"You probably already memorized the base structure in your head. Alex, you go first, go find your sister. I'll hold the Esper."
Lucius said to Alex as he stood in the lobby of the building.
"What about you? Don't you have someone to save too?"
"They're after me, Alex. And I always meet that Esper when I try to save someone, so I will hold them off."
Lucius seemed to be scrutinizing something, but there was nothing in mid-air.
"I owe you another favor." Alex was very decisive in his actions. Hesitation was something he never had.
"I won't be polite when I ask you to pay it back."
Then, Lucius asked Arthas, who had been standing like a shadow by his side.
"Ar, are you sure you don't have a way in?"
"Umm..." and Arthas shook her head in frustration.
"Where the hell is this base?" Alex also realized it's impossible for a base of that size could fit inside this building.
"This base is in the shadow of the building. It's the power of that Black Watch commander, along with the scientist's theory that dragged the entire base into this building."
Lucius' fingers waved in mid-air as if he was panning some kind of virtual screen. But Alex couldn't see anything.
"How do we get in?" Still so straightforward, Alex had no patience to wait any longer.
"It seems like this is the only way." Lucius seemed to have decided on something, "There just doesn't seem to be any weapons, so I'll exchange one."
At this time, what Lucius's eyes locked onto was precisely the system's interface. What appeared on it was a long sheathed knife that emitted an azure luster throughout its body. This knife was named...
Yamato!*
A weapon carried out by demonic nature, the so-called Demon's weapon, with the power to cut through space! Only with the power of a demon could the Yamato bring out its real power. Lucius didn't believe that he couldn't call his own power demonic power.
Exchange cost: 40 million despair points.
The system's exchange cost of weapons seemed to focus on the destructiveness of its maximum output, just like an assault rifle could kill one person with a single bullet. In contrast, an iron fist rocket launcher could kill hundreds of people with a single shot, so that the cost-performance ratio would come out. The greatest point of the Yamato blade is to cut through space with one slash, cutting through everything in sight in front of it.
But it's still a little cheaper than just one nuclear bomb with the power to claim the lives of millions of people. Well... that's the difference between a knife and a firearm.
However, Lucius didn't need a nuclear bomb. What he needed the most was the power of this blade to cut through space. It consumed all of Lucius's despair points.
The Yamato blade emitted an azure glow in Lucius's hand. The cold steel wrapped around his hand, and the blade continually drew the power from Lucius's body. The power of the dead from the Dead River that tainted the azure color of the Yamato Blade with crimson blood.
"We can go in now?" While Alex was surprised that Lucius flat out took out a weapon that looked powerful, something science couldn't explain. Alex wisely chose not to pursue the matter further.
From a glance, Lucius looked like Tinker Bell because he held no weapons or equipment. But in a blink of an eye, he could've pulled out a nuclear bomb. Seriously, this man…
Alex saw Lucius during the massacre at the building entrance and noticed that he was actually firing an M61 Vulcan**, Terminator style***. And the young girl next to him looked like she was no more than 16 years old. Alex felt he shouldn't ask Lucius about such private things.
"Alright, step back, Ar."
Lucius' hand rested on the hilt of the Yama Devil's Blade. Lucius only knew the theory of using swords, he wasn't a sword expert. He didn't know how to use cold weapons like swords and knives. In this modern era, who would learn that? Naturally, he only knew how to use guns. With sniper rifles as his best weapon of choice. But all he needed was to cut the small space barrier in front of him, it shouldn't be a problem!
He poured his power into the blade and instantly swung the blade, flashing the azure light. A glass-shattered sound was heard. A silver-white steel tunnel appeared in front of them.
"You know where your sister is, right?"
By the time Lucius stepped into this steel tunnel, Alex was already running, heading deeper into the tunnel.
"He's fast..." instead of bothering after looking at Alex's back, Lucius turned back.
"Do you feel that, too, Ar?"
Lucius sensed a powerful presence approaching the area.
It was the other A-rank Esper.
Right, the New Federation of China's most important base had been invaded. It's impossible for them to only sit back and see their base to be destroyed.
"Master…" Arthas drew her Frostmourne.
"Be careful not to get hurt." Lucius believed in Arthas's strength, "take advantage of those corpses outside the building."
"Un…"
A Lich King wouldn't lose to a human, right?
The spatial crack closed, Lucius stood alone in the steel tunnel with his Yamato Blade. The layout of this tunnel was exactly the same as when Lucius came in before. He didn't know the civilian's final fate. He didn't care about them anyway. Lucius slashed the soldiers stationed in the tunnel with a single slash.
Sniffing the strongest person's scent, he headed deeper into the base.
"Hm?" Lucius came to the place where Hakein had taken Su Lei for a brief tour.
He saw the little girl lying on the hospital bed. I think he mentioned she was Mordell's daughter? It was only to get Su Lei's sympathy, I guess.
After all, the little girl was now dead, was shot with a gun.
Probably she didn't want to become a zombie, right?
With curiosity, Lucius broke the glass wall and walked in. He absorbed her blood that wasn't infected by the Black Light virus. Absorbing her memories.
"....."
Lucius was speechless.
This child...
She really was Mordell's daughter. His biological daughter.
Through the child's memories, he learned that Mordell was originally an Esper from the enemy country, but lost to Su Wuye in a battle. Mordell, who was already dead, was resurrected. And the child had been living here ever since. The injection of the virus to her body was also her father's will. In the end, her father was the one who killed her.
"Hahaha…" Lucius let out a low laugh and snapped his fingers. The little girl's body sat upright stiffly, her wounds slowly healed. A radiant glow appeared on her face as well.
"Where's...daddy?" She stared wide eyes at Lucius.
Of course, it was just an illusion. Blood thread appeared from between Lucius's fingers and connected to the girl's body.
"Let me see it, what the so-called daddy looks like."
TL's note
*The Yamato is Vergil's trademark dark-forged katana appearing in Devil May Cry
https://devilmaycry.fandom.com/wiki/Yamato
** M61 Vulcan
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M61_Vulcan
*** A scene from the movie Terminator 2: Judgment Day
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RbL4PwTDsQ