Silent Bounties

Michael Brooklyn Morgan "Red Alert"

Act 2, Chapter 5 "Silent Bounties"

Another day dawned in Lavanitir Port City. Following last night’s events in the mall with Cinna and his sibling's boyfriend, Ferdinand, Michael awoke to a blaring headache and the rampant knock on his hotel door. This headache is one that he had not felt since... perhaps sometime in the past? At his current condition, what with the amnesia and all, this is by far the worst headache he’s ever had. Maybe he exerted too much effort into using his psionic powers? Or it’s because he stayed up all night hanging out with his step sibling. He’d think to himself as he rubbed his eyes. Looking around, his vision is just as impaired - the colors of his environment remain dull, in other words, everything’s slightly gray. It took him a while to get his bearings before deciding to answer the loud knocking on the door, just so the sounds could cease. The more he’d ignore it, the worse his headache will be.

He got up from his bed begrudgingly and walked towards his door. He opened it, and who did he see when he opened it? Definitely not room service. It’s none other than his companion, Giselle, who was knocking on his door excessively. He knew not how long she was knocking on his door, but he felt relief when the knocking stopped. “Oh! You’re awake. Hi. I was worried you’d slept a little later.” She said to him. “Did you need anything?” He asked, irritated. “Just wanted to say I picked up a request from a client back in Fiore. We’ll be departing shortly.” He sighed, “Alright, alright. I’ll get ready.” He was about to close his door on her when she pushed the door against him to ask, “Hey, are you ok? You don’t look so good.” “I’m fine. Just slept late, is all.” he responded. She let go and the door shut in front of her. Giselle was clearly worried of his current condition, but shrugged it off when she was assured of his whereabouts.

She was lagging behind in preparations so she walked back to her room to pack up her equipment and the rest of the baggage.


- ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ -

Meanwhile, within Michael’s mindscape, the big lion man Aslan and the peculiar Sepulchre continue their efforts in repairing Michael’s mindscape. In doing so, they hoped that not only would he remember who his family was, but strengthen his own willpower in resisting Loki’s influence on him. So far, the repaired fragments of his memories have yet to yield a result. There were only a few instances where he was able to recall memories of his siblings and step siblings, though they were all childhood memories of his. He never remembered anything from his teenage years. Well, not yet, which is what the two of them have been working on for awhile.

They kept going on their work and chatting idly about the good old days, comparing what was in his memories to what Earthland used to be. It was interrupted when they felt and heard something from Loki’s domain. It sounded like multiple stone slabs grazing against other stones. They stopped what they were doing to investigate what was going on. It turned out that, aside from Loki’s gateway to his domain, another gate of eldritch construct and grimdark markings was created beside it. In contrast to Loki’s black and red gate, Cthulhu’s gate was grey and teal. “They’re at a stalemate,” Aslan, the white lion man, remarked, “I thought Cthulhu would have lost.”

“Patience,” said Sepulchre, “I never said the elder god would be defeated overnight. Nay, this fight is a long one.”

“And it will drag on further.” Another voice echoes deep from the dark recesses of the Mindscape. A gentleman appears from the shadows. He appeared taller than Ozwald, who is taller than the rest of his twins, and was wearing what Ozwald would sometimes wear - something gentlemanly like a brown leather vest over a white buttoned shirt, in which the sleeves are rolled up. He wore a pair of black pants with a black leather belt holding it in place. The buckle of the belt bore an insignia of the Brass Seraphs. He also sported a pair of black leather boots. As for his face, he closely resembled Ozwald, except with ginger hair and a full beard. He had an alluring pair of emerald green eyes. “There is no doubt that Cthulhu will weaken Loki through his duels, and he will never be the victor.” He added.

The lion looked at the gentleman, inspecting his every article of clothing. “I see you’re getting with the times.” He said, complimenting his outfit, “And you look more dapper than before.”

“Of course. I didn’t want to look out of place when I meet my sons in the near future.”

“Complimenting appearances aside, I suppose it’s time you help us out with this endeavor of hours, Alexander?” Sepulchre said to him.

“Of course.”


- ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ -

Back at the surface, Michael and Giselle checked out of the hotel room. They didn’t need assistance with their luggages because, afterall, Michael can just move them with his mind. It’s a convenience one cannot get unless you’re a psychic from Pergrande. This awakened ability of his has, unknowingly, garnered some sort of resentment towards him within the lobby. He’d get darted glances from a few hotel goers, often muttering “Filthy Pergrande scum”. Though barely audible from a distance, he could hear it perfectly due to his psionic powers.

This bothered him a bit, and this made him question his lineage.

Michael has been silent for the most part on their way to the ferry. He was out of focus as he questioned his lineage, all while paying attention to the road. He could barely make out any sound coming from Giselle as he drove towards their destination. It wasn’t until when Giselle yelled out his name when he snapped out of this trance. “Michael!” She said. He glanced at her but shifted his focus back to the road. “Michael are you ok?”

“... I’m fine.”

He clearly wasn’t.

Michael Brooklyn Morgan "Red Alert"

Act 2, Chapter 5 "Silent Bounties"

They managed to board the ferry going to Hargeon Town without any delay like meeting up with step siblings and their gay boyfriend. And fortunately, they were the last people to board the ferry, which was going to depart shortly. Giselle was constantly insisting that they get there as early as possible as urged by her informant/client. Like last time, the trip would take around almost a day and they would arrive at sundown. “I’ll be briefing you on your mission when we finish unpacking our stuff.” She said as she hurriedly dragged her baggage towards her designated room, to which Michael asked, “Why not ask the help of the Rune Knights, then?”

“I’ll get to that in a bit!.” She yelled as she disappeared into the crowd.

Michael shrugged and sighed, using his telekinesis to bring Giselle’s equipment towards her room with ease. He was just walking towards their designated room when he overheard the conversation between two civilians, both of which he guessed to be originating from Bellum. “Tsk. These Pergrande scum isn’t even hiding the fact that they’re from that fucking hellhole.” The man said, “Those telekinetic bastards should be killed.” Magic extremists, he thought. When he overheard these callous remarks, he was seeing red. He was unable to explain this anger rising from within him. Was this connected to his memory he lost? Did they somehow offend him?

And is he from Pergrande?

“...no.” He mumbled to himself as he continued to walk towards their room, successfully avoiding the worst possible outcome imaginable. Still, a petty revenge is in order, so why not forcefully break the locks of their briefcases and have the contents spill everywhere? He was quick to flee the scene when the couple was left aghast by this sudden turn of events.

Michael was held back by this minor kerfuffle but he was back on track and caught up with Giselle, and they managed to unpack her equipment in her room. After that, it was time to brief him of his mission. Michael sat by the bed while Giselle was prepping the equipment, and she’s doing it while explaining everything. “Ok, so, to answer your question, if the informant did approach the authorities as a whistleblower, there’s a chance he’ll be arrested and imprisoned. Or worse, executed. And that means no reward. They want to avoid being incriminated in this endeavor. They were asking for someone… silent. A sniper. Which is you.” “Makes sense.” He nodded. “Will this be the last mission before you go back to selling… whatever you sold back in the Neutral Grounds?” He queried the blonde.

“A month long break to your Neutral Grounds retreat and my business. Yes.” She answered, hiding the fact that she's accompanying him solely to keep track of his emotional state, as requested by his twin sibling, Ozwald. “Mostly because there’s no other suitable jobs for you at the moment, unless you’re into saving kittens from treetops or whatever.” She chuckled.

Giselle paused for a bit as she worked her way into her equipment. She was successful in setting it up, now it’s time to actually brief him of his mission.

“According to the informant… er… ‘client’, four small dark guilds have united in causing chaotic unrest within the city by tomorrow at midnight. The guilds in question are Arctic Thorn, Berserk Amazon, Plunder Barrels, and Shadow Edge. They’re paying good cash to thwart their schemes, enough to pay for a month's rent for your apartment.” “Do you have the profiles for the four guilds?” He asked. “I do. They even sent us the exact location of their encampment. Can you please do the honors?” She said as she gave him her lac tablet, to which he used his pseudo magic to project the contents stored within without hesitation. These files contained each guild’s insignia as well as their location in the map. It even detailed the guard duties and magic specialization of each guild.

“As you know, these four guilds are not to be trifled with. The guild masters were meticulous in selecting recruits with as much potential for mischief and chaos so expect some level of resistance when you encounter them. The guild masters, you shouldn’t underestimate. Expect greater resistance from them, but I can assure you they’re not as powerful as the guild masters of the Legal guilds.” She said as she fiddled with the contents projected by Michael’s pseudo magic, like the touch screen lac tablet she has. “Let’s start with the four guilds.”

She brought out the files from a folder named ‘ Arctic Thorn’, to which details of their members are laid out as well as their guild insignia, “The Arctic Thorn is composed of ice wielding mages, if that much isn’t obvious. This was a relatively new dark guild and, so far, they’ve only committed robbery.”

“What of their motives?” He asked.

“Regrettably, the informant didn’t give us their motive for committing this crime. And so does everyone else. But back to the matter at hand,” She paused as she brought out the file for the Arctic Thorn’s guild master, “Severo Frostgauntlet is their leader. A young one spoiled brat who will do anything to subdue everything in permafrost. He’s arrogant, he’s stubborn, and he’s a lil’ pussy. A shame that a handsome man like him is such a megalomaniac.” Giselle was briefly reminded of a certain someone who was just like Severo - a megalomaniac. It was none other than one of his other twin brothers, Francois, who is part of the Rune Knights.

She swiped them away and brought out the files for Berserk Amazon and Plunder Barrels. “These two guilds have one thing in common - requip users. They’re loaded with magical equipment at their disposal which could prove a challenge for you if you take them on melee combat. The only difference is that the Berserk Amazon have shamans in their ranks and are entirely made up of women, while the Plunder Barrels can somehow manipulate water, and are made up of men.” She said as she pulled out the files of their guild master, revealing a tanned muscular woman who is probably bigger than him. “Wild Rosa is the guild mistress of the Berserk Amazon and she can dent a beam of steel with her raw strength. Wouldn’t want her to snap your back if you don’t want to get killed.”

She swiped away the file and brought out the file for Plunder Barrel’s guild master, “And here we have Just Jones, a pirate notorious for pillaging cargo ships. Careful, he’s a summoner. He can summon sea serpents in a snap, and you will want him out of the picture.”

She swiped the files away and brought out the files for the Shadow Edge next, but not before cringing at their guild, “This here is the uh… Shadow Edge.” Michael cringed as he looked at their guild insignia as well as their guild members. Razor Darkclaw, Mandark Noir, what kind of names are they?! “They’re… something.” He said, commenting on their edge worthy monickers, “On that we can agree. Becquerel Blo- hhh… Becquerel Bloodheart is their guild master.” She said as she pulled out his file from their folder, revealing a callous looking man who looked like they’ve seen the abyss that they decided everything must end. “They’re not just bootleg emo bands, mind you. They’re formidable opponents, specializing in shadow magic and ninjutsu. And other edgy shit they have. Blood magic. Edgelord assassin wannabes”

“Is that everything?” He asked.

“That is everything. For the guilds, at least.” She replied, "As for the mission itself, you are to take down the guild masters. It's not needed to fight off an entire guild, as the informant said. Take down their leader, and they will flee. It's up to you if you want to fight them all. They're not very particular in your way."

Giselle closed all the files relating to the guilds and brought up a new interface which detailed the various armors Giselle has been working on. “I’ve also been working on this special armor for you since yesterday and I wanted to give it to you. Yes, I was sick, but I was bored." Michael gave her a worrying look but, after seeing her all healthy today, he decided to let it go. He wouldn't dare losing his her. After all, she WAS the only magic engineer that he could trust.

"It’s an armor specialized in long range assassination. I call it ‘Strix Sniper’.” She pulled up the files projected in the air and ran a program which simulated the armor set in question. It had an owl motif, and it had a cloak wrapped around his armor, hiding the rest of his body. “This one lets you turn invisible while making yourself soundproof. I also took the liberty in upgrading the sniper rifle you have, but I haven’t applied it yet so I will need you to be all nice and cozy for me to update your pseudo magic.”

“... Alright,” He complied, “do what you must.”

Michael Brooklyn Morgan "Red Alert"

Act 2, Chapter 5 "Silent Bounties"

They arrived in Hargeon at night after their day long voyage from the Lavanitir Port City. Nothing out of the ordinary happened while on their way back and it has afforded him a day’s respite from fighting. Giselle had already finished uploading and updating his pseudo magic to include the owl themed sniper armor as well as some modifications and fixes to his other armors like the Hound Infantry, the Blitz Hornet, and the Black Widow. She heard the bellows of the ship’s horn, which meant that it was only a matter of time before they reached the Hargeon’s port. “Great.” She said as she packed up her things, “We’re finally here.” Michael stood from her bed and helped pack up her equipment, then brought them all with him to his car with his telekinetic powers. He didn’t hear any ‘Pergrande’ and ‘psychic’ comments on his way to the car. It must be a minority thing, he’d thought.

He didn’t ask her to know where they will be staying because he already knew she preferred staying in the same hotel they went to. He drove them there and parked in the designated parking area for hotel goers. They went inside, and Giselle went to the reception where she was going to claim their keys. “Hi, yes, reservation for Kinsleigh?” She said as she pulled out her ID and handed it to the receptionist. She had already booked a reservation for the two of them while they were in the previous hotel. “Of course, ma’am.”

The bellhop was going to tend to their baggage when he saw his display of telekinetic control over objects. It was clear from his facial expression that he was disgusted at him, even before muttering these words to himself, “Tsk. Go back to where you came from, you despicable Pergrande bastard.” He assumed he scoffed at him because he was denied the privilege of serving them, the hotel goers. This didn’t go unheard by Giselle. “Is it just me or are people glaring daggers at you?” She said. She had an excellent sense of hearing, owed to her lineage as a kitsune, but she never revealed this side of her to him... yet. “I just noticed that-” He interrupted before she could speak another word. “No. Don’t mind them.” He continued to their rooms, leaving her behind.

She’s concerned about him, but she won’t press the matter further to avoid an argument.

They managed to get to their rooms and unpack. Coincidentally, they were staying in the same room they were staying a few days ago, back when Michael had an unfortunate incident involving a heretic of their order. “Just a few more hours before they make their move.” He said to himself in his room, alone. Ever since he heard some unsavory comments, which he’s pretty sure was directed at him, he can’t help but feel that maybe he shouldn’t use his powers in public.  He also had questions regarding his lineage, but he decided it’s best to send them to the backburner while he’s on his mission.

These queries can wait.

Michael had asked Giselle for the files previously to be imported to his database to review the mission details before heading off to assassinate the leaders. “Remember, you don’t have to fight the entire guilds.” She said, "I know. I wouldn't want myself to get overwhelmed" "Good." She said as she walked away, waving her hand for a 'farewell'. "Good luck. You'll need it." She mumbled to herself. While Giselle decided to head out to go shopping while the stores are open at this hour, Michael went to the back of the hotel to start his mission.

He telepathically activated his pseudo magic, calling forth an exosuit which appeared on him and was worn over his civilian clothes. This exosuit served as a second skin that provided ample resistance against enemy fire. He then telepathically activated his pseudo magic to summon his Strix Sniper gear. Multiple red hexagons and sigils appeared all around him, and parts of the armor emerged from these projections. They connected themselves to several parts of his exosuit, after which Photosilk threads appeared from parts of the armor and wove themselves to form the gear’s cloak. A helmet resembling a horned owl went over his head and down, making him wear the headgear.

He looked stoic and vigilant in his armor, as intended from the design Giselle made it to be. It was built with a 270 degree vision, which was designed based on the owl’s ability to rotate their heads at a maximum of a 270 degree angle. When he stomped his foot, no sound could be heard, just like how owls are silent when gliding towards their prey. The armor was working as intended, and he won’t be biding his time to perform a test run. He’s read what the armor can do, which includes the ability to become invisible. This gear set was perfect for this mission.

He commanded the helmet to display the necessary user interface, including his ‘Psionic Energy’ levels and a minimap on the corner of his peripheral vision. Everything’s working as intended. It was time to do his job.

Michael Brooklyn Morgan "Red Alert"

Act 2, Chapter 5 "Silent Bounties"

It was only a few hours left before the guilds made their move to assault Hargeon. Since the mission only required the leaders’ assassination, he bid his time to review the profiles of the dark guildmasters while on his way to their camp.

His first target was the leader of the Arctic Thorn - Severo Frostgauntlet. He indeed looked spoiled, and looked like he came from a very rich family. That he also looked oddly familiar was disturbing - he had a somber blue hair and eyes the color of the clear blue sky. Just as he wielded ice-make magic, he was as cold as permafrost; heartless and had no remorse for the people he hurt. This personality of his is evident from Severo’s facial expression, having absolutely no emotion or whatsoever. But deep down, he could be enjoying it. He just didn’t want to show it to the world and make known what lies beneath his mask of permafrost.

It was detailed that Severo rose to infamy after he allegedly froze his teacher to death after failing to comply with his instructions. It was assumed to be intentional, not accidental, as it is written on relevant news articles. His motives were unknown but he managed to evade the authorities. Since then, he’s gone on to pillage cargo vehicles, leaving behind a corpse encased in ice. How he managed to bring ice magic users into a coalition of a dark guild eluded him, but such answers mean nothing to him. He’s contracted to kill, afterall. He’s not there to interview.

And it was also alleged that Severo is the weakest of the 4, who would always comply with the wishes of the other guilds without a say in it. He lacked backbone, hence Giselle’s comment of him being a lil’ pussy.

It was true that they were relatively new, as there was only one report where they robbed a truck of its contents and murdered the driver. It was nice enough for them to leave behind their guild insignia, as well as their guild name, etched in permafrost on the truck’s cargo container. The report was dated around a month ago, and since then, there was no news of the guild’s other evil endeavors.

It is imperative to him that he don’t encounter a large mob of Arctic Thorn guild members, lest he die in a cold death.

The guild made camp further away from the outskirts of Hargeon Town, but not too far. It was also well hidden deep within the forests surrounding the town, away from the prying eyes of the common passersby. The rest of the guilds appear to be camped further away from the guild’s camp.

He made sure to render himself invisible through this Strix Sniper’s abilities. He brushed past several brushes and stepped on grass and branches, and yet, there was no sound coming from where he currently is. The effective radius of the silencing effect of his armor was merely half a meter away from him so it could also silence the brushes he passed from. He was a few ten meters away from camp when he decided to get to a higher ground to get a better vantage point of the guild.

And just as the informant said - ALL of the members are here.

Not counting the Guild Master, who was absent from the camp, he counted at least 10 members, 4 of which are patrolling the camp’s perimeter. It was a quaint camp, something like you’d see from regular campers - complete with marshmallows, meat, a bbq pit, and some marshmallows. It would be a shame to put an end to their plans, though it’s weird that the guild master was absent. And if he would take them all on, he thought he would have to hide them somewhat. He is NOT bringing their corpses in his cyberscape, despite them being technically considered as ‘objects’ by Giselle’s standards.

If he’s going to go about interrogating the whereabouts of their guild master, he’ll have to face the entire guild. Fortunately, 10 is an acceptable amount of mages he can handle at a time. He brought out his weapon, named the Nocturne Rifle, and aimed his sniper rifle at the 4 guards. The rifle’s shots were also “silenced due to the armor’s unique ability” as a pop up appeared telling him this vital information, and he used this to his advantage by eliminating the guards without rousing any suspicion from the 6 other members. He’ll have to thank Giselle later for making his armor convenient for long range assassination.

The guards didn’t look like they’re very perceptive. Though he is invisible, they should have felt his ‘aura’ or presence instead of his magic power since he lacked on. If they had a sensitive magic sensory, they should have noticed the terrifying aura from him due to the demon using him as a host. On the other hand, if the members are too weak to notice his presence, this must mean that the dark guild is the weakest of the four.

He decided it was time for him to start his mission and aimed his rifle towards one of the guards at the back, attempting to kill them in one shot without rousing any suspicion from the rest of its members.

Fwip.

No sound was heard as he pulled the trigger of his Nocturne Rifle, firing a bolt of light in a straight line towards his target, aimed at the head. They were defenseless, and there was no way they could anticipate his attack. The guard fell down in one hit from his attack. “One down, nine to go.” He mumbled to himself, silenced through his armor’s ability. He aimed for the one at the east, waiting for an opportune moment to take him out without rousing their suspicion. Fwip. He pulled the trigger once more just as the time was right, the bolt of light piercing their head and killing them in one hit. “Two.” He said to himself as the lookout fell down where they could not be seen by the others, and fell to the ground. Next was the lookout from the west, timing his attack just right so they are out of sight and in an area lacking in flora. Fwip. He fired once more and aimed for the head, killing them just as they were out of sight from their comrades. “Three.”

The lookout from their south proved to be a challenge because most of the guild was facing towards their direction. That, and it was where the was narrow clearing just enough for them to pass through without getting lost. He had to make a distraction somehow to rouse their attention towards an area covered in trees. Luckily, he has his telekinesis.

Using his psionic power, he caused a shrub from an isolated place to shake violently. His plan worked, the lookout suddenly on guard from the shrub. They were approaching the shrub, and they were near him. He used his telekinesis to shake multiple shrubs, as if there was a creature passing through these. You know what they say - ‘Curiosity killed the cat’. This time, the cat’s satisfaction didn’t bring them back. Fwip. He fired at the lookout just as they were out of sight from the others. “Four.” He mumbled to himself.

That takes care of the lookouts. Now it was time for him to face the remaining 6.

Obviously, taking them out from long range while they’re close will cause them to scramble and flee from their assailants. No, he had to confront them head on. He fell down the vantage point and glided near the where the guild is, dropping by the dead lookout from the south. He also wanted to see if they could retaliate against an invisible enemy. He quickly swapped his Nocturne Rifle with a standard issue pistol and dagger as he neared the clearing.

Fwip goes the pistol as he fired a shot from his weapon, aimed towards one of the members’ heads. “Five.” He mumbled to himself. The others were taken aback as they suddenly found one of their comrades dead. They were suddenly under attack and they were on guard, unleashing their magics at the first sight of their unknown assailant. He watched as they screamed for him to show himself, calling him a coward while wandering around camp aimlessly on lookout. Naturally, they sought help from the lookout, yelling their names… in vain.

He was disappointed.

Obviously, their guild master didn’t account for the quality of his members. To spare him the trouble of reprimanding his members, he lunged towards one of them and plunged his dagger through their heart, blood spilling everywhere as he pulled it out. This caused them to unleash their ice magic on their fallen comrade in hopes of hurting him. “Six.” He said as he fired another shot towards another one of the members, aiming for the head and killing them instantly. “Seven.”

There were three of them remaining. They decided this guild and their plans to attack hargeon was not worth dying for. Well, to him, they already lost their lives the moment they joined the dark guild. They ran for the narrow clearing when he shot two of them down quickly with his pistol. “Eight.” He said. He walked towards the last remaining member as they tripped and fell to the ground. He found it quite cinematic when he disabled his invisibility, and saying the word “Nine.”

There was fear in the enemy mage’s eyes, and there was nothing they could do to stop him from killing them. “S-stay back!” The mage wailed as he unleashed his ice magic against him, missing him completely. He rushed towards the mage and kicked their guts out, causing indescribable pain due to the strength of his kick. And his boots were metallic. He grabbed the mage by their collar and dragged them up. He proceeded to smash them against the tree, with a knife at their throat. “Tell me where your guild master is.” He said, his voice very different because of his helmet. It sounded robotic, and it was deeper and terrifying to hear, “And you have no choice in this matter.” “P-please don’t kill me! I’ll tell you anything. Just please don’t kill me!” The mage said, completely terrified as he was threatened. To them, he was very imposing. Strong. Merciless. These traits were owed to his background as a soldier.

“Then you will tell me where Severo Frostgauntlet is.” He said as he brought the knife closer to their throat. He doesn’t mind if he kills them because of their insubordination. He had a backup plan. “He… he was meeting up with the guild master of Plunder Barrels back at their camp!” He stared at them for a moment, trying to see through their lies. He decided this information to be true, which would spare him the efforts in tracking down Severo. He decided to let go and leave them alone, but not before performing a roundhouse kick at the mage, knocking them unconscious, or worse, dead, from the force exerted into this kick.

“Ten.”

Michael Brooklyn Morgan "Red Alert"

Act 2, Chapter 5 "Silent Bounties"

Michael wasted no time and headed towards the direction of the next guild, the Plunder Barrels. Their camp was farther away from the town, more than doubling the distance between it and the previous guild’s camp. Distance was not an issue for him as he swapped out his Strix Sniper armor to his Mach Cheetah armor, one which allows him to move very quickly from one place to another. Pieces of his armor would come off and disintegrate into bits of data, vanishing into his cyberspace. And at the same time, several hexagons appeared all around him. Bits and pieces of his Mach Cheetah armor emerged from these hexagons and attached themselves to him, with the helmet being the last.

Just as the armor finished setting up and assembled completely, he activated several of the systems in his armor to gain a massive amount of movement speed, allowing him to go to and fro from one place to another. Its speed, from a glance, would make it seem that he was teleporting. In his perspective, everything else was just slower. “Time dilation.” Giselle would explain to him as she popped up from his user interface, “It’s weird to think that this phenomena could be observed only by something who is faster.” She said.

“Is this a live feed or a pre recorded message?” He asked. This was the first time he encountered this feature, one which the previous armors lacked. This was a surprise to him, and it was a welcome one. “Recorded, because I have the power to see the futu- Of course I’m calling you!” She yelled at him just as he stopped running, “Anyways, I’m calling to see how you’re doing. That, and I’m testing the communications feature I built into your exosuit.” “The guild master of the Arctic Thorn was absent and was seeing with the guild master of the Plunder Barrels. I’m on my way to dispatch the two of them.” He says just as he switched armors once more, with the Mach Cheetah disappearing into the cyberverse and his Strix Sniper armor snapping itself into his exosuit. “Yeesh. I was not expecting that. Anyway, I consider this experimental feature a success. Good luck out there! And remember, you don’t have to fight an entire guild.”

“I know, I know. Tell that to the guild I fought for answers.”

“Toodles~!” She hung up. When he arrived, he was meters away from the Plunder Barrels’ camp. According to the data, most of the wizards in this dark guild used some form of water magic, and some utilized requip magic with pirate themed equipment in their arsenal. There were a total of 20 wizards, all significantly stronger than the previous guild he disposed of. He activated the same ability which rendered him invisible and sprinted towards a high vantage point to assess the camp. He made no sound even as he brushed the sides of bushes and even as he snapped a twig into two by accidentally stepping on it along the way. It would be comical if the snapped twig would rouse the entire guild’s attention to his direction.

From way up high, he could see that the camp was well made and orderly - much more organized than the Arctic Thorn’s. He counted 14 in the camp. The other 6 he discerned to be the camp’s lookouts. He couldn’t see them, but he knows that because of the 6 dots that were spread far from camp as shown in his life form detecting ability. And beyond the camp, he could see two dots. They must be the guild masters, without a doubt. Worst case, it’s just an oblivious couple having a very rough and intimate time in the forest while being sneakily quiet.

And barely 30 minutes have passed since left to do this mission and there’s still a lot of time left before their siege.

He leapt from branch to branch within the forest, gliding to and fro to reach the two dots that’s far away from camp. Through this, he is able to gain a better view of his surroundings and see the two guild masters at a higher ground. Having the high ground has its advantages, and he is exploiting this to gain the upper hand. Not that he needs to, since he’s invisible and silent. He could just as well sneak up to them and stick a dagger through their vital organs. However, it is unwise to exploit this ability without thinking of the worst possible outcome. Like “What if my enemy can see invisible things?” “What if they’re blind but they can feel your presence?” They are very valid questions to consider. After all, one of the things a sniper must do is to exploit the very large gap between him and his enemy, and giving the enemy no respite from his surprise assault.

‘Never give your enemy an opportunity to fight back’ is what every sniper would say.

He summoned the Nocturne Rifle and aimed it at one of the guild masters - the one who was taller than the blue haired brat. He had a scruffy beard and auburn hair tied to a ponytail. He was wearing a full pirate captain’s outfit, complete with a pirate hat, eyepatch, extravagant magenta coat, white pair of pants, and black boots. He’s sure his parrot pet was synthetic and lifeless, as it showed 2 dots instead of 3 from his life form detecting ability. The two of them looked like they were discussing something. He never bothered trying to know what they were discussing. He has to do this mission regardless. He aimed for the head for an easy kill, not giving them the opportunity to fight back. Just as he was sure he aimed properly, he pulled the trigger and…

Fwip.

Thud.

The blue haired boy watched in horror as some blood splattered his face, just as he bore a hole through the captain’s head with his rifle. He stepped back as the lifeless body of one of the guild masters was shot down. He frantically inspected his surroundings for the attacker. Unlucky for him, he was invisible. And…

Fwip.

Another one bites the dust as he bore a hole through the brat’s head. “Great, that’s 2 out of 4 dark guild masters down.” he mumbled to himself as he withdrew his rifle to his cyberspace. So far, there were no incidents in his mission, not counting his ‘rough interrogation’ with one of the members of the previous guild he annihilated. Just as the job said, there was no need to dispose of the bodies. It could be implied that the guild will eventually find them dead anyways. It could be received as a message. Or a threat.

Regardless, there’s only two more guild masters to deal with. He’ll be able to take a break once he finishes this mission.

Michael Brooklyn Morgan "Red Alert"

Act 2, Chapter 5 "Silent Bounties"

The Berserk Amazon posed as a tougher guild to face off against in the event that his invisibility would fail him. The guild mainly was mainly composed of requip users and mages with a lot of brute strength that they seem like the bullies to lanky wizards in a sense. Their strength is incomparable to an average A-Rank mage, but could pale in comparison to S-Ranks. This would pose a problem for Michael if he ever made a wrong move and end up at the mercy of these mages. Looking at the profiles of the individual mages the informant sent, they all look like they were trained soldiers. Michael made a (not so) shocking discovery as he read of their relationship with the Berserk Amazon’s guild master - they were indoctrinated orphans trained for war and bloodshed, brainwashed that they are the alphas of this planet. Not too far fetched with what the Arch Vorbrund Order used to be. As far as he recalled, the order he was in trained supersoldiers of war. When comparing the two, however, the Order had a nobler purpose, while the dark guild used these “super human” wizards to undertake wicked tasks and for their own gain. He doesn’t want to recall what happened back at the headquarters, lest he become overwhelmed with rage once more.

He took a gander of the Berserk Amazon’s guild master while moving towards their camp. It isn’t as far from where he is, and there was more time for him to do his job. Against amateurs, his job was much easier. The previous dark guild masters he faced were clearly amateurs.

As for the Berserk Amazons, Wild Rose is a force to be reckoned with. She is three times stronger than the combined strength of Severo Frostgauntlet and Just Jones, the (now deceased)  guild master of Plunder Barrels. He is wary of her as from the profiles given to him by the informant, she could rival the guild master of Sabertooth. ‘Almost’, commented by their informant. Her detection skills are incredible, owing to her overflowing magical power. Her magic, just as her name and temperament, is wild and brutal. It was said that she uses both Take Over magic and Requip magic to overthrow her opponents, the former being ‘Wild Soul’, which allowed her to harness the strength of beasts she devoured through her magic; and ‘The Hunter’, which equips her with the finest garb a hunter could every wear. It was said that she had a very strong preference with spears than any other weapon. Combined with her larger muscular build compared to an average woman, only the bravest of mages would stand against her.

One could say that he’d be a coward to shy away from a duel against a strong woman - that he’d prefer to take her out by surprise instead of fighting her. There’s also no denying that he is capable of enduring the woman’s blows when he has no choice but to face her head on. To him, this combination of words make for an unprofessional statement. He is on a mission, and he has no intention of proving his mettle against her. And when on a mission, the mission is always the priority. One shot through the dark guild master’s head is all it takes for him to be one step closer to finishing his job. With the Strix Sniper, taking her out will be a piece of cake, allowing him to shoot her farther from her magic sensory radius.

He finally arrived a few, staying a few meters away from the camp to avoid the likelihood of detecting his presence. Once more, he activated his armor’s invisibility and went up to a tree to get a better vantage point, summoning his Nocturne Rifle and using his scope to scout the members up a head. From what he could see, the dark guild had the same number of members as the previous guild. Strange, he thought. He couldn’t see where Wild Rosa was. He scoured every angle from the guild, and even had her profile picture up on his user interface to help him in his search. None. Not even a stray dot from far away.

Perhaps she is farther from the guild? To let off some steam before the siege.

Failing to find the guild mistress, he found it appropriate to come looking for her elsewhere. From where the camp is, surely the guild mistress couldn’t have come far. Worst case scenario, she knew someone was coming for her. As a powerful woman to leave behind her loyal subjects is proof that she trusted them, that she trained them to be the powerful brainwashed warriors she could ever hope to train. Not a single step was wasted when he observed the members in their preparation. No idle chatter. Just silence. Still, uncomfortable silence. He recalled his rifle and leapt from tree to tree in a quick pace in hopes of searching for the guild mistress.

Seconds turned to minutes as he kept on looking for her while invisible in his Strix Sniper armor. The danger of running into her in his Mach Cheetah harmor is high as he doesn’t know exactly how strong she is. Her slightly bulky build might deceive him when in fact, she is stronger physically. So far, only minute dots could be seen belonging to animals. Nothing out of the ordinary.

Until he could feel a presence behind him.

In instinct, Michael ducked, nearly dodging the attack of a bigger, muscular woman. Her legs connected to the tree as she missed, and the upper half of the tree broke off towards another tree. He leapt away from the attacker, leaving a small gap between the two on the tree branch. “How-” He muttered to himself as he saw the guild mistress, Wild Rose, standing before him. “How amusing.” She said, “To think that you could actually dodge that attack speaks volumes of your experience as a soldier. And yet you’re a coward for concealing your presence and leaving my children no time to defend themselves.” He deactivated his invisibility, revealing himself to Wild Rose. If he was being honest, he’s a little… afraid of her. He had a gut feeling that she’s somewhat stronger than him that his gambits would barely affect her. It’d take a devil’s pact for him to surpass the woman’s strength.

“I’m flattered. Your files don’t do you any justice, however.” He said under his breath. “Are you truly human? Or a woman who cheats her strength with magic?”

It’s true that ordinary people wouldn’t be able to kick away half of a tree so damn hard it blew off to another tree. Even he, a trained super soldier, couldn’t possibly perform such a feat. His comment on her cheating her strength with magic has struck a nerve on the olympian fighter, evident from her distasteful expression on that comment. “If I’m the coward, what makes you then?” Her face warped to a grin. “You’re pretty brave for someone who is about to die.”

“True.” He says as he the pieces of armor disconnected and disintegrated into his cyberspace, leaving only his exosuit and his face. “But I’ve been through alot worse.” Michael leapt from the branch backwards, summoning his Albatross Pistol and firing it against her twice before he disappeared into the darkness. The guild mistress deflected those attacks with her hand as if they were nothing.

She was angry that he was trying to get away from her. She wanted him gone. She wanted him killed. She didn’t want him to interfere with her and her allies’ plans on their siege against Hargeon. Wild Rose sought for his quick death and has seen it fit to use her ultimate take over and requip arsenals - Wild Soul and the Hunter, which, combined, is named Wild Hunter. Her appearance shifted from her take over magic. Fur grew from her skin and she was twice as large. A monstrous but elegant appearance reigns over her form, while ornate armor and magical trinkets equip themselves to their master. Lastly, an ornate bone spear with a wooden decorated shaft appeared as her weapon.

He got down to the forest floor when he heard signs of her using her magic. Hexagon shaped sigils appeared around him and pieces of armor emerged. This time, he used his Hound Infantry armor set to enhance his durability in this battle. The armor pieces connected themselves towards his exosuit’s ports while he was on the run. He can’t even rely on his psionic radar to detect her location, as if magic was actively cloaking her from any types of supernatural sensors. This battle is different from the time he fought a djinn in Desierto, as his opponent gets physical with her enemies.

Once more, his instinct told him to duck as out of nowhere, a fist appeared from the tree he was hiding in, boring a massive hole. He immediately called upon his Eagle Dagger to try and cut her hands. His strength was enough to give her a cut, but it isn’t enough to cut her entire hand off. Not that he wanted to, but because he wanted to gauge her strength and defenses. As he thought, no ordinary man could possibly inflict wounds on her. The attack was followed by another attack from behind the tree. He deflected her attack with his dagger and he had a hard time doing so. One punch from her attack would spell death for him.

The tree fell and revealed her ultimate form to him. “You can’t hide from me!” She said as she lunged to attack him once more. He was able to dodge attack, but it nearly hit him, scraping only the surface of his armor. Stealth was out of the option, and he couldn’t even hide from her even if he wanted to. He fired more rounds from his pistol, only for its attacks to be ineffective against her. “Stop dodging!” She said as she leapt towards him, with her fist to the ground. It narrowly missed him.

And then a thought occurred to him.

She’s large, she’s powerful, and her strength is enough to collapse a building. But her movements to him were sluggish, though an ordinary fighter would see otherwise. If she was large and powerful, then he is, to her eyes, small and nimble. The Hound Infantry armor detached itself and disappeared to his cyberspace, replaced by yellow armor resembling a buzzing insect. It was his Bumblebee armor that emerged from hexagon shaped sigils, attaching themselves to him, along with its Submachine Stingers. The internal matrices were activated just as the armor finished attaching itselves. Lightning coursed through his armor, and just as Wild Rose was about to deck his head off with a decisive blow, a flash of lightning burst from his location. And she hit nothing but still air.

A buzzing sound could be heard from behind her. She turned to see Michael in his Bumblebee armor, with yellow lightning arcing around his armor. It’s not as fast as his Mach Cheetah, but Bumblebee granted him the opportunity to attack from afar and maintain a safe distance between him and his opponent. He brought out his Submachine Stingers, which were equipped alongside the armor itself, and fired a barrage of lightning bolts against her. She defended herself with a shield she summoned from her requip magic. In retaliation and frustration from his barrage of attacks, she hurled her spear towards him. He stopped and dodged her attack. For a moment, he was lightning itself as he flashed away from the spear. On impact, the spear caused a massive crater on the ground, and she darted towards it to throw it against him. The spear destroyed several trees before reaching Michael, who once again dodged with his lightning. “Coward!” She yelled out. He resumed his barrage of lightning against her, but they couldn’t reach her because of her shield.

She slowly made her way towards her spear, and almost reached it when the shield shattered suddenly. She grabbed her spear and threw it towards him. He dodged it once more using his lightning step, however, he couldn’t anticipate her second attack and was caught unaware. Her fist connected as she successfully dealt a blow against him, leaving him flying towards one of the trees. He was hit hard, and as he hit the tree, he coughed up blood in his helmet. This is proof that her strength was unparalleled, and not even his exosuit, let alone his armor, could save him. It’s as if he was just a ragdoll to her.

He was paralyzed for a brief moment as he fell to his knees, the shock and trauma he endured prevented him from doing anything as Wild Rose walked towards his location. Adrenaline coursed through his veins and it took him a while to get his bearings and narrowly dodged the guild mistress’s spear attack, creating a crater as the spear’s tip hit the ground with such force. He forced himself to move away with his lightning step, but suffered another casualty as her spear flew and pierced his armor, grazing his skin in the process. He was weak, and was played with as she lunged towards him and tried to punch him again. He dodged, but he couldn’t dodge the second attack with all the pain, shock, and trauma affecting him. As if he was just a punching bag to her, and a durable one. He hit another tree as he flew like a ragdoll, the impact causing a crater on it.

“Pathetic.” She scoffed at how fragile he was compared to her.

He slipped in and out of consciousness while she walked towards him. His strength failed him when he needed to get away from her. This was a situation he couldn’t get out of, and he was at death’s door. The guild mistress of Berserk Amazon grabbed him by the neck and looked up to his bruised and bleeding body. “Is this your limit? I expected a fight.” Wild Rose said as she choked him, and he was trying to get away from her. But he failed. He lost. All hope was lost until he saw the light. Am I dying? He thought.

It wasn’t until he lost consciousness when he felt something stir within him. Something eldritch. Something powerful. He felt the presence of someone familiar, or something. Some... things. Eldritch markings appeared on the left part of his body, excluding the leg, although it couldn’t be seen from all the armor he was wearing. On his right was the familiar devil-ish power that he felt coarse through him in his bouts of anger which transformed him into an avatar of rage. A surge of power rose from him, and a blast burst forth from his body, knocking her away from him.

And there he was, his wounded body floating and unconscious. He opened his eyes to reveal a set of peculiar eyes - both of which are different. But he was not in control, as if another entity, or entities, had taken over his body. The forest was now filled with winds so powerful and foul that creatures fled from him. With his left arm, he used his telekinesis empowered through eldritch might to take hold of the woman, grabbing her with little to no effort and moving her towards him and raising her 10 feet from the ground. She tried to break free from his telekinetic grasp but failed miserably. Their eyes met, and it was at that moment when she was hit with this dread. She was afraid.

“Unhand me!” She yelled at him, demanding her release, “Let me go, you coward!”

The force around her tightened to the point where she started to struggle breathing. His face doesn’t show any emotion. He was feeling nothing, because he was unconscious. But it was unsettling to her that he wasn’t showing any emotion. Not even remorse or sadness. He obliged and let her go, leaving her to fall. She took this opportunity to land the killing blow to him with another one of her bone spears. He anticipated this. With the devilish power on his right, he conjured an ethereal demon arm that not only deflected her attack, but it also shattered her spear. With his left, he moved her to hit a nearby tree, and then smashed her face to the ground. This might of his has now surpassed hers.

“Wh-who are you?”

No response.

In a desperate attempt to kill him, she leapt towards him with her hand curled to a fist. And with his right arm, he ended the fight. She wasn’t able to reach him when all of a sudden she stopped in her tracks and fell to the ground, revealing an ethereal hand grabbing her heart.

She was dead, at last.

He regained consciousness after a few seconds, unaware of what transpired while he passed out. He connected two and two together when he scoured his surroundings and assessed the damage that had been done, some of which were caused by supernatural forces. Clearly, the only one capable of such supernatural feats was him. He panted and laid low for a while to recuperate from his fight against the guild mistress of the Berserk Amazon. It was his cue to leave the scene when he heard footsteps coming from deep within the forest. He donned his Strix Sniper armor to sneak away without being seen, unable to recuperate from his wounds.

Michael Brooklyn Morgan "Red Alert"

Act 2, Chapter 5 "Silent Bounties"

He winced in pain with each step as he continued on his mission to eliminate the last guild master of the dark guild alliance, but not without frequent breaks from time to time to give himself time to recuperate from his injuries. This endeavor took him an hour before reaching the last guild’s camp. Fortunately, his presence was unnoticed by the edgelord wannabes of this dark guild. He couldn’t stand to fight another stronger opponent. Just like before, he leapt towards higher ground, like a tree branch, to get a better view of the camp. He browsed through their files and found nothing of interest from their profiles. They call themselves assassins, and yet they’re exposing themselves with their campfire still lit. For an elite group of assassins, they sure make a lot of noise.

He counted at least 15 members of the dark guild, including their guildmaster, Becquerel Bloodheart, who specialized in blood magic. As edgy as it sounds, his blood magic is without its strengths and weaknesses. While he can control blood, he can’t control blood he can’t see. He was able to make swords out of the crystallized blood of his opponents, and nothing could be edgier than using the blood of your enemies and turning it into a weapon of murder. Their attitude leaves doubt on their skills and professionalism. For one, assassins should always conceal themselves, regardless of the occasion. At least, that’s how he remembered it as a soldier specializing in assassination.

He summoned his Nocturne Rifle from cyberspace and used its scope as binoculars to take a closer look at their camp. He saw the guildmaster himself standing amongst his seated men in front of a campfire, probably hyping them up for the incoming siege against Hargeon Town. All of them looked unaware, and none of them looked like they were capable assassins. No, their gimmick must be targeting non-magic users, who are vulnerable against the attacks of magic users. With the rifle aimed at the guild master, he took a moment to collect himself. And…

Fwip.

The rifle shot a bolt of light that pierced through Becquerel’s skull, his members shocked in horror at the death of their guild master. His job was done, and the guilds should be at a dis array at the deaths of their leaders.

He managed to get back to Hargeon Town before midnight, but not without resting to recuperate from his injuries every 5 minutes or so. He had been badly hurt, and Giselle didn’t think of putting in a healing factor in his exosuit. To say he didn’t struggle going back to Hargeon is a lie. But, he was able to fulfill his mission, although he was almost beaten to death by a gargantuan woman.

He got back to the hotel, still invisible, and walked towards his room. After a beating and with blood all over his body, he was in need of a shower. A cold shower. He was tired from all the fighting for the past few days, and he needed a week’s respite from his freelance work. He’s looking forward to lazing around his apartment back in the Neutral Grounds with the company of his bots and trusty roomba. He undressed and showered to clean the blood off his body from his fight against Wild Rose. He left the shower and just noticed the eldritch markings on his left arm, left chest, and right hand. Odd, he thought. He doesn’t remember getting these, but perhaps he could’ve gotten this while he was unconscious.

He’s tired. He doesn't want to think about what happened tonight. And he most certainly didn’t want to deal with Giselle’s ramblings and inquiries on his mission. All he wanted was to lay down and rest easy, knowing that he will be off work for a week. He closed his eyes and let his consciousness fade away as he went to sleep immediately just as he laid down on the hotel bed.