In a frantic race, trampling everyone in my path, it didn't take long for me to reach the gate of the Order's HQ, but before the guards could catch me, Kobalt burst through the gate, leaving a hole in his path.

  When he saw me, he stopped immediately.

  "You piece of shit!" he yelled. "You know damn well that we're not finished yet!"

  "Not now." I grumbled. "I have something urgent beyond that gate."

  “Guess what? This is urgent for me too. It's this or I won't be able to pay my fucking bills!”

  I then remained motionless, remembering Saul's advice, even though I was trembling with rage, longing to punch that bastard in the face—

  "That won't work, dumbass." He warned, drawing his cleaver. "I can see your intention; your spikes are red, your teeth are clenched…"

  “AAAAARGH!! Fuck this!” I yelled, running blindly towards him. As expected, my blow was parried by the cleaver, producing a loud thud. He counterattacked with a punch to the face, sending me flying.

  "Damn, you're more stressed than I am." He grumbled. "Again, make this shit easy for me, I don't have all night."

  "Only if you get out of the way!" I yelled, lunging forward again, grabbing the cleaver by the blunt side, snatching it from Kobalt's hands and throwing it away. "What are you going to do without your little toy now, huh?"

  “You're still going to fall.”

  So I clenched my fists, Kobalt gritted his teeth, and we charged. Punches landed, kicks flew to sensitive areas, heads clashed like goats, each thud shaking the statues in the courtyard.

  I then heard a voice, a mixture of familiar voices; my own voice… but now with a hoarse, serpentine tone, like something corrupted coming from the depths of my soul:

  “ENOUGH!!" it yelled. "YOU'RE IN MY WAY!!"

  "GET OUUUUUUT!!!"

  And with that, my vision turned red, my fingers morphed into claws, spikes broke through my hips, and my body burned with heat.

  "What the fuck is this?" Kobalt asked. "I couldn't care less," he retorted, "a black sclera isn't going to scare me."

  “Go… away.” I growled, my heart pounding. Kobalt remained still.

  "Look…" Kobalt stepped back, "I admit that… whatever the fuck this is… wasn't part of the contract." He moved aside. "See you around…"

  My body then returned to normal, but I was taken by a sudden wave of exhaustion, unable to save Leona. The guards didn't bother to capture me; they must be terrified by what they witnessed. I'm too tired to think about it myself right now.

  Dragging myself through the corridors, I finally spot the two of them: Tsundora lunges at Leona mercilessly, while the other merely dodges, firing the occasional shot.

  It seems the two of them were too focused on the duel to see me. Leona ran out of ammunition, Tsundora cornered her, spear at her neck, and all I can do is sit against the wall and watch, completely powerless.

  Tsundora raised her spear and began to shout:

  “I am the harsh tundra. I am the cold steel. I am the just spear. With blade in hand, I shall reap the sins of this world and purify it in the blizzard of desolation. I am Commander Tsundora Kibishi. The end has come!”

  …Until a golden blur emerged from the entrance, materializing as Kenji between the two, holding the spear with his katana.

  "Stop." His blade trembled, but his eyes stared at Tsundora without blinking. "Both of you, we don't need this." He lowered Susanoo.

  "Kenji, get out of here!" Leona warned.

  "Foolish child, you should not get involved in this." Tsundora gazed at him. "Your chief came looking for a fight. If that is what she wants, then it is a chance to prove that the brigade is nothing compared to the Order of Prevalence."

  "We shouldn't compete," he replied, "we help the citizens while you deal with the problem itself."

  While the three of them were arguing, I crawled a little further to the side and spotted an open door; beyond it was a prison and… Kassidy!

  "Kassidy, is that you?!" I let out a cry, finally catching Tsundora's attention. She turned to face me, her eyes narrowed and blinded by silent fury, pointing her spear at me.

  “Tsundora! What the hell is that? I thought he'd only been demoted, not arrested and tortured!”

  "Silence!" She shouted. "You fall now!"

  Tsundora then advanced towards me, the tip of her spear heading for my head, only to be stopped by Kenji again.

  “I already asked you to stop.”

  "That is enough, you insolent child! Recruits do not belong on the battlefield!" And with one blow, she is parried again. The Susanoo emitted a yellow glow, and Kenji released some kind of aura, possessing a form vaguely resembling a ruthless samurai.

  Kenji then began to move like lightning, attacking from every possible angle and dodging each of Tsundora's attacks .

  "What kind of witchcraft is this?" Tsundora asked, missing yet another attack.

  "Relentless training," Kenji replied.

  While he moved like lightning, his blows also displayed the elegance of ocean waves, as Tsundora blocked every strike, frantically moving her eyes to follow him.

  But when she finally managed to strike Kenji in the chest, though protected by his armor, he lost focus and his power faded. Falling to his knees, Kenji gasped, as if his aura were no different from my own enraged state. Tsundora knocked him out with a kick to the temple.

  Leona helpless, Kenji fallen, Kassidy imprisoned, and me exhausted.

  Tsundora turned to me, sternly:

  "Stubbornness, inexperience, disobedience, and blind rage—that's what prevents you from succeeding." She turned her back. "Guards, arrest the brigadiers!"

  I used what little energy I had left to deliver one last kick to her ribs and escape. I ran away until the commotion of the Order faded, until the cold night air hit my skin.

  I left behind a fearless ally, a ruthless prodigy, and a misunderstood beauty, all in the hands of a cold tyrant.

  Leaning against the trunk of a tree, I put on my headphones to report:

  “Lotus,” I sighed, “Kassidy remains imprisoned, and Leona and Kenji are now keeping him company. I… I don't know what to do. Believe me, if I could, I would have already made her eat the asphalt! But she finished off Kassidy in a matter of seconds, surpassed Leona, and not even a gifted Kenji could handle her! I just wish I could do a damn thing!”

  The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  "We can help." She replied.

  “Do you have any idea of what you’re saying? All I have left is an idiot who never leaves the lab, a simple bartender, an unemployed Southerner, and a Cog who refuses to participate!”

  “You forgot someone.”

  “What, goddamn Hideaki? I don't even want to see his face again—”

  "Magnum!" She shouted, interrupting me. "No! Kobalt!"

  “Yeah, ok, as if he had the patience for me. I don't even have the money to change his mind.

  “Luckily for you, I already contacted him and deposited the money into his account while you were busy.”

  "But what… Lotus! He's going to want to kill me as soon as he finds out who his client is—" She hung up on me. And before I could rest one last time under the tree, my neck tingled and I looked back. Kobalt was standing there, arms crossed.

  “Anything to avoid having that crazy Japanese woman giving orders in kissing distance.”

  "You're not going to kill me?" I asked. "Your target is right here, in front of you."

  “I was hired to kill Cacto or Aubrey Magnum, not whatever the fuck that was. First time I've ever given a refund; I wouldn't have done it, but Tsundora was being very demanding of me.”

  “And I thought that the Order’s ship was going to sink under Kassidy's command, not hers. She seemed promising the first time I saw her. I still wonder what happened during the process.”

  "I have nothing to do with this, I came to this damn district this morning," he said, stuffing another pretzel into his stomach. "The only good thing I've seen in this shit so far are the bakeries, but they still don't compare to what was in the South District, but that's beside the point."

  "So, what's the occasion?" Kobalt resumed. "Your sister paid less than she should have, but said it was the most that her budget allowed."

  “Why did you accept?”

  "I came here because the commander was offering an absurd amount of money," he shrugged, "but just one day of putting up with her was enough to make me quit the job. There are some things that even millions can't compensate for."

  “And why didn't you leave?”

  “Your sister was lucky to have called me while I was still packing my bags; I was going to make sure I didn't come back empty-handed after all the trouble we went through getting here. Now stop butting in and say what you want!”

  "Listen," I said, "I only ask that you help me free three prisoners at the Order's headquarters: Leona Keen, head of the Master Turtle Brigade, Kenji Rei, her apprentice, and Kassidy Winter, Lieutenant of the Order of Prevalence.”

  "Normally I kill people, but I've made exceptions before." He grumbled.

  “A friend from the south already told me, that's why I tried that nonsense of just standing still during the fight.”

  “That explains it. Now shut up, I don't have all night.”

  “Okay.”

  "So, where is this prison located?" he continued.

  “Just go straight through the entrance, after a while you'll find a door on the left labeled ‘prison,’ then just figure out a way to free them, your weapon should be able to handle it.”

  “Ahem and what are these three like? I can't have a target if I don't know what it looks like!”

  “Oh, sorry, Leona is the stylish one, Kenji is the brat, and Kassidy is the gorgeous young man.”

  “You know that's subjective, right—”

  “Shut up, you know what I mean!”

  Kobalt pointed his cleaver at me:

  “Keep it up and I'll make my second refund in a row.”

  "I'll show you who they are when we get there, then." I sighed.

  “Okay, I’m off, then.”

  He then darted off towards headquarters, with me following close behind. Along the way, I gave more details:

  “You're going to look for a red-haired woman, a little boy, and a pale man.

  "And why are you coming along?" Kobalt asked me.

  "It's because, while you release the prisoners, I'll keep the guards busy," I explained." Kassidy's weapon was already specialized in killing people like us, and I don't want to put you at risk if the same applies to the Order as a whole."

  “Ah, finally, a shithead with a shred of empathy.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Forget it.”

  Upon arriving at HQ, we ignored the guards at the entrance and entered through the hole in the gate that Kobalt had made an hour earlier. The lights had dimmed, a bluish moonlight filled the corridors in place of the platinum rays of the day, but there were still guards patrolling in the darkness.

  When one of them spotted us and alerted the rest, I turned to Kobalt:

  “Run.”

  He then went ahead. Even after he disappeared from my sight, you could hear him kicking the prison door open.

  I walked under some guards to keep an eye on Kobalt and his surroundings. That's when I heard the powerful voice that has tormented me so much today:

  “What is happening?”

  "Intruders, Commander!" replied one of the guards.

  "And you can not do your job against them? I am surrounded by incompetent fools..." She sighed. "What are you doing here, Cog? Do you want to be arrested with your colleagues?"

  "None of your business!" I retorted. "Kobalt, are you finished yet?"

  “I can't find the fucking lieutenant!”

  "Do not bother looking for him," she imposed. "He is in a remote location, far from any intruder."

  "I bet they'll find out in no time." I pointed at her. "I have some of the brightest minds working with me! Kobalt, tell them to run!"

  "Thanks, you two!" Leona yelled as she leaped over the guards' heads, taking Kenji with her.

  “You can leave the lieutenant for now, let's get out of this mess!”

  "Farewell." he said as he ran over a few more guards.

  "Now release Kassidy as soon as possible or… or…" I was becoming uncertain, "…or I'll kick your ass!"

  "In your dreams." She whispered, raising the spear as it glowed. "Do you want to become just another statistic in history?"

  "I've heard enough, I’d rather live!" I said as I ran away.

  I really didn't want to leave Kassidy behind, but there was no way that I could find him; every second there was a second I could be killed. The good thing is that I doubt Kassidy would be killed, especially since he's still human, he doesn't have a label, but, as a Cog, some still see me as nothing more than a weapon.

  Finally, I got back home, threw my things on the chair in my room and went to sleep, but not before leaving a post-it note on the fridge that read: “The brigadiers were freed, Kassidy’s been relocated.”