"What kind of idiot tells their plan to an opponent?" The corner of my mouth curved up.
"Then, let's end this." He gripped his sword tight and the translucent swords on his back slowly took form.
I stood calmly with my hands inside my pocket when I ordered Puffy to ready itself.
The knight made his move. He took a single step and as though teleporting, he arrived before me. He swung his sword for my neck.
However, just before the blade could reach it. He abruptly collapsed. His sword fell and landed with a clang. His body convulsed violently before stopping.
Blood flowed through the gaps of his armor and formed a puddle of blood.
With the threat neutralized. I let exhaustion wash over my body as I collapsed.
"Sunny!" I heard a familiar voice from the distance and hasty steps getting closer. I turned to the source and saw Eve coming.
"Yo, what about your mission?" I pondered.
"Change of plans. We have to secure the device before they get them first. Here, eat this." Eve fished out a candy from her pocket. I opened my mouth and she threw it inside.
I felt a bit better than before and recovered faster than before.
"Is this from Hakku? Why didn't I get one?"
"I asked him before the mission, just in case. That aside for now, can you stand?" She asked worriedly.
"Yes, that candy works wonders." I nodded and slowly got up, only to lose balance. Eve caught me.
"Don't force yourself."
"Thank you." I nodded and spoke to my watch, "Len, what's the condition?"
[I lost contact with Hakku and Goo Han. Ned are looking for them. Miem and Dre are fighting the members of the Scarecrow. I'm on my way to the vault, securing the device. What's your situation? Is Eve with you?]
"Aside from him killing civilians and causing collateral damage, I'm alright. Eve is with me, do you need something from her?"
[Not for the moment, stay close with her. What are you doing right now?]
"You don't need to know that. Just focus on yourself." I ended the call. Following that, I took a puff for a few times and exhaled a lot of smoke. I spread the smoke around the area, around eight kilometers wide. Thick mist immediately covered the area, reducing visibility to two meters. Making it worse, the mist disrupted Honors' heightened senses and intuition.
With that done, I would be able to 'see' the situation clearer and decide my next move.
I saw twenty red flames, innumerable blue flames running away to safety, an orange flame and a purple.
The orange must be the boy I saved earlier. He was with a red flame. Then, in the next second, the red flame flickered violently before vanishing. I frowned.
Afterward, the orange flame left the mist and disappeared.
Curious, I looked over to the purple flame, wondering if she's out of the ordinary. However, she was with other civilians, running to safety. A bit disappointed that she was normal, but happy she made it safely.
I shifted my attention to the nineteen flames, formerly twenty. The flames look the same from one another, I wouldn't be able to tell the difference between an ally and a foe.
However, I've spent quite some time with my comrades and memorized the uniqueness of their flames.
For example, three flames on the south. The two belong to Goo Han and Hakku. Goo Han's flames, upon closer look, flicker calmly while Hakku's– his flame burns a bit brighter than others.
I've also located the others. They seem to be doing well.
"Ned, I've sent you the location of Hakku and Goo Han."
[That is much appreciated!] He exclaimed and ended the call.
"What's the situation?" Eve asked.
I explained to her their locations and their tasks.
"So, what should we do next?" I asked Eve. I could come up with a plan, but in this operation, Eve is the leader.
"Len is on his way to the vault, we can leave the device to him. I'm going to help the others neutralize the threat, you'll help the civilians evacuate to safety. You're in no condition to fight."
"Fair enough, sorry for the trouble." I gave her a slight nod.
"By the way, I never see you get tired on a mission or even after a long fight. What happened?"
Eve and I were used to being on the surface against the shadows. She had seen me fighting the shadows twenty hours straight without a break. So seeing me getting tired even though the mission was only half an hour in, she couldn't help but be perplexed.
"You don't need to know. See you later." I rather not talk about it or else she'll tease me. I turned into mist and vanished from the spot.
.
.
At the vault. It was already open when Len arrived. He took a step in and saw five dead bodies on the ground. Their bodies are flat like pancakes as though they've been crushed by a heavy object.
He then observed the surroundings while looking for the device.
His steps halted when he discovered it. It was on a display. He found it weird how the device seemed untouched when there were multiple factions wanting it. He approached it carefully.
Just before he could grab it, he sensed a looming threat.
He quickly retrieved the device and rolled to the left.
In his previous position, a hammer smashed the ground. If he was there, he would have turned into a meat paste.
But Len frowned when he realized the hammer seemed translucent as if formed by energy. He soon realized there was no one here so whoever controls this thing must be outside.
He looked over the dead bodies and everything seemed to make sense, and why the device hadn't been touched by anyone. The vault is a trap.
You can come in, but you won't come out alive. As to why they didn't simply snatch the device and ran away, Len couldn't think of a single idea.
That aside for now, he had to escape in one piece.