DING.
The sudden, pristine chime of the executive express elevator echoed chillingly through the ruined floor. The steel doors slid open smoothly, and a solitary woman stepped out into the corridor. Her tailored suit was completely saturated with fresh, dripping blood.
Mike stopped dead in his tracks, his survival instincts screaming as a cold sweat broke across his neck. "What...?"
Allen forced his head up, his eyes widening. The black-haired woman stood under the flickering lights, holding a massive, pristine Japanese katana that was running slick with blood. She locked her predatory, crimson gaze onto the two fighters, slowly and deliberately licking a stray drop of crimson from the flat of her blade.
"Akira Shinomiya..." Mike breathed, his voice trembling with a sudden, paralyzing terror. "What did you do on the upper decks?"
"A few of your high-ranking security assets blocked my path," she replied, her voice smooth, empty, and devoid of emotion. "I simply sent them to the sky."
Akira Shinomiya? Allen analyzed, his mind racing through the pain. Judging from her name, she is also from Japan. Is she connected to Himari's family?
"This entire sector is an absolute waste of resources," Akira continued, casually flicking her wrist to clean the edge of her steel. "Your central mainframe possesses absolutely nothing of value regarding our primary target."
"What do you mean by that?!" Mike demanded, his corporate mask slipping entirely.
"I ran a full diagnostic on your encryption layers," she explained coldly. "Your database is empty. That was precisely when your security detail entered the office to intercept me."
Mike's fists clenched so hard his knuckles popped, his heart hammering against his ribs in a volatile mix of rage and terror. "How dare you...? The Loop provided you with a multi-million dollar contract, and you betray me the second you cross the threshold?"
With a roar of fury, Mike lunged at her, driving his remaining good fist straight at her face.
In the literal next microsecond, Allen's eyes stretched to their absolute limits. A agonizing, blood-curdling shriek rent the air as Mike's severed right arm flew through the air, bouncing wetly across the concrete right next to Allen's head.
"We had our own adjectives. That's why we joined you." Akira Shinomiya said.
When did she draw...? Allen thought, his brain completely failing to track her hand frames. I didn't even see the flash of the steel.
"You goddamn bitch!" Mike screamed, his nervous system short-circuiting as he tried to lunge forward with his remaining shoulder.
FST.
A sudden, fine mist of crimson sprayed across the ruined drywall. Akira Shinomiya was suddenly standing directly behind Mike's back, her back to his back. Her katana already resting perfectly inside its wooden sheath with a clean, metallic click.
What just happened? Allen's mind reeled in absolute horror. When the hell did she teleported behind this guy?
A split-second later, a literal volcano of crimson erupted from Mike's torso as his body cleanly separated sideways along a perfect, microscopic diagonal cut.
The Number 10 executive collapsed into the pool of his own undone architecture, completely neutralized.
Allen stared at the black-haired monster standing before him, his breath hitching. She slowly turned her head, her predatory, crimson eyes locking onto his broken frame.
Refusing to die lying down, Allen forced his shattered body up, gripping his remaining iron reinforcement rod with a white-knuckled intensity.
Akira's eyes narrowed into a pair of sharp, beautiful crescents. She slowly drew her katana once more, extending her opposite hand in a calm, insulting gesture, inviting him to execute his final strike.
Allen screamed, throwing the heavy iron rod with everything he had left.
Akira didn't even shift her stance. Her blade blurred through the air in a display of hyper-velocity swordsmanship, cleanly bisecting the flying iron bar down the center before dicing the remaining segments into weightless flakes of metal in mid-air, like pieces of worthless paper.
She took a slow, deliberate step toward him.
Allen simply closed his eyes, a tired, peaceful smile crossing his lips. Looks like this is where my life ends, Damn, who thought I would face someone this strong. he thought.
The crisp, clean sound of her boots neared his position. But instead of the cold bite of steel, Allen felt a soft breeze blow past his cheek. He opened his eyes to find Akira Shinomiya walking quietly past him toward the exit, casually shearing her blade back into its scabbard without looking back.