The staircase leading to the second floor echoed with constant gunfire.
Riven and I barely had time to breathe.
"Four targets ahead."
Reina warned me immediately.
I gave a slight nod.
"Three... two... now."
I stepped out from around the corner.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Splitfang switched back to burst fire.
One man dropped.
The second dove behind a desk.
Riven immediately fired his heavy rifle.
BOOM!
The wooden desk exploded into splinters along with the man hiding behind it.
"Two more!"
I threw a Thermal Scrambler into the side corridor.
Beep...
Beep...
One of the Green Serpent members immediately shouted,
"He's escaping to the right!"
Two of them chased after the fake heat signature.
I emerged from the left instead.
Bang! Bang!
Neither of them even had time to turn around.
"Good," Reina said.
"But they just keep coming."
She was right.
More men appeared at the end of the hallway.
Their numbers seemed endless.
We pushed forward little by little.
Every room became temporary cover.
Go in.
Shoot.
Get out.
Run.
Enter the next room.
Reina kept calling out directions.
"Left target is faster."
"Duck."
"One step to the side."
"Aim for the chest."
Thanks to her guidance, I was always moving a fraction of a second ahead of my enemies.
I was beginning to understand the rhythm of battle.
Not because I was talented.
But because Reina could see far more than I ever could.
A Green Serpent member suddenly emerged from behind a cabinet.
"Behind you!"
I spun around.
Bang!
My bullet was faster.
His body immediately collapsed.
Then...
Click.
I froze.
"...Ammo."
"One magazine left," Reina said quietly.
I inserted my final magazine.
Click.
"That's all the ammunition for Splitfang."
I bit my lip.
"Damn..."
Riven glanced at me.
"Can you still fight?"
"I can."
We kept moving.
The next hallway was even narrower.
Worse still, the enemy had figured out our pattern.
The moment we appeared...
A hail of bullets greeted us.
Riven and I dove into cover simultaneously.
Walls cracked.
Glass shattered.
"Arche."
"What?"
"The ceiling."
I looked up.
A massive pipe stretched overhead.
I aimed immediately.
Bang!
The pipe burst open.
Scalding steam flooded the hallway.
The enemy's vision vanished.
"Move!"
We charged through the white mist.
I shot one man at point-blank range.
Then smashed Splitfang's stock into his jaw.
Riven kicked the second man hard enough to send him crashing into the wall.
We finally reached the end of the corridor.
Only a single massive door remained.
"Behind that door," Reina said.
"Garrick should be very close."
I nodded.
But before we could approach...
The door opened by itself.
Bang.
A man stepped out.
He stood nearly two meters tall.
His entire right arm had been replaced by a massive armored prosthetic.
Scars covered his face.
He looked at us with a faint smile.
"So someone finally made it this far."
Reina spoke immediately.
"Be careful."
"His mechanical output is far beyond the previous enemies."
The man took a step.
A single footfall made the floor tremble.
I raised Splitfang.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Every bullet struck his chest.
None of them penetrated.
"What?"
He kept walking.
"His armor is too thick," Reina said.
"Aim for the joints."
I shifted my aim.
Bang!
The bullet struck his prosthetic elbow.
He paused only for a moment.
Then—
Crash!
He was suddenly right in front of me.
Fast.
Far too fast.
His prosthetic fist shot straight toward me.
My body reacted instinctively.
I raised Splitfang to block.
KRAAAK!
The impact numbed both my arms.
Splitfang cracked.
The fracture spread across the receiver.
Then...
It snapped.
The rifle broke cleanly into two pieces.
I was thrown several meters backward.
My body slammed into the wall.
The air was driven from my lungs.
"Arche!"
"I..."
I tried to stand.
My left hand was still trembling.
Splitfang...
Was finished.
The giant raised his fist again.
But this time, someone stepped in front of me.
Riven.
He casually dropped his heavy rifle onto the floor.
Then unfastened the straps on his combat gloves.
Click.
Click.
He tightened both fists.
"I'll handle this one."
The giant grinned broadly.
"Good."
"Finally, an opponent who understands."
Riven glanced back at me.
"Go."
"But—"
"Garrick is more important."
I fell silent.
The giant didn't even look at me.
His eyes were fixed entirely on Riven.
As if I no longer existed.
Riven took a slow breath.
"Then..."
He raised both fists.
"Let's settle this like men."
The giant laughed in satisfaction.
"Now that's what I wanted to hear."
I gripped my Cinder-9 and sprinted past them toward the final door.
As I crossed the threshold, I glanced back.
Riven's fist collided with the giant's.
BOOOM!
The impact echoed across the entire second floor.
I forced myself to look away.
Now I was alone.
Armed with nothing but my sidearm.
I had just crossed into the final room when my body moved on its own.
Not by my own will.
Reina had taken control.
My body threw itself sideways.
BANG!
A bullet passed through the exact spot where my head had been a moment earlier.
I rolled several times before stopping behind a large desk.
My breathing became ragged.
"What—"
"Focus." Reina's voice was firm. "If I'd been one-tenth of a second slower, your head would have a hole in it."
I looked toward the wall.
A fresh bullet hole was still smoking.
That had indeed been where I was standing.
"...Thanks."
"Later. Garrick hasn't escaped yet."
I took a deep breath.
The room was much larger than I'd expected.
Bookshelves lined every wall.
A massive safe stood in one corner.
Documents were scattered across the floor.
The smell of gunpowder filled the air.
Then a voice roared.
"DAMN IT!"
A man's voice.
"Someone actually made it this far!"
I immediately raised my Cinder-9.
"Hey! Who sent you here?!"
I narrowed my eyes.
No one was visible.
"Reina?"
"One heat signature," she answered quickly. "Hiding behind the large safe on the left."
"Only one?"
"Only one."
The voice shouted again.
"WHO SENT YOU?!"
"THAT BITCH KAREN?!"
"OR AN O.W.N. EXECUTIVE?!"
"OR WERE YOU THE ONE WHO INCITED THOSE DAMN ROOKIES TO ATTACK MY HEADQUARTERS?!"
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Bullets tore wildly through the bookshelves.
Books flew everywhere.
Wood splintered apart.
He wasn't even aiming.
Reina sighed.
"He's completely lost his mind."
"Let's finish this quickly."
I nodded.
Then began moving.
Slowly.
One step at a time.
Each time Garrick fired somewhere else, I advanced a little farther.
Five meters.
Four.
Three.
Now I was right beside the safe.
Reina counted.
"Three..."
"Two..."
"One."
I lunged.
"Hah!"
An elderly man with gray hair stared at me in shock as I appeared beside him.
He instinctively raised his rifle.
I was faster.
Thud!
My right fist slammed into his wrist.
"AAARGH!"
His rifle flew from his hand and hit the floor.
I immediately kicked it away.
The old man clutched his wrist, grimacing in pain.
I raised my Cinder-9.
The muzzle stopped inches from his forehead.
"Reina."
"Is he really Garrick?"
Reina's eyes glowed.
Several seconds later she answered.
"Facial scan complete."
"Identity confirmed."
"He is Garrick."
I let out a slow breath.
Finally.
This man.
The old man looked up at me, his face deathly pale.
"Wait..."
"What do you want?"
"Money?"
"Women?"
"I have everything!"
"I'll give you all of it!"
"Just don't kill me!"
For some reason...
Watching him beg only made me feel even more disgusted.
"Then..."
"Remove my bounty."
He blinked.
"...What?"
"The bounty on Archemidas."
"One hundred thousand Nexbit."
"Erase it."
Garrick looked completely confused.
"Bounty?"
"What bounty?"
"I don't understand."
I shouted at him.
"DON'T LIE!"
"Remove it now!"
He frantically shook his head.
"I really don't know!"
"I never placed a one-hundred-thousand bounty!"
"That's way too cheap!"
"Please..."
"I wasn't the one who put it up!"
I froze.
"Reina."
Several long seconds passed.
Then Reina spoke quietly.
"...He's telling the truth."
I turned to her.
"What?"
"Then..."
"Who—"
Before I could finish—
"RAAAAH!"
Garrick suddenly lunged at me.
I lost my balance.
My body slammed against the floor.
Crash!
The old man grabbed a jagged shard of broken glass.
Madness filled his eyes.
"DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHO YOU'RE MESSING WITH, YOU BASTARD?!"
He raised the glass high above his head.
Then drove it straight toward my face.
I reacted too late.
But...
My body moved on its own again.
Reina took control.
My hand brought the Cinder-9 up beside Garrick's head.
BANG!
The bullet pierced his temple.
His scream stopped instantly.
All strength left his body.
He collapsed on top of me.
I shoved the corpse aside.
My breathing was still ragged.
"It's over..."
"Wait."
Reina's voice suddenly became tense.
Before I could ask—
Click.
The door opened.
I turned.
Riven stood there.
His face was expressionless.
I was just about to call his name when—
BANG!
A sharp explosion echoed through the room.
My chest burned.
Burned horribly.
I looked down.
Blood was slowly soaking through my jacket.
"...Riven?"
"Arche!!"
Reina's voice sounded impossibly distant.
I tried to raise my pistol.
My arm wouldn't move.
My knees gave out.
My vision blurred.
The sounds around me faded away one by one.
The only thing left was Riven.
He walked toward me slowly.
Calmly.
Without haste.
Without hesitation.
Then...
Everything went dark.