speaking, although how exactly that worked I wasn¡¯t sure. Mia thought it was a sort of telepathy or mind reading, although I didn¡¯t really believe that. If only because the thought that the AI could just read our minds was fucking terrifying.


    ¡°Alright,¡± she finally said, a bit of reluctance in her tone. A moment later something appeared next to her, and she caught it out of the air. Flipping it around, she handed me a small pistol, handle first. ¡°Try to shoot me with it, and the thing will blow up and take your hand with it, got it?¡±


    I swallowed, her tone of voice made it clear that she wasn¡¯t fucking around. Glancing at the weapon I hesitated for just a moment, before I slowly reached for it. ¡°Yeah, no worries. Do I need to worry about it blowing up otherwise?¡±


    ¡°No. You¡¯re right, I don¡¯t want to see civilians die. And I¡¯ll do a lot better if I don¡¯t have to babysit you. Just don¡¯t make me regret it. You won¡¯t like what happens when you do.¡±


    Without another word she turned and started walking along the bridge.


    I eyed the weapon cautiously for a long moment, before I gently checked it over, and made sure that it was loaded. From the design it was clear that it was a pretty simple thing, chambered in 9mm from the look of things. It was hard to tell, since it was missing the engravings that would typically denote details like that.


    But it was a weapon, and despite the warning, that alone was enough to make me feel slightly more safe. With the inspection of the weapon complete, I nodded, quickly following behind her. This day was fucking nerve wrecking. I just hoped that I survived it long enough to tell Herold all about it.


    I wasn¡¯t sure if I wanted to tell Mia about Yurei, though.

 Chapter 20 - Meanwhile at the shelter

    ¡°In the beginning every Samurai is terrified, at least a little. Doesn¡¯t matter if you were army or plate cleaner before, nothing really prepares you for going toe to toe with a couple of xenos. But every Samurai has to overcome that fear sooner or later, or they¡¯ll die. It helps to realise that being a Samurai opens a whole lotta doors. You got tools at your disposal, if you use your head right you¡¯ll find a solution to whatever problem you are facing.¡±


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Samurai Phi in an Interview with the Samuraiz forums, 2049</li>


    </ul>


    Yurei is fine. You really ought to relax a little, Zuri. Stressing yourself out like that isn¡¯t healthy.


    Stryx words were true, but I still couldn¡¯t fully take them to heart. Standing in the middle of the shelter bathroom, I wasn¡¯t quite sure what exactly I was supposed to do. Get new gear, sure, but what? And what if what I got wouldn¡¯t be enough?


    Yurei was out there saving some man on behest of the woman that had appeared right after the shelter attack, while I was sitting here twiddling my thumbs! And I wasn¡¯t stupid. I had no clue what exactly was going on, but I knew Yurei, and I knew the tone she had taken when she told me to stay here. She was worried that this woman might try something. Or something along those lines.


    Yurei was always a worrier. Whenever it came to me, she tried her best to shield me from whatever might bother me. I never told her, but I¡¯ve noticed her deal with things for me. Such as the time someone tried to bother me at Uni. The guy was a dork, pissed because I turned his advances down. Really, nothing I couldn¡¯t handle. But Yurei couldn¡¯t just leave things be.


    I knew something was going on when she wasn¡¯t there for the typical break meetup, and then when the guy started avoiding me, I was pretty sure that she had a rather¡­ forceful talk with him. I never asked her, but I hoped she hadn¡¯t hurt him. Sure, he was a dick that couldn¡¯t take no for an answer, but that didn¡¯t deserve a beating. He hadn¡¯t done anything to me for that.


    Regardless, today she seemed especially tense. Not a surprise, this was the first time in four years she actually needed to fight. I knew that she could, of course. She had told me the entire story, including every last gruesome little detail that would better be left unspoken. I¡¯ve known about every single one of her kills for years by this point.


    But to see her actually go at it? Ashamed as I was to admit it, but even I had been a little bit scared of her when she first went toe to toe with the large group of xenos. She had this intensity to her when she fought. Every movement had purpose, every step brought her closer to her goal: To kill.


    I wanted to help her, but I had no idea how. I wasn¡¯t a fighter, and I wasn¡¯t daft enough to think that she would be able to get through this without having to fight herself. This was her life, and it was pretty clear that she felt far more at ease on the battlefield than when she had to deal with people. The fact alone that she hadn¡¯t seemed tense at all when she went to kill the aliens told me that much. To her, it probably felt freeing. And that worried me.


    I didn¡¯t want to find her in that same ditch again. I didn¡¯t want to see her with a pistol in her mouth again, the finger once again on the trigger. And worst of all, I couldn¡¯t shake the fear that I would be too late this time.


    I stared at the mirror, the smiling face of myself staring back at me. It hid all the worry I felt far too easily, like a mask that I wore. And it didn¡¯t seem to fit me at all. But I had to push through. I had to be strong, for Yurei¡¯s sake. I had to remain calm and get through all of this so that she could have some place to return to.


    You really have to stop that.


    There was a shift in tone in Stryx¡¯ voice. She, at least I thought it was a she, there was that faint hint of femininity to it, always sounded calm and soothing. The sort of voice mom would use when I was little. Right now there was a firmness to it, though.


    How many nights do you want to cry yourself to sleep for Yurei¡¯s sake? You can show your feelings, Zuri. You have to. If you keep bottling it all up then it¡¯ll break you someday.


    I knew she was right. I knew deep down that I really had to stop. But I just couldn¡¯t bring myself to. It felt as if that would be the end of me.


    ¡°Let¡¯s talk gear,¡± I said, switching the topic a little more forcefully. I really didn¡¯t want to talk about the rest right now. ¡°I need armor. Something awe inspiring. Something soothing. And I need¡­ weapons, I guess. My glove is nice, but I can¡¯t just rely on that all the time.¡±


    Stryx actually sighed, which I found a bit jarring. I never would¡¯ve expected an AI to be able to make that sort of sound.


    You need better gear, yes, but do not think this conversation is over. For the moment I¡¯ll allow you to shelve it, but we will talk about it once you get back home, understood?


    Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Again, her tone was that of a stern mother. Instinctively I nodded, accepting the point.


    Good. As for your new armor, I would suggest you put the majority of your points into that. You are not a fighter, and you are not the kind of person to fight at the front lines, but it would be best for you to be able to defend yourself properly against a multitude of attacks. Especially the neurotoxins the antithesis like to deploy.


    As you have already demonstrated an interest in confusing and distracting the adversary, I would suggest implementing defensive pheromones and hard-light projectors into your armor to increase your defensive capabilities. That would work well with the theme you seem to be going for. In effect it would ensure that you can quickly disengage from any potential attacker in close quarters, while also being reasonably safe from ranged attacks. Anything short of a model Nine-S wouldn¡¯t so much as leave a mark.


    I would also suggest incorporating a few technologies from Yurei¡¯s list of catalogues. While right now there isn¡¯t much in the way of worthwhile options, that will likely change in the future.


    ¡°You mentioned something along those lines earlier, when you asked me if Yurei could use some of my stuff. How does that work, exactly?¡±


    The idea to combine catalogues was interesting, and I was curious to see what we could achieve with it. Learning more about it seemed like a good idea.


    Generally two Samurai can combine their points and catalogues to obtain a larger or more specialised purchase. There are certain limits as to what can be combined, depending on a list of various factors far too long to list now, but overall it can drastically improve effectiveness, especially against a more specialised adversary.


    Please be advised that such cooperation requires the consent of both parties to work properly.


    ¡°And there is no way Yurei would refuse to help me if it means getting me better armor,¡± I said with a sigh.


    Indeed. Not to mention, I would rather make sure she is pleased with your new gear, lest she tries something inadvisable.


    ¡°Are you saying she could be a threat to you?¡± The thought seemed insane, and I couldn¡¯t help but raise my eyebrows in shocked inquiry.


    Zuri, your sister is certainly capable and skilled, but there are entire universes between what she can achieve and what might be able to qualify as a threat to me. I am not concerned about her ability to damage, or even annoy me. What I am concerned about is her using up significant energy that could be better spent elsewhere and won¡¯t risk either you or her in the process.


    Despite our little talk earlier, I have no illusions about her trusting me any more than she did previously. And I am not about to incur her wrath for fear of endangering her in the process. I am not here to try and manipulate either of you. I am here to assist you in uplifting humanity and fighting off the antithesis invading your homeworld. Nothing more and nothing less.


    That made a whole lot more sense, and honestly, I really should¡¯ve thought of that myself. Yurei could be rather driven if she thought she had reason for it, and that could quickly end with her going a bit overboard. She was quite overprotective when it came to me. Annoyingly so, in most cases. But knowing her past, she probably had good reason for it as well, which was the reason I haven¡¯t told her to stop it entirely yet.


    ¡°Alright¡­ I do like your ideas for the armor. What options do I have that would fulfil all those requirements?¡±


    The talk about gear had taken a lot longer than I had originally anticipated. Not hours, but certainly more than the couple of minutes I had estimated. The main reason for that had been my own vanity. Once Stryx had shown me a preliminary design, I hadn¡¯t been able to stop myself from properly designing it. If this was going to be my new Samurai look, I wanted to look cool.


    While I had geared up, we continued our discussion, this time about weapons. I really wasn¡¯t sure what I wanted in that regard. Some offensive pheromones would¡¯ve been nice, but I also equally liked the idea of Hard-Light weapons, since they could be equal parts offensive and defensive.


    ¡°I see your point, and I probably wanna grab them later down the line, but I don¡¯t think it¡¯s something I want to grab right now,¡± I muttered thoughtfully after Stryx mentioned yet another option for pheromones.


    With a few quick motions, I finally finished tying my boots. Getting up, I gave myself a once over in the mirror. I had to say, I looked really good with my new gear. Sadly, I didn¡¯t get the chance to check myself over more clearly.


    ¡°Ma¡¯am!¡± The voice of one of the soldiers came from the bathroom door.


    I nearly jumped at the sound, utterly surprised by it. ¡°Y-Yes?¡± I couldn¡¯t quite keep the stuttering out of my voice, and I chastised myself for it. It wasn¡¯t as if I was doing anything bad.


    ¡°There are more xenos on their way to the shelter. We could use some help.¡±


    The sentence hung in the room for a moment, before my brain reengaged. More xenos. That wasn¡¯t good. And I had to deal with them myself.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be right there.¡±


    My conversation with Stryx about weapon choices came back to the forefront of my mind. I wanted to grab the new Hard-Light tech, but a momentary thought stopped me from voicing that decision. My pheromones were really useful. I likely wouldn¡¯t be able to deal with all the xenos by myself, even with the new weapons. But if I distracted them in the same way I did previously¡­ That would make things a whole lot easier. Especially because I didn¡¯t have to kill them. There were soldiers with me. I didn¡¯t have to do all the work myself.


    I just had to make sure that everyone would be safe and had the opportunity to actually do the killing.


    With a nod I grabbed my stuff, leaving my old clothes in the bathroom for the time being. Honestly, I really wasn¡¯t feeling properly prepared. But I also didn¡¯t have the time to think about all my options. This fight I¡¯d have to manage on my own. I just hoped that I didn¡¯t forget anything important.


    And that Yurei was safe.

 Chapter 21 - Fake it 鈥榯il you make it!

    ¡°Confidence is one hell of a drug. It¡¯s crazy how much people can accomplish just by believing that they can. I¡¯m just glad that nobody managed to sell confidence yet.¡±


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Anonymous quote, a week before AdiNike¡¯s new product launch 2028</li>


    </ul>


    ¡°And you¡¯re saying this is just the scouting group?¡± I couldn¡¯t quite believe my own words.


    The soldier, a woman by the name of Taka, had sent me some video files recorded by her peers stationed outside of the shelter entrance. Some of them had kept an eye on our surroundings and had noticed a rather large group of xenos coming our way from outside of the park. It was pretty clear that they had to come from one of the other drop pods, likely lured here by the earlier fighting and the stench of dead xenos.


    ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am.¡± Taka¡¯s voice was tense, despite her best attempts to hide it. It helped that she wore a helmet, it hid a lot of the unease she almost certainly helped. ¡°Paul says he¡¯s still spotting more aliens joining the marching band.¡±


    That was far, far worse than I originally anticipated. A couple of xenos I could handle, with the help of the soldiers. Probably, anyway. But this many? I wasn¡¯t a fighter, I barely knew what to do. I dealt with people, not with fighting. This was¡­ terrifying, really. I wished Yurei was here. She would know what to do.


    But she wasn¡¯t. I had to deal with this one myself.


    ¡°Stryx?¡± I kept my voice as low as I could manage, but I wasn¡¯t quite able to hide the shivering in my tone.


    Please be aware that you can subvocalise to communicate with me. That should help with hiding your unease from the soldiers.


    <¡±Okay. Ideas?¡±>


    Plenty. While these numbers might seem overwhelming to you, they are actually not as much of a threat as you likely think them to be. Your specific catalogues make dealing with large groups far easier and safer than most Samurai would be able to, this early in their career. Of course, you are lacking in firepower and large scale defences, but that can be rectified with time. I would suggest you use your imagination to try and sort this situation out. Be aware that I do have plenty of solutions available for you, should you be unable or unwilling to come up with your own, but I believe that, as terrifying as this situation might be in your eyes, it would be a good learning opportunity for you.


    You want to play the illusionist, distracting your enemies and opening them up for your allies to take out. To achieve that, you should learn how to think like an illusionist.


    I¡¯d be lying if I said I didn¡¯t hate Stryx for that right at that moment. While she certainly wasn¡¯t wrong, right now really didn¡¯t feel like the right time for lessons. People could die if I fucked up! And that would be on me!


    But on the other hand, she was right. And as much as I fucking hated it, I had to learn how to deal with shit on my own. So far I¡¯ve relied on Yurei for much of the fighting, and now I¡¯ve instinctively asked Stryx for help. I couldn¡¯t just ask others all the time. Didn¡¯t I want to be an awesome Samurai who could deal with shit on her own?


    Taking a deep breath, I tried to calm my nerves. It was hard to hide the jitters of fear, but I forced myself to not show how terrified I was. I was a Samurai now, and these people relied on me for help. If they saw me folding, they would lose all hope. Fake it ¡®til you make it.


    I couldn¡¯t count all of the aliens, but there were at least four or so dozen, and that was just the lead force. Most of that was model Three¡¯s and One¡¯s, with the occasional tentacled model Four mixed in. The thing that worried me the most was the sickly looking ursoid thing that was part of the main force.


    <¡±What are those? I haven¡¯t seen them before.¡±>


    Curious. These seem to be a new variant of model Six. As far as I can find, there are no records of them being sighted before. I can make an educated guess about potential capabilities, but until one is engaged in combat it is going to be very hard to say with any certainty.


    Model Six are typically command units, controlling the battlefield by commanding the antithesis. Their commands are typically basic in nature and do not allow for complicated maneuvers, but they can still pose a significant threat. In direct combat the main danger coming from a model Six is the sheer mass they bring to the table. They do not have dedicated weapons, rather just stampeding any adversaries. Unless directly engaged, they typically sit back and focus on controlling their forces, however.


    Given the more nimble design of this variant, I would estimate them to be more focused on mobility, or perhaps even not meant for fighting at all. It could be a trade off for more intelligence or more advanced tactics. Caution is highly indicated.


    I tried to imagine what that would look like. Antithesis fought¡­ Well, very directly, from what I knew. And the little I¡¯ve seen today did fit that rather well. They typically just overran you with numbers and that was that.


    If they were able to organise into something more coherent¡­ That would be all kinds of bad. For a growing number of reasons, and that was only what I could come up with from the top of my head. If I wanted to ensure that they couldn¡¯t just crush us underfoot, I had to make sure that we had defences against swarm tactics.


    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    With a thoughtful frown I turned to Taka. ¡°Can you give me, like, a rough map of the surroundings? Particularly of the entrance of the shelter and the open plaza? I might have some ideas on how to deal with this mess, but I¡¯ll need your guys'' help. All cards on the table, I can either get better weapons for me, or the stuff I need to keep you safe. And I¡¯d rather do that and let you do the killing, since you got weapons and know how to use them.¡±


    ¡°I can do that,¡± she said with a nod. Her voice didn¡¯t betray any opinions she might have on my suggested course of action. ¡°We aren¡¯t made of ammunition, but we might be able to hold them off.¡±


    I gave her my best smile, ¡°Thanks, Taka. Once I get more points I¡¯ll get you guys better weapons and more ammo.¡±


    That seemed to help her relax a little, and she gave me another nod. I turned my attention back to Stryx, just as Taka sent over the files I requested.


    <¡±Okay, I¡¯ll have to make sure their morale keeps up. Can I get like barricades or something?¡±>


    Basic barricades are Class 0 items and always available to you for a pittance. If you wish for something more specialised, you¡¯ll likely have to unlock a catalogue for that and pay more per purchase.


    <¡±Is the basic stuff enough to just keep a Three from smashing through it?¡±>


    I didn¡¯t need a fortress right now. Well, I needed one, but I couldn¡¯t afford one. I had less than 200 points remaining after getting my new gear.


    Yes. They are more resilient than the concrete barricades you would see on highway construction sites. Short of a model in the teens, you needn¡¯t worry about them breaking through.


    That was good, and I nodded to myself. Taka was still watching me intently, and I did my best to act as if I was starting to get a good handle on this situation. What they needed, more than anything else, was the hope that we could get through this. I knew from experience that people who were confident were far more productive and likely to succeed than those who believe that all hope is lost.


    <¡±Good. I¡¯ll have to do some acting once we get out there to set up. Do you think you can help me look all amazing and magical when I buy the stuff?¡±>


    That will be no trouble. While the defensive Hard-Light emitters in your armor aren¡¯t meant for light shows, they are very much capable of them. Would you prefer something pompous or rather keep things on the down low?


    <¡±Pompous. As grand as you can manage. Half this fight is going to be good bluffs and acting as if things are well in hand. And if they see me pull off some amazing shit this soon after being selected as a Samurai, they¡¯re more likely to believe the aliens have no chance.¡±>


    And what if you lose after all?


    I shook my head. <¡±Then it doesn¡¯t matter, because we¡¯ll all be dead. There is this saying, ¡®fake it ¡®til you make it¡¯. That is going to be our watchword for the hour.¡±>


    Very well. What else do you have in mind? I doubt that the barricades are the only thing you plan to get, am I correct?


    I grinned, an expression that came surprisingly easy to me, despite the situation. <¡±Oh, of course! You mentioned those pheromones bombs earlier. What do you think about mixing some of Yurei¡¯s flesh melters into those?¡±>


    With a long mechanical click the shelter doors unlocked, and slowly started to open. I was standing at the front of a dozen soldiers, all equipped with rifles and some incendiary ammunition, courtesy of Stryx and Yurei¡¯s weapons catalogue.


    The planning stage had been far, far shorter than I really liked it to be, but we didn¡¯t have time and I still had to make sure we were set up before the xenos arrived here. It wasn¡¯t as if they were barrelling down on us within the next few moments, but we likely wouldn¡¯t be getting more than ten minutes before they got here.


    ¡°Okay, everyone!¡± I said cheerfully, clapping my hands as I stepped out of the shelter. I turned, giving them a wide smile. ¡°Time to prep for some xeno killing! You all know the plan, so let¡¯s get set up. Stryx, my dear friend, if you please?¡±


    With a bit of flourish, and a tiny little bit of childlike glee about the ability to actually perform some miracles, I bowed, waving my hands to either side. Immediately my armors sprang to life, hard-light emitters projecting a veritable light show around me. Stryx obviously went to town on the project, half-transparent duplicates of myself ¡®building¡¯ the barricades in record time.


    New purchase: Class 0 Reinforced Barricades x15!


    Points reduced to: 134


    New purchase: Class 1 Custom Turret Rig x10!


    Points reduced to: 34


    True to Stryx¡¯ words, they really weren¡¯t much more than concrete slabs, originally. Evidently she had decided that that wasn¡¯t pompous enough, and redecorated them, including some depictions of myself holding up signs with various motivating lines, such as ¡®Only a dead xeno is a good xeno!¡¯, or ¡®Keep calm, keep focused, and we¡¯ll wipe the floor with those plants!¡¯


    I had to admit, it was kind of endearing, and it helped a lot with the anxiety I still felt deep down.


    The soldiers didn¡¯t waste any time and immediately began to set up at their designated positions. Next to each of them, and along the outer perimeter of the barricaded were the Custom Turret Rigs that I had put together with the help of Yurei¡¯s catalogues. Honestly, I was so glad that she got a good catalogue for weapons.


    The custom rigs weren¡¯t much. Really, they were just there to lob my new, custom made grenades into the mix. To that end they had some limited ability to aim, but had to be reloaded manually after three throws. Not to mention, that they were jerry rigged from various items on my utilities catalogue, so they weren¡¯t exactly quality products.


    I wanted something better, but I didn¡¯t have the points. My hopes were that I¡¯d be able to get more stuff in the middle of combat, once we started killing some xenos.


    That was also the reason I had spent some points up front for better ammo. That way, I¡¯d be earning a fraction of each kill the soldiers made. I didn¡¯t have enough for all of us outside, but that would hopefully change soon.


    Just as I was about to turn to the soldiers to give them some pep-talk, the lookout spoke up over the comm channel that I¡¯d been invited to.


    ¡°Ma¡¯am¡¯s, the xenos are closing in. It seems that they have spotted us.¡±


    For a moment there was silence. I nodded, forcing myself to remain calm.


    ¡°Thanks, Paul. Good job out there!¡± With a smile that was only partly genuine, I turned to the assembled fighting force. ¡°Well then, it¡¯s time for us to do our part. Let¡¯s kill ourselves some xenos!¡±


    For good measure I pumped my fist into the air, and Stryx used my Hard-Light emitters to send a shower of light around me. It seemed to help a lot, if the cheers were anything to go by.


    Now I only had to make sure that that false front of confidence wasn¡¯t just a front, and make sure nobody died in my attempts to keep everyone alive.


    But no pressure!

 Chapter 22 - Now you see me

    "See, the thing with magic is, it''s all smoke and mirrors. Until it isn''t." ~ Liam Glauchester, Scion of the Unknown Deeps, master of the dark arts, and the grand- OUCH!


    "Get to the point Liam." ~ Foxfire


    <¡±Stryx? Any way you can help with some music or something?¡±>


    It took me all my willpower to keep my expression the confident mask that I showed the soldiers previously. To say that I was tense would be a huge understatement. This entire situation was far outside of my comfort zone, but I had to make it work somehow.


    Sadly, I am unable to assist with that without a small purchase on your end. I was not designed with musical talent in mind, and while I likely would be capable of producing sounds that are more soothing than whatever your music industry is selling these days, I do believe that they would not be to your liking. I do have some inexpensive earpieces available, however.


    <¡±That¡¯s fine by me, I just want something to help me relax a little.¡±>


    That is certainly understandable. Please hold out your hand.


    New purchase: Class 0 Universal Earpiece!


    Points reduced to: 33


    I did as I was told and soon found a small little earbud in my hand. At first glance it seemed just like any other earbud you¡¯d find on the second hand market, but the moment I put it in, it was immediately clear that this wasn¡¯t your average trash. It didn¡¯t hurt, felt perfectly moulded for my ear, and didn¡¯t feel loose at all.


    You can connect it to your augs to play any song of your liking. I have also taken the liberty to obtain a copy of your preferred playlist and download it for you.


    ¡°Wait, what?¡±


    That took me by surprise.


    <¡±How did you do that without net connection?¡±>


    Do you honestly believe I am limited to the same archaic network that you are using?


    Okay, that made a lot of sense and I felt kind of stupid for not realising that sooner. But it also brought up a different question.


    <¡±Does that mean that you can keep in contact with Yurei? And our parents? Wait, could you have checked the other shelter before they left?¡±>


    Technically, I could have, yes, although there are rules and regulations in place to limit how much I can act on my own.


    The sounds of movement ripped me out of my thoughts, and I shook my head. <¡±Okay, we have to talk about that later. For now¡­ Can you help me shield everyone? I¡¯m not sure how much my Hard-Light emitters can do, and I doubt that I¡¯ll be able to take control of them and fight. Well, as much as I can fight anyway¡­¡±>


    Of course. I presume you still want to keep up appearances?


    <¡±Yes.¡±>


    Before I could continue, I was interrupted by a small group of model Threes breaking through the underbrush on the far side of the open area. Immediately some soldiers pointed their rifles at them and fired. The sound of gunshots had my heart stopping for a moment, and I nearly fainted from shock.


    Without much thought I navigated my augs and put on some music, desperate for something that could help me calm my nerves. It didn¡¯t help nearly as much as I was hoping for, truth be told.


    Once the first batch of aliens was dead, things immediately broke out into chaos. More and more antithesis came rushing out of the underbrush, beelining it to the shelter entrance, and for a moment I was certain we¡¯d be crushed underfoot without any chance for survival.


    Then my Hard-Light emitters sprang to life, figures appeared directly in front of the barricades, half-translucent and wielding massive weapons and tower shields. It took me a moment to realise, but they all looked like variations of me, wearing different kinds of armor. From knights in full plate, to rogues in leather armor straight out of a fantasy game, everything was present.


    It was also pretty apparent that Stryx took some inspiration from video games, since one of the images wielded a rather oversized lance, kneeling down to send a volley of hellfire out the end of the thing and into the horde of xenos. I knew that one to be a weapon from a certain series about hunting large monsters.


    As awesome as it looked, it was clear that the counter attacks were nothing more than show. Few, if any, of the attackers were wounded, much less killed. But at least it looked awesome, and that already seemed to help.


    Finally I was able to move again, the initial shock dying down. My heart was still hammering in my chest, my breathing coming a bit too quick to be healthy, and I forced myself to focus. My glove didn¡¯t have a lot of range, but it was enough to fend off the aliens that managed to break through the gunfire and reach all the way to the barricades.


    With a wide gesture, I sliced through some of the model Threes that tried to jump over the defences, just as some of my jerry rigged grenade launchers started throwing their payload into the mess of moving plants. The music in my ear was nearly drowned out by the continuous gunfire, but I did my best to focus on it. It helped me calm down a little bit.


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    Despite the dread I felt, it was almost childs play to fall into a sort of rhythm. One of the soldiers stopped firing to reload, and I moved over, filling in the position for a moment, before I walked past, holding out a hand for another grenade when I came past one of my contraptions.


    Then the battle shifted, when the grenades started to show their impact. The flood of aliens died down, instead turning into a sort of chaotic mess that didn¡¯t seem to have any sort of direction. Some still managed to get closer to us, but most seemed to be confused as to where they even were.


    Perhaps it would be a good idea for you to capitalise on this situation.


    Stryx was right, although I still wasn¡¯t all too sure what I was supposed to do about it.


    You should show more trust in your new armor. The equipment you have is certainly not low quality. It should allow you to fight any smaller models head on. And I do believe that seeing you push back will help with the morale, no?


    I swallowed at that. She was right, but I really didn¡¯t like the idea of running into close quarters with a bunch of hungry thorn bushes.


    Then again¡­ I had to learn how to fight anyway, and with them barely able to walk straight, that would be a good opportunity.


    <¡±How long ¡®til my new weapons?¡±>


    Only a couple more points. I¡¯ll inform you when the purchase can be made.


    <¡±Okay¡­ Thanks¡­¡±>


    Taking a deep breath, I nodded to myself, then started to walk closer to the barricades and the xenos. Stryx did¡­ something with my Hard-Light emitters. I wasn¡¯t entirely sure what, since I couldn¡¯t quite take my eyes off the chaos in front of me. Whatever it was, though, it seemed to help with my personal defences, since I was almost certain there was a shimmering over my body.


    I still didn¡¯t actually vault over the barricades, but I started to be a bit more aggressive with my xeno killing. Moving my hand left and right, trying for a steady rhythm that hid the jitters that I felt, I cut down alien after alien. Most work was done by the soldiers, though, and I was damn fucking glad I got them the ammunition.


    With a bit of a flourish, now feeling a tad more confident, I cut off the leg of a model Three that tried, and failed, to climb over the barricades with stumbling feet. It fell, and I moved to cut it in half.


    New purchases are now available. Would you like to proceed with the purchase we have discussed earlier?


    <¡±Yes, please.¡±>


    Very well, please hold out your arm as if you were to blast the adversary with energy.


    That had me raise my eyebrows, but I did as I was told. The familiar notification of a new purchase rang out, although I was too distracted to pay attention to it, since not even a moment later something on my arm shimmered, then glowed. Once the glow vanished, a bracelet appeared, still with a faint red shimmer. Before I had time to even comment, a lance of red energy shot out of it and impaled a nearby alien, killing it instantly.


    For the time being I will assist you in using your new Hard-Light emitter, although I highly suggest you take some time to properly calibrate it to your wishes after this battle.


    <¡±Yeah¡­ Thanks!¡±>


    I couldn¡¯t quite suppress a small smile as I waved my arm with my new bracelet, and more lances appeared, shooting out and into the mess of aliens in front of me. My main weapon continued to be my glove, though, especially considering that my Hard-Light emitter could only do so much before the battery ran out.


    Stryx had told me about that beforehand, and considering that we didn¡¯t know how many aliens we¡¯d have to deal with, I decided to be a bit more conservative with my usage of it.


    <¡±Any chance I can get some more to help with my illusions capability to actually harm things? At some point they¡¯ll realise it¡¯s all smoke and mirrors.¡±>


    Certainly. At your current rate of point gain, you should be able to obtain such an item in only a few more minutes. That said, I can work with what you have right now to alleviate those issues a little. Of course, that will require the offensive Hard-Light emitter you have just purchased, rendering it incapable of assisting you at those times.


    <¡±That¡¯s fine by me, just do it.¡±>


    Stryx didn¡¯t comment any further, although the flow of battle immediately shifted. With my Hard-Light emitter now being used by Stryx, I took the time to walk along the barricades and restock the grenade launchers. The flesh melters mixed into them weren¡¯t nearly as potent as I originally hoped for, but even from here I could see some aliens looking worse for wear because of them.


    Perhaps I should switch it up a little bit once I get more points?


    Right now, most of the points I got were from the soldiers, and they didn¡¯t give me the full amount. Really, I got very few from them due to the degrees of separation. Stryx had given me a short explanation about that earlier, so it wasn¡¯t a surprise. Still sucked, though.


    You have accrued enough points for more Hard-Light emitters. Would you like to go ahead with the purchase?


    <¡±Yeah, get something to help with the illusions. I want the bracelet for more personal use in the future.¡±>


    Of course.


    New purchase: Mark III La Lumi¨¦re!


    Points reduced to: 12


    Again, my defensive Hard-Light emitters sprang to life, making me glow a little bit. I couldn¡¯t quite concentrate on it, though, which is probably why I missed what exactly changed. When Stryx didn¡¯t explain, I couldn¡¯t help but speak up.


    <¡±What exactly did you get me?¡±>


    La Lumi¨¦re, a rather curious piece of technology. Would you like a demonstration?


    <¡±Yes?¡±>


    A sudden lance of light caught my attention, and I looked up. Some rather massive looking dragon thing had appeared out of nowhere, hovering some distance up. It was white and golden, with two massive wings, and strange horns on its head.


    The shape of the wings made it look a bit like a star. Small, golden eyes looked down upon us, and with a sudden roar, a small thunderstorm of black lightning struck the ground in front of me. Each time a bolt hit an alien, it was rend asunder as if cut by a thousand blades.


    Once the storm died down, the dragon vanished in a shower of golden light.


    I couldn¡¯t help but stare at where it¡¯s been, blinking stupefied for a long moment.


    While it doesn¡¯t pack a huge punch, it is capable of projecting multiple, rather sophisticated illusions. Perfect, if you wish to fight in multiple places at the same time.


    ¡°Yeah¡­ That was fucking cool!¡±


    I have taken some inspiration from the games you have played in the past. I hope it was to your liking.


    ¡°Hell yeah!¡±


    I turned back to the horde of aliens, not quite able to wipe the grin off my face. Maybe this wasn¡¯t so bad after all.