Chapter 16
A great, many things
Felix was on the brink of collapse while dragging himself in search of Maria. He supported himself on the walls to keep upright, while a current of blue electricity streamed from his wounds, slowly patching himself back together.
He took a deep inhale; his breathing was slowly starting to steady.
Suddenly, a chain of explosives was set off from the lower floors. The entire hallway he stood on rumbled, and he nearly staggered, and would have fell on the floor had he not tightly clung on the walls.
As soon as they halted, he pushed onward to the source of the sound as he slowly got faster.
Desperate screams echoed from inside the parking lot, followed with the sound of consistent fire. Shells one by one fell to the ground after consistent fire, yet a knife still danced and twirled, its black exterior illuminated by the ghostly green glow of the lights.
"Wait, stop! I'm on your side!" A voice screamed out.
A figure dressed in black and riddled with knives walked back and pleaded with a frightened expression.
"Are you done with your attack?" A silhouette walked closer.
"Please! Stop!"
"No more explosives or bullets?"
"This was part of the mission! Stop!" The shrieking voice gargled on blood.
"It doesn't matter… at this point you're really just collateral."
"Disengage! DISENGAGE! THE TREATY—" Desperate cries echoed in the halls of the parking lot.
Blood streamed down from Maria's face, seen through the blurry vision of a broken man on death's door.
As she placed her hands on him, his limbs began to twist in ways that a body shouldn't — like fabric wrung too tight, until blood seeped from the folding flesh.
He thrashed about in agony, left to right, right to left, while clinging tightly onto his fleeting consciousness. Yet his loud screams turned smaller until they were only soft squeals.
With uneven breathing, Felix arrived at Maria's location, "M-Marie, are you alright?" He asked, but all he could see was a blurry figure ahead. It was a vague silhouette, but he could tell that it was the body of his partner that was in front of him.
"Of course, I am." Maria responded with ragged breaths, which confirmed to him who it was.
He dragged himself closer, still exhausted. As the haze from his eyes cleared up, the damage became more visible. Broken cars and blackened craters had surrounded them, rubble scattered inside the indoor parking. The aftermath of dozens of explosives being set off.
"I… I heard the explosions," He stammered. "I thought you might be in trouble…"
"Aw, look at you, all worried about me." She looked to him with a cheery smile, her face stained red, "From the looks of things, you're the one in bad shape."
"Your face…" He pointed towards his own cheek.
"Hm?" Taking the hint, she wiped the blood off her face.
Felix shook his head, "Good to know you're alright."
The green light flickered as he walked towards her, but he paused as he took notice of a puddle of blood. His eyebrows furrowed, and went closer to investigate, where he found the figure lying behind one of the concrete columns.
He rubbed his mismatched eyes, and the sickening sight became clear.
"Is that... agent Petrichor? What happened?"
"He tripped."
"Into your knife?"
"… Yeees." She answered in a long, drawn-out voice.
In front of him was a body mutilated beyond recognition. A scowl formed on his face, one that was a mix of emotions.
It took a moment for it to sink in.
Felix pressed his hand on the column to support himself, still in pain from his previous encounter.
He looked at her. She had the same smile from the first mission, the one she had as the fireworks outlined her smile. The same stain dripping down her cheek from when she sliced a man in half, blood that wasn't her own.
But something about it felt… wrong.
He glanced back at the ex-Elite Agent, and the realization dawned on him.
How she returned covered in blood during the time he had saved Carol Thomas.
There was no struggle, only a one-sided massacre.
Agent Petrichor's limbs were mangled and twisted, like wrung cloth, and yet Maria had an unfettered smile the entire time.
Killing people should be expected of us…
Asahi's face flashed in his mind, and the sound of a gunshot echoed in his ears.
With trembling lips, he asked, "What… what is wrong with you?"
The flickering green light of the underground buzzed eerily as she answered in a soft voice, "A great, many things."
His blood ran cold. The wideness of the indoor parking lot made her quiet, cheery voice echo.
Killing should be normal for people like us, people of the underworld, both agents and criminals alike.
But only when necessary… and to make it quick and painless… but this is…
A bead of sweat slid down his face.
Felix moved his gaze away, and covered his mouth, pushing down the bile that was quickly creeping up. Maria's own eyes widen for a moment as she realizes the distress he's in.
"S-sorry if this looks awful! I guess that I just turned out better with knives than he was with guns. And well, I might've gotten carried away~" She spoke with a scatterbrained smile, her eyes closed and her tongue stuck out.
Even though she tried to deflate the tension, Felix was unable to peel off his gaze from the mangled corpse in front of him.
"Lookie what I got." She lifted up a black, drive-like device.
His forced himself to look at the object she dangled in front of him — a piece of the Matrix Key.
"He really did have a key fragment on him."
"R-right…" Felix desperately tried to force out words, unable find the right words to respond with.
It was difficult to breathe. He wasn't sure whether that was due to the being riddled with bullets from the weaponized drone, or whether it was the lingering scent of explosives in the air.
"Anyways, we need to keep on our guard. Apparently, Petrichor said something about a Jackal's—" A metallic hiss cut her off.
Three shimmering lines cleaved behind her.
~