ã€ŠChangelingã€‹


 1.1

    1.1

    ¡°Perps turned east, seven streets down. They¡¯re slowing down.¡±

    ¡°Copy,¡± Camus said.

    Nestra had no idea how he could keep talking. All she could do was gulp cold night air and pump her tired legs on the warm asphalt, one foot after the other and again, hoping she wouldst. MaxSec armor had never been designed for running. Not like keeping up with mana users on foot was reasonable to begin with.

    The squad had lost them some time ago when the two shapes disappeared behind a concrete corner of the tired hab block. Only the drones would keep up until they ran out of batteries or the users managed to find a hiding hole. Nestra looked up past the drab gray walls and the tired concrete, towards the shining arc of the outer highway and then the imposing ck band of Threshold City¡¯s massive kaiju wall, like a cor of darkness. The sight allowed her to center herself. Distract her from the exhaustion.

    ¡°They¡¯ve stopped near a closed portal gate. E6-105. Small one,¡± Stib¡¯s voice whispered in her ears.

    ¡°Gate status,¡± Camus asked.

    The tall fucker didn¡¯t even sound winded. It was all Nestra could do not to copse. Meanwhile, drone operator Stibbons must have been pulling files because she sounded distracted.

    ¡°Hmmm. Permanent portal gate, closed for now. Monster generation on a nine day cycle, three days of purge time before they escape. Not many resources listed, mostly mana crystals. It was pacified over a week ago by North Star Security, the owner. Oh. They¡¯re trying to wake it up.¡±

    ¡°Can they survive in there?¡±¡°Hmm. Portal nature and monsters ss is ssified information. By North Star. I don¡¯t have clearance.¡±

    Camus swore into his beard. Nestra thought it was stupid. It didn¡¯t matter if the two thief users could use it or not. They clearly thought they could or they wouldn¡¯t be feeding it mana to wake up early.

    ¡°Least,¡± Bard croaked, ¡°least they¡¯ll be tired.¡±

    Nobody stated the obvious. So would they. And mana users didn¡¯t leave baseline humans the opportunity to recover from a mistake. Nestra¡¯s grip tightened on her standard issue pacifier. If the users were low D-ss, the squad could probably manage. If they were in the higher ranges then¡­

    Had to die sometime. Might as well be tonight.

    ¡°Where are our fucking reinforcements?¡± Bard panted.

    Camus signaled and everyone came to a halt. Nestra put her fist on her knees and breathed all she could and fuck the decorum. They already looked like a militia anyway with patched up gear and surplus shit. And it wasn¡¯t like the users would take them seriously anyway.

    ¡°Alright. Stib, they¡¯re really opening that gate?¡±

    ¡°Trying. Might take a while. Not sure why though.¡±

    Camus grunted in answer. Nestra sighed. It was obvious.

    ¡°They¡¯ll go through and find a ce to hunker down since us baselines can¡¯t follow them in,¡± she exined. ¡°We¡¯ll have no choice but to wait around or have our own mana users go after them. They¡¯re hoping to leave in a day or so, after we¡¯re gone.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s just stupid,¡± Bard replied. ¡°Why not take us out now? Then they can disappear in the district before the augs show up.¡±

    His voice always felt so grating, always with theid back surfer persona. Always whining about everything.

    ¡°TPD is overstretched. They know that. They don¡¯t know there¡¯s only the four of us on their trail right now though. Besides, it doesn''t matter. They¡¯re charging the gate. Either we try stopping them, or we don¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°Someone changed our orders while my back was turned?¡±

    Camus¡¯ ck gaze was fixed on Nestra. She shrugged. Only the faintest dark skin could be seen around the giant¡¯s bloodshot eyes. The rest was covered in nylon, ker, and ceramics. Probably older than he was. Nestra sustained the gaze. He was being a pissant.

    ¡°Any chance for borgs?¡± Park interrupted.

    Thest and most quiet member of the team deted the tension as he often did.

    ¡°Call them augmented humans, or augs at least for Riel¡¯s sake. And not now. We¡¯re it. As I said earlier. Now, Stib, show us the map around that portal.¡±

    ¡°Sure thing boss.¡±

    The squad used a diverse assortment of ancient helmet visors to read the 3D map.

    It was a standard abandoned hab bloc near the wall, poption swallowed by one of the arcologies at least a decade before. The portal opened on a small courtyard surrounded by shuttered small businesses. Nestra was starting to agree with Bard. Those users were morons. ce was far too open. Any augs around would have spotted them from the sky while only baselines would miss the mana vomited by the open portal. Much better to run and hope for the best.

    ¡°I got an ID on one of them. The one who removed his mask. Jason Wong, D-ss, a record as long as my arm but only small stuff. Oh, and the item they stole is inert. Confirmed by the vics.¡±

    ¡°You sure?¡±

    ¡°Lenses used in surgery robots. Not enchanted.¡±

    ¡°Right, here is what we¡¯ll do. Bard and Nes take the front and wait for my signal. Park and I move to the side, then on my mark, you start apprehending. We move in while they look at you. Weapons free. Don¡¯t hesitate.¡±

    Nestra caressed the hilt of her stun ¡®baton¡¯. The tool was custom-made, one of the gifts from her aunt ire. The habit soothed her nerves. It wasn¡¯t dying that worried her. It was the pain.

    She watched Park and Camus run to a side alley. Bard turned to her. She could see his amusement in the way his shoulder moved, as if he was containing augh.

    ¡°So, Padian. Wanna be the negotiator? Every time I talk it seems to piss off the perps.¡±

    ¡°For thest fucking time, use my call sign when we¡¯re on the field. And you piss off everybody, not just the perps. Because you¡¯re a cunt.¡±

    ¡°How smooth, darling. You talk to them then.¡±

    ¡°Stib here, goons,¡± Nestra¡¯s earpiece said. ¡°With the footage of our perps. Sending the feed now.¡±

    A window opened on Nestra¡¯s visor. It was ced on the upper right corner so as not to impede her vision. It showed a deserted hab square littered with junk. Boarded up businesses lined it on every side, dead neon signs hanging limply from rusting supports. Stairs led up to the living quarters in a uniform gray color of unpainted concrete. Typical of quick jobs from just after the gates opened and survival became the highest priority.

    The only colors came from fading graffitis promoting long-dead gangs: two men standing before an empty arch, one facing it with arms extended while the other fiddled with a control panel linked to the arch by a pair of heavy duty cables. Nestra noted that the controls were ancient. Resilient stuff made at the beginning of the incursion. Rich guilds used holographic interfaces nowadays.

    It was clear the one at the panel had no idea what he was doing. He had also discarded his face covering, a basic bandana, to reveal the handsome face of an Asian man with slick ck hair and a frantic expression. His eyes shone with the inner light typical of low gleams. Jason Wong. By contrast, the other perp wore a stic or ceramic white mask with fox features. His outfit was close-fitting, his boots made to run. As she watched, a blue light flickered in the center of the arch.

    ¡°Looks like the portal¡¯s activating,¡± she said.

    ¡°Almost in position,¡± Camus said. ¡°Ok, in position. Start the approach.¡±

    ¡°Ladies first,¡± Bard said with a smile.

    Nestra took the lead. Her heart did its best to escape her ribs with every step that brought her closer to the pair of users. She felt excitement as well, for a good fight. Envy. Mostly, she felt envy. It bit at her chest with the cold acid of what ifs.

    Soon, she was in one of the narrow corridors leading to the portal space.

    Wong faced them while Fox Mask ignored their presence.

    ¡°This is TPD. You are surrounded. Our users are on the way. Surrender now and do everyone a favor.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think so,¡± Wong said. ¡°You say gleam pigs are on the way. I say you¡¯re lying.¡±

    He sounded defiant and angry. A dangerousbination. Also meant he would be easier to distract. Fox Mask was an enigma though. He was still focused on the gate.

    ¡°Look, Wong, we¡¯ve IDed you. It¡¯s over one way or the other. Right now you¡¯re just in for theft and fleeing and eluding. Nothing too serious. Just surrender, Jason, before it gets out of hand. Come on. You¡¯re a gleam. You¡¯ll get a p on the wrist,¡± she replied, pointing at the heavy case leaning against the console Wong had been fiddling with.

    That was the stolen property, still intact apparently.

    ¡°p on the wrist? Easy for you to say. You won¡¯t be sent to a dangerous gate risking life and limb every day! And for what? To feed the corporations! We¡¯re just cogs in the machine, man. It¡¯s all about the opium of the masses and the profits of the few. But not me! And I¡¯m not bowing to sheltered dogs of the government.¡±

    Nestra gripped her baton so hard it hurt. One of those. She hated his type with a burning passion. Had to keep it together though.

    ¡°Not feeling like a sheltered dog right now, Jason. I¡¯m actually tired and in pain. Look, you are a gleam, ok? You can enter a portal and make five times as much as I do carrying minerals through mining gates three days a week. We¡¯re all cogs of society, you dolt. You wanna do something about it? Run raids for charities! Do politics, whatever. But here you are instead,mitting theft, and not like, of food or anything vital.¡±

    Of course, Nestra¡¯s words set the gleam off. A part of her knew it would. She just didn¡¯t care anymore.

    ¡°Bullshit, you¡¯re so naive. It¡¯s all rigged at the top, don¡¯t you see? Corpos and the mayor working together to keep us all down, man, manufacturing content and everything! Just so we serve the masses instead of a worthy cause.¡±

    ¡°Oh, you think you serve the masses? Really? You see those arcologies behind me? Owned by high gleams. Top scientists? Gleams! Traders? That¡¯s right, fuckface, no instant trading unless you got a mana signature. You are the least fucked out of all of us, and instead of doing something, you rant against the government while stealing fucking sses like some bargain bin terrorist. Holy shit, I¡¯ve never met a worse loser than you.¡±

    ¡°Hmm, Padian. Calm down?¡± Bard said.

    The hypocrite was having fun and they both knew it. Nestra didn¡¯t give a shit. It felt good to let out the bottled anger, feel the poisoned relief course through her veins, knowing she might pay for itter. She pulled her lips back into a rictus only she could feel. Jason Wong¡¯s face was a fury-wracked scowl. It felt good to reach him like that.

    ¡°YOU BITCH!¡±

    ¡°Stop that,¡± Fox Mask said, and to Nestra¡¯s surprise, that was a female voice.

    ¡°I¡¯m not going to stand there while these dregs¡ª¡±

    This narrative has been uwfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

    ¡°They¡¯re nobodies. TPD baselines without a singlebat augment between themselves. They¡¯re baiting you. Come and help me,¡± Fox Mask said, and there was a strain in her voice.

    ¡°You know what? You don¡¯t give me orders! I¡¯m not anyone¡¯s tool.¡±

    Electricity crackled down Wong¡¯s hand, gathering in his fist.

    ¡°Wong¡¯s a buzzer,¡± Nestra said.

    Her anger fell down the drain while the cold grasp of fear settled in her stomach.

    ¡°Wasn¡¯t in the file,¡± Stib grumbled.

    Wong extended a finger towards Nestra, who brandished her baton. A bolt surged from there, much slower than true electricity. Moreover, it missed Nestrapletely.

    Bard received the bolt on a heavy gauntlet as it spiked towards him. Energy traveled along an inner circuit of his armor, then to the ground. There was a fizzle near his knee and he winced when the electric mana bit through tattered instion. Piece of shit gear.

    Wong charged.

    Nestra received another bolt on her de which she had nted on the ground, dissipating the mana. Bard opened fire on the thug but he moved quickly, escaping most shots. The remaining bullets barely slowed him down though he grunted in pain. Nestra received a very obvious haymaker on her de.

    Strong.

    She was pushed back and rolled to absorb the shock. Still felt it in her bones through the absorbing foam, the pain making her teeth click together. It was like being hit by a slow truck. She was back on her feet in an instant anyway.

    Bard managed tond a hook on Wong while his back was turned, hitting the gut. Wong barely flinched. His riposte sent the much taller Bard smashing against the wall. Nestra was up. A turn of a button and her baton extended, bing as long as a ymore. She caught Wong in the forehead with a perfect thrust. A hundred thousand volts made him scream and fall but he was up in the same second. Electrokic. Natural resistance. Nestra cursed her luck.

    A flurry of strikes kept Wong at bay until she made the mistake of actually hitting him. His look of triumph when he realized she had no energy left sent a shiver down her spine. He caught her de with ease and sent it tumbling but a barrage of bullets forced him back. Bard had recovered. Behind, Park and Camus were shooting at an unmoving Fox Mask. The bullets pinged on a shield.

    Bard fell back, shooting short bursts. The bullets left ck bruises on an increasingly annoyed Wong. Nestra wished they¡¯d pack lethal stuff. Their foe charged and grabbed Nestra¡¯s baton once again.

    It had finished cycling.

    Wong screamed when the second thunderous discharge coursed his body from hand to toe. He fell to his knees. Nestra¡¯s perfect swing caught him right in the temple.

    Wong fell ponderously. Bard was on him a momentter, putting manacles on.

    ¡°Riel almighty that was hard,¡± Bard swore.

    ¡°Gotta help the others.¡±

    They looked up in time to see¡­ no one.

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    Park¡¯s body crashed against a nearby dumpster. His leg was at a bad angle. A very bad one.

    ¡°Officer down!¡± Stib yelled.

    ¡°Shit!¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s alive but Camus needs help. Left. Go, now!¡±

    The pair raced forward. Stib¡¯s feed appeared on Nestra¡¯s visor, showing Camus calmly moving back while shooting the approaching form of Fox Mask. The user didn¡¯t seem worried. She was taking her time.

    ¡°Rubber bullets against users? Budget cuts are worse than I thought,¡± she drily noted.

    Nestra gritted her teeth. They wouldn¡¯t be on time. Fox Mask charged and disarmed Camus after a short exchange despite the tall man using a knife. Fox Mask had her own de but she didn¡¯t use it, content to gut punch him with the hilt. Even through the MaxSec armor, the impact left the colossus prostrated. She really knew how to fight.

    Definitely not a low D-ss gleam.

    A crawling dread cimbled up Nestra¡¯s spine when she finally realized that they didn¡¯t really have anything to take Fox Mask down.

    They couldn¡¯t defeat her.

    That was it, really.

    It could only go one way from now on.

    Bard was next to fall. Fox Mask ran him down and grabbed his gun, emptying the entire magazine against his armor then kicking him down the nearby steps. Nestra was left with her baton held in front of her. The portal flickered behind her. She felt more than heard it.

    ¡°Oh? A fellow practitioner? Well, of course then. Please.¡±

    Fox Mask saluted. Nestra retracted the de and held her baton like a foil. Speed would matter.

    They fought.

    Fox Mask used her short de like a saber. It was clear she was used to a longer de. It was also clear that she was slowing herself down a lot. It didn¡¯t help.

    ¡°Reinforcements will be here soon, Nes! Hold on!¡± Stib said as if it would make a difference.

    Holding on was all Nestra could do in the first ce. Finally, her weapon finished cycling. She pressed the button as Fox Mask parried. The saber¡¯s surface crackled, electricity sliding over mana.

    ¡°I coated my de, of course,¡± Fox Mask said conversationally.

    A jab caught Nestra in the ribs, stealing her breath through the armor. She couldn¡¯t scream. She could only gasp and gulp air in her abused lungs as fast as she could. Fox Mask still stood there, short de resting on her shoulder. This hadn¡¯t even been a serious hit. There was no blood. Fox Mask had specifically used a coating to dull her weapon. She was doing her best not to hurt Nestra too much.

    That stung more than the blow to her chest.

    ¡°Looks like it¡¯s time,¡± Fox Mask whispered.

    Something changed. Perfect cerulean light suddenly bathed the trash alley, then a low hum like a distant choir, the smell of the sea and fresh air fought off the drab reality, pushing off the stale gloom of the abandoned block. That wasn¡¯t the best part though.

    The best part was the mana.

    Nestra¡¯s pain faded. The constant aching in her bones dulled to a whisper. Energy washed away her exhaustion, flooding her limbs with renewed energy and a desire to move. To use that strength. More importantly, she feltplete.

    At peace.

    Whole.

    The portal was open.

    ¡°I will be going now,¡± Fox Mask said.

    She deflected the casual blow meant to push her off, countered. Her de danced and sang with speed. Fox Mask blocked and backpedaled.

    ¡°Wha¡ª¡±

    Nestra caught her off guard. Nestra pressed the advantage in a flurry of thrusts her foe deflected with some effort. Unfortunately, that was just stolen mana. Fox Mask¡­ was the real deal. She parried and attacked in turn, ever faster. It was Nestra¡¯s turn to fall back.

    A hand against her shoulder. She was airborne. She was on the ground. Her shoulder hit a brick.

    ¡°Oof.¡±

    Fox Mask stood just as calm as she had always been. Still taking it easy. Sirens red in the distance. Fox Mask looked up, revealing a triangle of tan skin and a hint of ck curls. She returned her gaze to Nestra. Dark iris like pits in the middle of that white ceramic fixed on the prone officer.

    ¡°Guess you can have it then. As a gesture of my appreciation.¡±

    Fox Mask walked through the portal¡¯s aperture without her stolen prize, disappearing as smoothly as through the surface of ake. A ripple agitated the calm blue surface.

    Nestra sat back up, winced, then decided to wait.

    ***

    shing lights and cheap coffee. Groups of vigils milling around in groups of three, doing fuckall. Nestra took a sip of tea. Too strong. Tepid.

    What little mana she¡¯d absorbed was gone now, dissipated into the air. She felt cranky. Her forearm and ribs hurt like a bitch. The medic by her side finished waving an old piece of tech around her body. It beeped. She didn¡¯t know the guy. Not interested in small talk.

    ¡°Bruising, mostly. You¡¯ll be fine. Regen capsule and a pain killer.¡±

    ¡°I got some at home.¡±

    ¡°Good, then¡­¡±

    ¡°How¡¯s Park?¡±

    The medic sighed and leaned back with his hands on his waist. Something cracked. He sighed, more relief than contentment.

    ¡°Fractured tibia and humerus. Bad. He¡¯s out for at least a month with healer care. Camus has a broken rib. You guys got it easy.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    Anxiety chased away the gloom.

    ¡°Beta squad got in a scrap with gangers. Hmm. Regis is dead. Sorry.¡±

    Fuck.

    ¡°And district fifteen is rioting. All our users are there right now. The unrest is bleeding through.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I know.¡±

    Nestra was fed up hearing about district fifteen, especially because a couple of high gleams could have solved the problem in ten minutes two months ago and now it was like a festering wound of crime and trafficking. She didn¡¯t know Regis very well but he¡¯d always been tolerable. Polite, supportive. A great teammate. Why couldn¡¯t they have killed Gorge instead? There was no justice in this world.

    Fuck.

    The medic felt the mood and left, looking for someone else to help. Nestra just stayed there, not sure what to do. They¡¯d given her a cover made of weird metal but she was still getting cold.

    ¡°Drive you home?¡±

    Nestra looked up. Stib was offering a hand which she gratefully took. Stib was smiling but it was only skin deep. Brittle. Her eyes were red. She¡¯d been crying.

    The tiny woman hoisted Nestra to her feet. The darkness made her boyish with her sharp face and tiny frame, hair cut short under a cap. Despite that, her grip was firm.

    ¡°Thanks. You heard?¡± Nestra asked.

    ¡°Yeah, I¡­ Yeah.¡±

    The two made it to the squad vehicle. It was meant to carry eight people, a blocky, armored transport designed to carry a squad in and out safely. It had been top of the line thirty years ago. Now, any mana-powered guilder left it in the dust, a C-ss gleam could punch a hole through it, and a B-ss could fold it like a fucking paper crane. Budget cuts meant they no longer had a dedicated driver, or a medic, or a dedicated mechanic for that matter. The squad had been cut from six to five and Lance was still in the hospital. Nestra mmed the passenger door shut. The hinges creaked ominously. Inside, it smelled of synth leather and old sweat. There were old blood stains on the upholstery that predated Nestra¡¯s entire career.

    Stib pulled out. The engine roared like a chimera but the truck moved like a slime. The streets were empty save for transients roasting surprise meat over barrel fires, watching them pass by with the hollow eyes of tracked beasts. The ramp up the wall ring pushed their old rustbolt to its limits. Stib immediately stuck to the slowne while corpo cars and convoys raced by.

    ¡°So, Nestra.¡±

    ¡°Siobhan. Are we having the talk again?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. I guess we are. I mean, after tonight¡­¡±

    There was an awkward silence. Nestra didn¡¯t know how to handle it anymore. Siobhan Stibbons entered that rare category she considered as friend. It meant that when Siobhan talked, she listened. Even though they¡¯d had the same conversation plenty of times. Except¡­ this time it was different. The two remaining squads were mangled. Nestra knew they¡¯d crossed a point of no return.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± she finally whispered.

    ¡°You¡¯ll consider quitting then?¡±

    ¡°I mean. Not right away but¡­ I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll have a choice. Short term. Tomorrow we¡¯ll get gleams and city admins on our asses and they¡¯ll ask questions and there¡¯ll be no good answers. It doesn¡¯t even make me mad anymore. It is what it is.¡±

    ¡°Yeah. I¡¯ve talked to my parents. They want me out too.¡±

    Nestraughed at that.

    ¡°What? Old man Stibbons, the career copper?¡±

    ¡°Ha ha. Yeah. I guess mom has been working him to the bone. They want me to transfer to Blue River as a drone operator, earthside.¡±

    ¡°A guild? Must be freezing in hell.¡±

    ¡°Blue River is made of ex-cops. Their gleams exclusively raid while us ¡®crunchies¡¯ handle the day-to-day stuff. I¡¯d be carrying crates of material from portals to warehouses and the like. Cozy job, few risks. They said I could even pilot a hovercraft.¡±

    ¡°Must be nice.¡±

    ¡°Look, once I¡¯m there, maybe I can get a word in. You¡¯re not really family but you¡¯re close enough by now.¡±

    ¡°Thanks.¡±

    ¡°I mean it.¡±

    ¡°I know but you know what they¡¯ll ask. I can¡¯t borg up.¡±

    Siobhan mechanically touched the silvery te on her neck where the mind jack was installed. It was non-invasive as far as cybeic augmentations went but it was still more than Nestra could handle. She felt like an asshole, never exining to the shorter girl what the deal was. She was being a shit friend.

    ¡°Look I¡¯ve not told you the exact deal before because it¡¯s, well, painful. Annoying.¡±

    ¡°Guess you had to exin many times before, right?¡±

    ¡°Understatement of the decade.¡±

    ¡°I get it. If you feel like sharing now¡­ Otherwise¡­¡±

    Nestra realized she didn¡¯t mind. The scar had fully formed now. She¡¯d grieved enough for this life.

    ¡°Thank you. For being understanding. And it¡¯s fine. Look, thing is, I got almost all the pieces to make a proper user. I got a mana structure. I have high mana capacity though that doesn¡¯t even make sense. Riel, I probably even got affinities.¡±

    ¡°Affinities plural?¡±

    ¡°Lightning for sure, ice maybe. From the advanced testing. That¡¯s the thing. People with mana structures be crazy if you borg them. That¡¯s a fact of life. Maybe quirkies can get away with it if they don¡¯t cut the body part that hosts the mana structure, but even D-ss get bonkers, and I got the D-ss package. It¡¯s just not working.¡±

    ¡°Got it. I¡¯ll still ask. Maybe there is a way. Unless you got a project lined up?¡±

    ¡°My contract is due in seven months. If they don¡¯t shut us down before, I¡¯ll move then. The idea was, well, I can probably be an assistant. I¡¯m not going to like it but at least they pay well. And I can get away with external systems instead of a mind jack like you have. My aunt ire offered it.¡±

    ¡°The one who gave you the apartment?¡±

    ¡°Yes. I¡¯m forcing her to ept rent, or at least mortgage but¡­¡±

    They stopped for a while to watch a long, train-like convoy race past them. It was entirely ck and sported the TDF logo. Probably wall supplies and ammo.

    ¡°She¡¯s probably saving it all in a rainy day fund?¡± Siobhan continued.

    ¡°How do you know?¡±

    ¡°My grandma did the same. Anyway, she got you a job?¡±

    ¡°She offered. If she did, it means she¡¯ll find one. I won¡¯t enjoy being reminded of what I¡¯m not and they won¡¯t like remembering that I can happen to their kids but¡­it¡¯s probably doable. And much better than bing a barista. I wouldn¡¯t do well in the service industry. I don¡¯t have transferable skills.¡±

    ¡°And you have a shit attitude.¡±

    Nestra chuckled. It was true.

    ¡°That too. And, you know, they don¡¯t ever get near portals.¡±

    At that, Siobhan fell silent. Nestra knew why. Some of her family had a history with alcoholism and Nestra¡¯s issue was too close forfort.

    ¡°Yeah. About that. Is it like¡­ an addiction?¡±

    Nestra chuckled once again. Little Siobhan was daring tonight.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I just know that if I haven¡¯t been near a portal in a while I feel like shit and as long as I get close, it¡¯s like¡­ feeling alive again. Fully functional. If it¡¯s an addiction then I¡¯ve had it since I was a young adult.¡±

    ¡°What did Mazingwe say?¡±

    ¡°Same as before. My case is so rare that nobody cares about it. It¡¯s not profitable to fix it.¡±

    ¡°You parents¡­¡±

    ¡°Got me to the best healers. Even Shinran.¡±

    ¡°Wait. You met Threshold¡¯s Guardian? Our Shinran?¡±

    ¡°Yep. They all said the same thing. There is nothing wrong with me. I¡¯m exactly what I was born to be.¡±

    ¡°Well, shit.¡±

    ¡°Indeed. Nothing to fix. I made a request to have weekly ess to active portals. The answer muste soon. If the city government doesn¡¯t say yes then maybe a guild will. That¡¯s why a raider¡¯s personal assistant would be perfect. I mean, getting close to portals would be part of the job.¡±

    ¡°Yeah. I hope it works.¡±

    Nestra didn¡¯t reply. It wouldn¡¯t work. It had gotten worse over the years. She needed more mana to fill the pit of hunger deep within her every time and every time, itsted less time. Just like Siobhan said, just like an addiction, one that no one knew how to fix. Maybe some portal item¡­ Maybe.

    Had to keep hoping.

    ***

    It was the same dream. Nestra watched from above the innocent, young version of herself. That one had white gold hair curled in great loops as was the fashion at that time, not the listless dark blonde mop. That one had lustrous skin, not a gaunt mask marked by tiny scars. That one had bright eyes, gray edging on silver as if on the cusp of awakening, the only thing the current Nestra had kept. That one wore a uniform from the prestigious Threshold Preparatory School at over twelve thousand credits a set. The current Nestra earned a fourth of that every month, hazard pay included. That one walked blithely to the analysis chair like the little shit full of hope she was. Positively vibrating. A kind-looking woman with a teal gleam in her eyes weed her with matronly attention.

    ¡°Miss Padian, wee. Are you ready?¡±

    ¡°Ready and eager, ma¡¯am.¡±

    ¡°Haha, feel free to call me Miss Daendra. Hop in!¡±

    That Nestra climbed and closed her eyes. The room had no windows. It was all white tiles suffused with a warm glow. An observation deck overhead hid theplex machinery and control panel required to make it work. That Nestra studiously ignored it. She knew her mom was there. And a few teachers. She had to look cool about it.

    Mana flooded her body. A pressure on her mind invited her deeper in. She followed it. It was like being submerged in water. Weightless, rxed. That Nestra dove until she found herself in a luxurious, well-lit reception room. There were doors to the side but she knew without trying that those were locked tight.

    ¡°Right, we are about to send a mana burst to help you find your core representation. You might also see the affinity you have based on the color so keep your metaphorical eyes open!¡±

    ¡°I hope it¡¯s ice!¡±

    ¡°Hoho, well we have a betting pool about that. Sending the burst now. Follow it to your core.¡±

    Light filled the reception room. Great arcs of power traced through the air like aurorae. It was beautiful for as long as itsted.

    ¡°Miss Padian, are you in the room?¡± Dean Daendra asked in a more subdued voice.

    ¡°Ye¡­ yes.¡±

    ¡°Could you please make contact with your core? We cannot seem to get a lock on it.¡±

    ¡°I am in the room but I do not see the core. Mana just disperses in the air.¡±

    ¡°No retention?¡± a voice said in a way that hinted she was not supposed to hear. ¡°None at all? That can¡¯t be right. Children of users are always users. Look, no, the likelihood is less than one in a million and the few recorded casesck her structure. That can¡¯t be it. Sorry, sweetie, we¡¯re just having some trouble. Hold on there, okay?¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡±

    That Nestra held on through the hours of testing, through the general consternation, the hasty meetings, right to the point when the car bringing her home left the school¡¯s garden through the small door. After that she cried a lot. The school reimbursed her tuition and the uniform with their apologies. It didn¡¯t help.

    No core.

    A freak anomaly.

 1.2

    1.2

    Nestra woke up in her bed. Her back hurt. Her shoulder hurt. Her forearm hurt a lot more. Her mind felt groggy, starving in a way that food couldn¡¯t sate. Her stomach growled though she barely had an appetite. She used her visor to check her messages. This one was a light model that covered just one eye, rather cumbersome. Com contacts were better but Nestra couldn¡¯t stand them.

    Summoned at 10AM by Mazingwe for a checkup, then the admin at 11. One day of respite was too much to ask. The bureaucracy demon demanded that ink be shed and pacts signed in triplicate. Well, electronic ink but whatever.

    Nestra followed her usual morning routine. Stretch, shower, brush teeth, dress, gobble down two essence bars¡ª 100% of your daily intake of everything in convenient packages! ¡ª drink coffee. Ignore the ghost of her mother¡¯s voice that told her she should brush her teeth after coffee. Climb on her old electric car and drive to work.

    Her apartment was in a nicer district, not a wall one. That meant a forty minute drive through the remnants of the morning rush. That also meant a reduced risk of gang wars spilling over her favorite coffee shop. The weather was nice, clear, still cold from winter¡¯s weakening¡¯s grasp. A news feed red info until something caught her attention. She turned the autopilot on and listened.

    ¡°A Threshold police officer lost his life in a sh with an unknown gang in district fifteen yesterday evening. Officer Regis was a baseline with over fifteen years of experience but he fell to a gang user. Opposition Councillor Schofield reacted to the news with a dire warning.¡±

    ¡°Gang violence has increased by 21% over thest year in the outer district in general. In district fifteen, crime is so high that authorities have deserted it entirely! This is the direct and predictable result of the politics of abandonment Mayor Kim Soon-Jae has promoted over thest decade. Our poption swarms in arcologies, leaving our outer shell disused and abandoned to marginalized groups ripe for induction by unscrupulous actors. If nothing is done, we will lose the entire outer ring to crime lords!¡±

    ¡°The mayor¡¯s office announced a n to address the issue by giving police duties to guilds,pensating them with tax rebates. Opposition denounced the measure as unconscionable because it would leave state duties to private entities and force portal raiders to y a role they are not trained for. However, the mayor office¡¯s representative remarked that public safety must take into ount new realities such as the rise in the number of criminal users. They noted that the proportion of users in the 16 to 18 age bracket has recently reached the historical amount of 20%. The process only seems to be elerating, demanding a change in the wayw enforcement functions. In other news, pop star singer Mizuha officially signed with ¡ª¡±

    Nestra tuned it off. She changed channels to pre-incursion music and sat back asfortably as her bruised back allowed. That was it, really. Always fun to learn about one¡¯s contract termination in the morning news.

    The autopilot informed her she had arrived shortly after. She let the policepound take over her parking and exited the nice, modern local branch of the TPD to the shithole that was the MaxSec annex. The underground parking was mostly empty. She passed the biometric scan to find Ines serenaded by Mazingwe himself, two streaming cups of coffee waiting between them. The towering doctor turned and pretended to only notice Nestra now. The golden gleam of his iris contrasted nicely with a skin so dark it was almost blue. Mazingwe shaved entirely and the white scrubs he wore did nothing to conceal his lean muscles. Nestra still had no idea what the old gleam was doing here. She was pretty sure he was moonlighting or something.¡°Miss Padian! Just in time for your ten o¡¯clock. Good morning to you!¡±

    Mazingwe went for a handshake. He was old school like that. Nestra obliged.

    ¡°I bet you were Lion Nierere. He was a user from Tanzania, during the incursion.¡±

    ¡°Once again I regret to say that even if you were right, I would not tell you,¡± he replied with a smile.

    ¡°Miss Padian, please,¡± Ines said with terrible embarrassment. ¡°Show some propriety! Mr. Mazingwe is¡ª¡±

    ¡°A servant of our dear mother Threshold just like the rest of us,¡± Nestra interrupted with a fake smile. ¡°I¡¯m sure he does not insist on honorifics.¡±

    ¡°I know how to pick my battles, Nestra. Thank you Ines dear. I will see youter. Enjoy the coffee. Duty calls!¡±

    Nestra followed the tall man but not before shrugging at Ines¡¯ judgemental look. The olddy was pale and rotund and fretful, always worried about appearances and Nestra¡¯s continued single status. She meant well. So Nestra didn¡¯t give her too hard a time. Mazingwe was fair game though, the old doctor¡¯s unppable demeanor a challenge to her. She followed him to the medical room and waited while he fiddled around with a scanner. That one was quite nicer.

    ¡°While we proceed, I need to ascertain your identity. Are you ¡ª¡±

    ¡°Must we?¡± Nestra moaned.

    ¡°It is the protocol and as a doctor¡ª¡±

    ¡°Yeah yeah fine. I am Clytemnestra Padian, named by an idiot father with an ancient Greece fixation backed with no real knowledge and who didn¡¯t consider that sending a girl to school with a name that starts with ¡®clyt¡¯ was a shit idea. There you are. That¡¯s me.¡±

    ¡°Clytemnestra was a powerful figure, the queen of Mycenae.¡±

    ¡°Assassinated her husband in a fit of jealousy.¡±

    ¡°I withdraw my remark and concede your point. Minor bruising but otherwise you are in remarkably good shape. Did you take a regen capsule?¡±

    ¡°Yesterday before bed. With a mild painkiller.¡±

    ¡°Get another one tonight and you will be fine. Painkiller if you need it. No training until I have performed another exam tomorrow. And no mission. You¡¯re on the bench.¡±

    ¡°Me and the others,¡± Nestra grumbled.

    And Regis. That poor fucker.

    ¡°I am sorry about what happened to your friend Regis. He was a good man. His loss leaves us all poorer and the world duller.¡±

    Nestra shrugged. She didn¡¯t do well with emotional stuff like that.

    ¡°There will be a service on Saturday, if you can attend. Regis was a Christian. We are going to church.¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Sure. Whatever.¡±

    Mazingwe sighed.

    ¡°Look, you are still young and you can recover from trauma overnight but that will notst. Your dedication and skill with the sword are remarkable, to havended a position in the alpha squad as their CQC expert, especially as a woman.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s sexist.¡±

    ¡°Nestra, please. For baselines, reach and muscle mass matter a lot when ites to close quarterbat. Technique will only carry you so far. My point was that you are burning the candle from both ends. You need to consider¡­ another activity.¡±

    ¡°Not you too.¡±

    ¡°Danger is rising. Your numbers are dwindling.¡±

    ¡°But that didn¡¯t stop you,¡± Nestra replied with conviction.

    Mazingwe flinched. That was the first time it happened.

    ¡°That was different.¡±

    ¡°Hah! I knew it. You¡¯re a first-gen gleam.¡±

    Mazingwe tsked and his gaze hardened. Nestra felt immediately chastened. It was weird how quick he¡¯d turned from cool doctor to, well, high gleam. What he really was. Oh, he had his mana underplete control but Nestra was no fool. Only old monsters could control themselves to that extent.

    ¡°Sorry.¡±

    ¡°I cannot fathom what you see in pushing me to the limits of my patience. That drive is almost¡­ but I digress and your psychological profile is not my prerogative. I suppose it is time to tell you about your inquiry.¡±

    ¡°You got an answer?¡± Nestra replied, only for her hopes to die stillborn. Mazingwe wore themiserating face that meant he was the bringer of bad news.

    ¡°It¡¯s a no, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°I am sorry. I swore on my honor as a practitioner that my observations were true. I gave them charts. Pictures. Cortisol levels. Everything. The final argument is that your case being unique, the city is unwilling to create an exception for you. They suggest, and I quote, that you pursue inquiries with private entities.¡±

    He raised his hands to forestall any protests.

    ¡°I am sorry and I agree that they are failing their obligation to provide medical care. There is just no guideline to handle your cases since all the other children of users who are not users themselvese fromparatively weak parents. However, I suspect something may be at y. Possibly a stubborn individual.¡±

    ¡°Damn,¡± Nestra whispered.

    ¡°Ah, I expected a lot of swearing.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just¡­¡±

    She shrugged.

    ¡°Everything.¡±

    ¡°I get it. I am making enquiries with my contacts. And no, you may not know who it is or my super secret identity.¡±

    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any urrences elsewhere.

    He wiggled his eyebrows in a way that feltedic on such a serious face. Nestra chuckled. He was a good guy.

    ¡°Yeah. Guess that¡¯s one more closed door.¡±

    ¡°Do not lose heart. You were next to an open portal yesterday, yes?¡±

    ¡°The power surge faded as soon as I left the area and the longsting relief was gone this morning.¡±

    ¡°So¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s getting worse.¡±

    ¡°Perhaps you are merely umting a deficit. Let¡¯s not get carried away with the doomsaying, yes? I am on your side and I will try to help more. In the meanwhile, I believe I have taken enough of your time.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, Mazingwe.¡±

    ¡°Is your gratitude enough to finally get a ¡®doctor¡¯ before my name?¡±

    ¡°I don''t know. Are you sure¡ª¡±

    ¡°No you may not know my super secret identity. Off you go now, mtundu. You are trying this old man¡¯s heart.¡±

    ¡°Ok ok!¡±

    Nestra fled, trying to recall what he called her but realizing she didn¡¯t know how to spell the strange word. And that was cheating. Or was it not? In any case, he had sessfully distracted her from her pain. She needed mana, and the city would not provide. What to do? Unfortunately, thatsted long enough for her to reach her cubicle. It was a safe haven with an actual lock on it. An ancient holographic disy hummed alive. Someone knocked on the door behind her.

    ¡°Padian.¡±

    ¡°Chief.¡±

    Chief Ruben was a tired old woman in an equally tired suit. There were deep pockets under her eyes and a weight in them that told Nestra she¡¯d given up, yet the wless haircut and rigorously ironed outfit said she hadn¡¯t. Ruben¡¯s position was a punishment. For what, Nestra didn¡¯t know. Chief Ruben acquitted herself of her duties with grim determination. She¡¯d also handled Gorge¡¯s second to internal affairs for being an absolute piece of shit. Nestra and her had a truce going. It was nice.

    ¡°We have a member of special affairs and a user from internal affairs here to see alpha squad, starting with you. Miss Kim and r. No givenst name. They¡¯re waiting for you in room 2.¡±

    There was a lot to unpack there, starting with the fact chief Ruben was not invited to the show. That was a p to the face and not a small one. Nestra decided to dig a little more. The chief had not moved yet. That meant she wanted to talk. Or say something.

    ¡°I thought my appointment was at 11?¡±

    ¡°It is. Mr. Wilson was supposed toe at 10. He has not arrived yet.¡±

    ¡°Bard left a gleam and the rat squad hanging?¡±

    ¡°Yes, he did. And they outrank us all. I am cing you in a difficult situation but, please, for once, use honorifics?¡±

    It was a tired request made in a hopeless voice, yet Ruben¡¯s face betrayed only bored calm. Nestra found the dichotomy jarring. Shouldn¡¯t the chief look angry? A face should match a voice should match a poise, in her opinion.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be good, chief.¡±

    ¡°You are very amodating today, Padian.¡±

    ¡°Oh just realized that Regis is dead, both squads are down, and we¡¯re about to be shuttered so,pared to that, politeness is a very small thing.¡±

    ¡°No defeatist speech here please. And as for the squads, we are merging alpha and beta. You and Mr. Wilson will be under Gorge unless I fire the little fucker. Off you go now.¡±

    ¡°Riel fucking dammit.¡±

    Nestra huffed through the corridor, d in her annoyance. Gorge was an asshole. A grumpy, sexist, abrasive twat who was unfortunately also highlypetent ¡ª thebination remainedmon in Threshold. She¡¯d have to hope he stuck to professionalism during their hopefully short coboration. Her feet carried her through the tired corridors of the MaxSec building. It smelled of disuse and antiseptic. Some of the paint had peeled off on the ceiling, leaving the concrete bones exposed behind. Many of the rooms had been converted to storage space by other departments with Ruben unable to justify the space since their numbers had dwindled. Nestra knocked on room 2¡¯s door three times, loudly enough to be assertive but not loud enough to be aggressive. It took the people inside ten seconds to let out a reluctante in. Short enough to assuage their impatience yet long enough to inform her they didn¡¯t give a shit about respect. This was entirely expected. Nestra walked in with perfect poise then stopped near the rickety chair at parade rest. She did her best to stare ahead while the pair inspected her like market cattle.

    She would have been mad if she expected anything else.

    The woman finally gave her permission to sit. The general impression she¡¯d got crystallized as she took both of them in turn. Kim was a middle aged woman, most likely of Korean origin from the name. Her face made her look in her mid twenties but that was the result of an anti-aging treatment, as hinted by the old-school tailleur, navy blue with dull gold outlines. Nestra just knew how to spot the signs: always a little too smooth, too perfect. Kim¡¯s nails were tastefully manicured. There was not a hair out of ce on her head. Minimalistic makeup enhanced a conventionally attractive face that screamed of stic surgery, the really high level one. Not a cheap nose fix. She was either from money or higher on the totem pole than she let on, possibly both. Her poise mirrored Nestra¡¯s own, rigid in her seat despite the dpidated surroundings. Sometimes, internal affairs took out pens or simr old tech to have something in their hands but Kim had opted for immobility. Nestra knew with certainty that this woman could decide to throw her out of the force and that would be it.

    By contrast, r sat in a rxed fashion, back resting against his chair. He wore casual streetwear that fit him too well to be mass produced. Understated wealth was always a sign of power but, well, he was a gleam. His iris pulsed softly with a green hue, turning from dull to distractingly bright on a two seconds cycle. He had ck hair,bed back and slightly nted eyes. Mixed blood, maybe. Just like Kim, r was also picture perfect but he pulled it out effortlessly and that screamed high gleam to her. Definitely an active user from the muscle structure.

    ¡°Good morning, Miss Padian. I am officer Kim from the internal affairs and this is user r from the special affairs.¡±

    ¡°Kim nim. Mr r,¡± Nestra greeted.

    She finally got a fix on their perfumes. Amber for him, floral for her. Again, understated stuff but pleasant. More pleasant than dust and old coffee at least.

    ¡°We have some questions for you concerning the theft of medical grade mana lenses, but first, let me congratte you on the arrest of Jonas Wong and the sessful recovery of the stolen item. Those are some impressive results.¡±

    Nestra nodded. In her experience, if a suit gave you apliment, that meant they were pulling back for a haymaker.

    ¡°We have reviewed the footage from your helmet¡¯s camera. In your own opinion, what more could have been done to apprehend the other culprit?¡±

    Ah so that was a good opening. Either Nestra admitted to her own fault or Kim got an admission that crunchies simply couldn¡¯t stop users and were therefore condemned to obsolescence.

    Thing was, it wasn¡¯t a real hearing. Nestra knew the city had already decided to defund them. It was in the damn news. She still disliked Kim¡¯s maneuvering, not because it was disingenuous ¡ª that was part of the course for an interrogator ¡ª but because Kim underestimated her a little bit too tantly.

    ¡°ss three ammunition would have been a big help. Wended solid hits on both users but the impact those made was negligible, depriving us of our stopping power. I believe two more officers would have made a significant difference, especially if at least one of them was augmented.¡±

    Nestra smiled at the barest hint of soreness in Kim¡¯s poker face. Trantion: you took all our money so don¡¯t be surprised if we perform less well. It was an old argument. ss three bullets were expensive. Augmented baselines were also expensive. Despite decades of innovation, most people were still extremely iffy about amputating themselves for a lifetime of maintenance bills. Good job or not. Mind jacks were ok. Maybe eye imnts since those were made to be durable. But entire arms?

    ¡°Do you personally believe that would have been enough to disable the second user?¡± Kim continued.

    ¡°Fox Mask?¡±

    ¡°That descriptor is satisfactory.¡±

    ¡°I do not have information to formte an educated response to this question.¡±

    Nestra saw Kim¡¯s vest shift when she tightened her shoulders. It was unwise to piss off a rat queen, especially for no gains.

    ¡°So alpha squad cannot properly handle users at the current level of funding?¡±

    Nestra was willing to let her have that one.

    ¡°I agree with the statement.¡±

    Kim would just turn it around and say it would cost too much to properly equip MaxSec to deal with users and that would be it.

    ¡°I have no more questions for you, officer Padian. Your cam recording shows why you have a spotless record. You have performed extremely well in trying circumstances, even holding Fox Mask off for as long as you have. You are a credit to this unit and the Threshold Police Department. My only suggestion, and that is a suggestion, would be to make use of the department¡¯s therapists to manage your outburst of emotion. However, it did not affect your performance so this is in no way a demerit. I would also like to notify you that Officer Wilson will be disciplined for his repeated use of your family name during an operation. His pay will be docked. Should he break the rule again, his contract will be immediately terminated and all benefits canceled. This is my decision.¡±

    Nestra nodded. That was a way of saying that Nestra wasn¡¯t a snitch. Thepliments were nice as well. Now for the haymaker.

    ¡°Now Mr r has some questions for you as well.¡±

    It was Kim¡¯s turn to lean back while r zeroed his spooky eyes on her while his smile retained neutrally pleasant.

    ¡°Miss Padian, allow me to introduce myself more thoroughly. I work for the enve management section of Threshold¡¯s special affairs. My team handles grand theft and terrorism.¡±

    r waited for Nestra to process the information. She blinked, caught off guard.

    ¡°You think they wanted to offload the lenses outside the wall? To a user enve?¡±

    ¡°Not Jonas Wong. He was merely a stooge. We believe his presence might have been imposed on Fox Mask for one reason or another. What I am about to tell you is confidential so keep that in mind,¡± he finished with a smile.

    Kim¡¯s jaw clenched. Obviously, she disapproved. That made Nestra even more curious.

    ¡°Okay.¡±

    ¡°Ahem,¡± Kim interrupted.

    ¡°Okay, Mr r.¡±

    ¡°First, Fox Mask escaped the portal afterpleting the level. It happened very early this morning while we were negotiating with the North Star guild for ess.¡±

    ¡°Wow. Not bad.¡±

    ¡°It was merely a low D-ss portal, however I agree that thepletion speed and the fact Fox Mask soloed it speak highly of their skill. Fox Mask might or might not be an agent who has stolen a few advanced systems in the past six months. We believe it is the same person due to the simrities in the stolenponents, mostly advanced medical tools. However, the culprit ¡ª if they are the same person at all ¡ª always changes disguises. The only constant seems their efficacy, the use of ded weapons, and¡­ can you guess?¡±

    ¡°Telekinesis?¡±

    ¡°Manakinesis,¡± r corrected.

    Nestra nodded. It took a lot of control to use pure mana as a shield. Fox Mask was no pushover.

    ¡°Exins how she bypasses safety measures if she can just mangle rm systems.¡±

    ¡°Correct. What I want now is your own take on that person. We have already seen the footage from your helmet¡¯s cam. I want impressions.¡±

    ¡°Well¡­ something in the way she walked was weird. But I don¡¯t know what exactly.¡±

    ¡°We have our own theories about this. An astute observation. Do go on?¡±

    ¡°She was used to a longer de. And the way she used thrusts made me think a saber was not her weapon of choice. Oh, and she could have just killed us all if she wanted but made great efforts not to do so. I know she could have broken my ribs at any time.¡±

    ¡°Hmm yes. To be fair, she did break Officer Camus¡¯ ribs, as well as Officer Park¡¯s leg. Can you guess why she took it easy on you?¡±

    Nestra searched r¡¯s expression for a hint of usation. There were none. It felt more like a test than anything else.

    ¡°I think she respected my attempt to beat her with a sword. Well, a baton. Same difference.¡±

    ¡°We agree. We believe she followed ¡®de etiquette¡¯. It is a much moremon code in some enves. Are you familiar with it?¡±

    Nestra shook her head. The outside of the wall was hostile to baselines such as herself. She¡¯d never be sent out.

    ¡°Our Pacifica subcontinent rose from the sea floor during the incursion. The enves outside of this city harbor users from Japan, Korea, and northern China to the north. They have developed a code of chivalry that pervades their cultures. Which is why she beat you but not as hard as she could. Because you faced her with a de in singlebat.¡±

    ¡°Ok.¡±

    ¡°Please note that she would have been well within her right to grant you a clean death. In case you face a simr situation.¡±

    ¡°I do not go out of my way to challenge users, I assure you.¡±

    r smirked though Kim gave her a dark look. Not a smidgen of humor on that one.

    ¡°Very well. Anything else?¡±

    ¡°Well,¡± Nestra hesitated, but she wasn¡¯t sure the camera had caught it. ¡°She has dark skin and curly hair.

    r froze and Nestra suddenly got the impression she was a tiny mouse facing a snake. The user¡¯s mchite iris pulsed in hypnotic patterns. There was thebat gleam under the gloss of civility.

    ¡°borate.¡±

    ¡°I, huh, I saw it? When she turned to look at the crate, just before she went into the portal.¡±

    r gestured for Nestra to use her eye piece. He waved and information was sent to her as a priority message, a zoomed in picture showing a corner of a face with the ear and a chin and not much else. The skin tone and curls matched perfectly.

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s it.¡±

    ¡°Your camera didn¡¯t pick it up. Not enough details due to mana saturation. Interesting. And yet you saw it?¡±

    Nestra had been caught in the excitement so that seemingly innocuous question caught her like a wet p. She red at r. He¡¯d broken the truce. That pissed her off something fierce.

    ¡°You read my file before this interview so you know very well how I saw it.¡±

    ¡°Miss Padian!¡± Kim chided.

    ¡°That is alright,¡± r said.

    Kim swallowed her pride. She had been chastised by a gleam in front of a subordinate. That had to sting a bit, Nestra judged. She hadn¡¯t made a friend today.

    ¡°I should not have tested what was obviously a sore spot in the middle of a friendly talk, especially after you brought that detail to my attention. I me it on, let us say, professional bias.¡±

    Nestra noted that he had not apologized.

    ¡°Moving on, was there anything else you can recall?¡±

    She considered the question seriously. No need to let her annoyance get in the way of her professionalism.

    ¡°Not that I can think of.¡±

    ¡°Very well. Was there anything else, Kim Hubae?¡±

    ¡°No, sir.¡±

    ¡°Well, thank you for your time again, Miss Padian. If you recall something else, please contact me. I¡¯m sending you my contact details.¡±

    That was a nice dismissal so Nestra stood and went straight to the cafeteria for nice coffee. Bard was there. His messy blond hair and light blue eyes looked lost, well, more lost than usual. From afar, people could have taken the two of them for siblings. Bard was much taller and wider ¡ª he was a swimmer as well ¡ª but they shared the same lean muscles, dark blonde hair, and light eyes. Sometimes, Nestra thought they could have been olympians if Olympic games were still a thing.

    ¡°My pay got docked,¡± he whined.

    ¡°Riel. Wonder how that happened,¡± she deadpanned, ring at him to let the dull fucker know she was well aware.

    ¡°That¡¯s not funny, Nes.¡±

    ¡°See that¡¯s the thing. You¡¯re going to whine like it¡¯s my fault but you just used my call sign and you know what that means? It means you could always remember to use it. You just never gave a shit.¡±

    ¡°Everybody knows you¡¯re protected anyway.¡±

    ¡°Who told you that?¡± Nestra exploded. ¡°I live alone, retard. Do you really think the mighty Padians would keep their horrifying fuckup around? Fat good their terrible vengeance will do me when I¡¯m pasted across my carpet.¡±

    ¡°Riel, calm down.¡±

    Nestra took a few deep breaths. He was beyond salvation. Kept around because they had no recements.

    ¡°I think the internal affairs want a word, by the way,¡± she said sweetly. ¡°Were you not supposed to meet them earlier?¡±

    Bard hastily blinked, a sign he was using his contact lenses.

    ¡°Shit.¡±

    ¡°Room 2. I¡¯d hurry.¡±

    ¡°Shit shit shit sh¡ª¡±

 1.3

    1.3

    Nestra tuned him out and returned to her office. She managed to finish all the paperwork in record time thanks to the fact no one was using her of anything. Bard showed up half an hourter looking frazzled.

    ¡°Chief says we should talk to Gorge then we get the rest of the day off.¡±

    Nestra checked the time. It was barely past eleven. Half a day off in exchange for talking to Gorge was a fair deal. She gestured to Bard to open the way and he did.

    Beta squad¡¯s offices were across the aisle, separated from alpha by a tiny corridor and the staircase, yet it might just have been a canyon. Camus and Gorge hated each other. Nestra braced for the inevitable shitstorm as they found beta sitting around an open space with coffee that suspiciously smelled like cheap vodka. Gorge made an exaggerated turn at theiring as if he¡¯d not heard the door open. He was a heavyset man with small, deep ck eyes. He was entirely shaved and his face was covered in scars, the nose broken to an amorphous plum.

    ¡°And look who I got instead, the clown and the ice bitch. Fantastic.¡±

    ¡°Nice to see you too,¡± Nestra replied.

    Gorge¡¯s teeth clenched so hard she could see every muscle tense under his skin.

    ¡°Look, we¡¯re sorry about¡ª¡±

    ¡°Shut the fuck up. You say his name, I¡¯ll kick your teeth in.¡±¡±Guess that¡¯s it. We¡¯re leaving then.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s it, you fucking psycho. If you were a dyke, if you got pissed, if you screamed, I¡¯d get it. I would. But you¡¯re just this cold dead frigid fish with nothing inside like you¡¯re an iceling wearing people''s skin¡­ What are you doing?¡±

    Nestra finished putting on her eye piece.

    ¡°That¡¯s me giving you a nice warning that I¡¯m recording each and everyst one of our little talks. And I got HR on speed dial.¡±

    ¡°See, this is exactly what I mean. You¡¯re worse than the fucking rat squad. At least they were scummy from the start.¡±

    ¡°Nice to see the good old boy spirit alive and kicking. I¡¯ll be candid with you, as a thanks. I don¡¯t give a shit about fitting in or your squad or you or my career here because not only are you a rotten bastard, we¡¯re all on the fast track to unemployment. So we¡¯re going to be polite while we¡¯re working together or I¡¯ll make sure you¡¯re out on your ass with no severance package before you can say ¡®ethicsmittee¡¯. We clear?¡±

    Gorge bit back what he was trying to say. His dark re bore into Nestra¡¯s. She¡¯d had worse.

    ¡°See that¡¯s why no one likes you, clit hernia. You think you¡¯re trying to be us but you¡¯ll always look down on us because in the end, you¡¯re not a cop. You were never a cop. You¡¯re just a failed gleam cosyingw enforcement. Keep toting that sword of yours because that¡¯s the closest you¡¯ll get to being a raider.¡±

    ¡°Riel, Gorge, I am undone. Been taking profiler sses?¡±

    Gorge sighed, deting. That was weird. The man was like a bulldog. He never let go once he had his teeth in something.

    ¡°Why am I getting mad at you? You¡¯re a lost cause. Guess that¡¯s how it ends. Six cunts on a bench giving each other shit.¡±

    Nestra frowned. Besides Gorge, there was Nuts who was the close quarter specialist, Pudding, their gunner, and Preach, thest remaining medic. Nuts was insane thanks to his augments, Pudding out of shape though he was a quirkie, and Preach was too old. She suspected Preach had a death wish. They all lounged, listless. Beaten.

    ¡°Where¡¯s Philipps?¡± Nestra asked.

    ¡°He quit this morning. Stib will be doing drone work for us now. Regis¡­ his loss was too much.¡±

    One squad left. There were four of them when Nestra had started four years before. Things had gone downhill fast.

    ¡°I don¡¯t like it. We shouldn¡¯t be doing this but we got no choice. We have to run a couple of drills,¡± Gorge muttered.

    ¡°No can do, I¡¯m on the bench. Doctor¡¯s orders.¡±

    ¡°You gotta be kidding me.¡±

    ¡°Nope! And with this, I¡¯m off.¡±

    ¡°Training ground at 8AM sharp. I don¡¯t want to die because you two drag us down.¡±

    Nestra nodded. That was fine with her.

    She and Bard left the ce behind.

    ¡°Riel, Nes, you know how to make a friend.¡±

    ¡°Gorge only respects those who obey and those who don¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°What the fuck does that even mean?¡±

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter. Tomorrow. Don¡¯t bete because Kim chewed you out but Gorge will break a finger and im it was an ¡®ident¡¯.¡±

    ¡°Yeah yeah.¡±

    Nestra took the stairs down. She was too annoyed for the lift and the small trip allowed her to cool down. Normally, she¡¯d be going for lunch and then it would be training time, first the range, then today was muscle training. She knew better than to ignore Mazingwe though.

    Stib was in the lower hangar, piecing together a light drone of unknown design.

    ¡°Hey Stib. New stuff?¡±

    ¡°Scout drone for out-of-wall operations. They got better thermals. It¡¯s a gift from Sector twelve.¡±

    ¡°Nice.¡±

    ¡°You, uh, about to head back? I won¡¯t have lunch. Don¡¯t feel like it.¡±

    ¡°I understand.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯reing to the service?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Right, you¡¯re in the zone. I won¡¯t bother you anymore.¡±

    ¡°Haha, thanks Nestra. See ya!¡±

    There was only onest thing to do, something important. Nestra sneaked into Camus¡¯ office to take his box of favorite tea. It wasn¡¯t hard. The offices were deserted. She drove to the hospital and dropped it with him.

    ¡°Thanks, Nes. The swill they have here. Did you take my cup as well?¡±

    Nestra winced.

    Camus picked up a paper cup and sighed. It looked like a toy in his long fingers.

    ¡°Park got an offer for severance. He took it. Can¡¯t say I me him.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t know. I was going to see him next.¡±

    ¡°Double fracture of the tibia. The bone was shattered. Insurance will cover it but¡­ he¡¯ll be out a very long time. It took two hours for the robot to pick every shard.¡±

    Nestra knew what wasing so she chose to forestall it.

    ¡°You¡¯re going to tell me to get out.¡±

    ¡°This is serious, Nestra.¡±

    ¡°What about you?¡±

    Camus leaned back in his bed, crossing his arms over the medical corset healing his ribs.

    ¡°Not renewing my contract. Stilling backter to lead the unified squad though so hang in there.¡±

    After that, Nestra went to say hello to Park then she drove home. The only way to let the regen capsules work fast was to rx and stretch. She was in the middle of some very slow yoga when her eye piece beeped.

    ¡°Yeah?¡±

    ¡°Miss Padian, this is chief Ruben. I am bypassing Doctor¡¯s Mazingwe¡¯s orders to summon you here. There¡¯s an infestation on the way at the edge of district 15. You are requested to join in with the extermination detail. Sending you the brief now.¡±

    So much for resting.

    ***

    Nestra was forced to dress and leave in record time. It pissed her off. She was not supposed to be on call. Hell, she was not supposed to be working at all but unfortunately, Ruben had the authority to get her there. She set her car on autopilot and pulled the brief up on her visor. A grainy picture of a creature in a warehouse appeared on her feed, pulling behind it a sack of grains of some sort. It had four legs set around a lozenge body from which hung a bulbous sack of flesh. Nestra knew amprey mouth would open underneath totch on whatever the creature could jump on. She knew it well. Manarenae Salticidae Purgamentum.

    Trash spiders.

    Dokkaebi ss. That meant the lowest monsters in the list, below D-ss. Bullets would be enough to take them down. There were problems, of course.

    One, trash spiders reproduced extremely fast with enough biomass and this one was inside a fucking food warehouse.

    Two, as a corory of one, there was never one trash spider. They were a swarm species.

    Three, she would be facing them under a man she¡¯d never worked with before.

    Nestra leaned into her seat and sighed. Their armor would stop a bite. Maybe two. The problem was, it was very hard to aim with a iling, ten-kilogram creature trying to eat your face off. She just hoped that if she were to die, they would rip her throat out so at least it would be quick.

    The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the vition.

    Nestra caught the tail of rush hour but she was at the office in record time. She put on her armor in the empty changing room, then picked up her gun from the armory.

    ¡°Cleaned it. Oiled it. Here is your ammo. ss one explosive rounds but I got you a magazine of ss two,¡± the chief told her with a pitying look. ¡°Just in case.¡±

    ¡°Thanks.¡±

    ¡°Come back safe.¡±

    ¡°I promise I¡¯ll try.¡±

    Beta squad was waiting for her by their van. Bard was already there, to her surprise. Gorge greeted her with a ghastly smile under his visor.

    ¡°And the princess arrives. If you had stayed to train we wouldn¡¯t be going in like fucking virgins.¡±

    ¡°And I would have been wounded and tired. You¡¯re wee.¡±¡¯

    He breathed in, breathed out like he was ready to explode.

    ¡°I hope that keeps you happy while a spider gnaws your leg off,¡± he growled.

    ¡°Feel free toin to Mazingwe. If you got the balls.¡±

    Nestra watched her ¡®leader¡¯ bite back ament about her hiding behind the gleams. He knew she didn¡¯t give a shit.

    ¡°You got a spine, Padian. Hope you can aim as well.¡±

    They climbed in. Stib was driving again. She gave Nestra a nod in passing then they were off immediately. Gorge went into serious mode, which Nestra could tell because he was no longer sneering all the damn time. She checked her weapon, just in case. It was an old spitter, the same model that had been mass produced after the incursion for massive civilian distribution. Stubby,pact, easy to maintain, easy to print, it fired twenty 12.7 mm rounds before reload. It had never been improved since base firearms were mostly obsolete. No point in them when army augs and gleams carried most of the fight. A pair of D-ss with enough training to coat their weapons couldplete their mission right now, and they¡¯d be cheaper too.

    ¡°Alrightds,¡± Gorge said, then his eyes found Nestra and narrowed ever so slightly.

    ¡°Alright, <em>folks</em>. Fuck me that will take some getting used to. Have you read the briefing, Nes?¡±

    ¡°Yep.¡±

    ¡°Well we got new info. Here is the sitch. Two warehouses connected by a passage. Sealed exits. No runners so far though we got people ons checking cameras, just in case.¡±

    ¡°Why would they leave?¡± Pudding said grimly. ¡°They got everything they want.¡±

    Nestra frowned.

    ¡°Those are food warehouses, from enve farms. High mana. The good stuff.¡±

    ¡°Both of them?¡± Nestra asked with disbelief.

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Fuck. Then¡­ that one they caught on cams was an expansion scout. That means¡­¡±

    ¡°They have a queen,¡± Gorge said, his eyes keen. ¡°My thoughts exactly. Which leads me to¡­¡±

    Gorge turned in his seat to open a crate by his feet. Nestra watched him assemble a weapon with morbid curiosity. It had a tank and a mana crystal. Once it waspleted, it looked like a top of the art mer, the kind of stuff reserved for augs, maybe evenbat walkers. Definitely not the kind of shit civilians should have ess to. Gorge waited once he was done.

    ¡°Got it from me cousin.¡±

    ¡°Right. mes in a food warehouse?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not aplete moron, Nes. This is a cryospitter. Surplus. That¡¯s not the fucking question. The fucking question is, what are you gonna do about it?¡±

    Nestra blinked. The fuck was that ab¡ª oooooh.

    ¡°You know we¡¯ll all be recorded, right?¡±

    ¡°Yeah yeah. And when Stib sends her report to the boss, she¡¯ll say everything was copacetic. And when the boss sends her report to the brass, after watching our little performance, she¡¯ll also say everything was copacetic. But if there is a, shall we say, discordant voice¡­¡±

    ¡°Stib?¡± Nestra asked with some curiosity.

    The drone operator was a stickler for protocol. She always double checked everything, dammit.

    ¡°I just want you all alive,¡± she replied.

    Stib was in the driver¡¯s seat but Nestra still felt the edge in the woman¡¯s voice.

    ¡°I got no problem with personal guns,¡± Nestra finally replied. ¡°Just don¡¯t spray that shit on me and we¡¯re good.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you worry girl, I¡¯m not wasting valuable fuel on your ass. Here is what we¡¯re gonna do. Breach the first warehouse, then move in all careful like. Standard CQC dokkaebi formation. I take point with my little friend. Pudding and Nuts will support me on the side. Preach takes the center. You two alpha grafts watch the side and back. Stib will provide oversight. Between her and Pudding, we should be able to see the bastardsing at us.¡±

    Gorge waited to see if Nestra would whine. She was a CQC specialist. She also didn¡¯t want to put her sword between a trash spider and a mana-cooled spray. She also understood wanting to have familiar people on one¡¯s side.

    ¡°Ok,¡± Gorge continued. ¡°Soon as we get aggroed, walk back immediately. Spread out if we reach the wall. Rinse and repeat till we get them all.¡±

    ¡°Any cameras inside?¡± Nestra asked.

    ¡°See for yourself.¡±

    She got four feeds on her visor. Two showed locked doors. One showed gutted containers, the steel peeled back like wrappers. Thest showed a fat lot of nothing.

    ¡°Gunked.¡±

    ¡°At least we know where the nest is,¡± Nestra said.

    The next ten minutes were spent discussing options but the mission was straightforward. Trash spiders were dumb. All dokkaebi ss threats were. They just had to make sure they wouldn¡¯t be overwhelmed.

    ¡°How the fuck did those trash spiders get in anyway?¡± Nutsined.

    ¡°Probably a hatchling got mixed in a crate or something,¡± Nestra exined. ¡°Industrial mana scanners wouldn''t pick it up among all that rich grain. They should have all been checked one by one but¡­¡±

    She shrugged.

    ¡°Enve people think they have better things to do, I suppose.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s more important than basic public safety?¡±

    ¡°Nuts you fucking donkey,¡± Gorge replied.

    He didn¡¯t even spare a nce at his subordinate. All his attention was devoted to the cryospitter, making sure everything was in ce.

    ¡°All those enve folks are uneducated gleams. The perfectbination of overinted ego and dumbfuckery. You think they want to waste their mana sight on making sure us poor schmucks don¡¯t get our faces eaten off?¡±

    ¡°Why trade with us anyway? I thought them outwall gleams were all tough and stuff. The next evolution of mankind?¡±

    ¡°Because,¡± Nestra enunciated, ¡°they think they¡¯re the next Riel and spend months waddling through monster guts. Or they think Threshold taking 20% of portal stuff is state-sponsored robbery. Then theye back to their huts and eat unseasoned meat off fucking turtle shells while the mosquitoes turn their asses into braille books. They realize there are no baselines to clean their toilets, cook for them, roast their arabica, do their ounting, shoot their dramas and maybe suck them off. Then, being Riel¡¯s not so morous anymore. So they trade for all of that and pretend they¡¯re better than city softies.¡±

    Gorge whistled, seemingly impressed.

    ¡°Holy shit Nes, you¡¯re like a documentarian or something. You blew my fucking mind. You should work for the news or something.¡±

    ¡°Thanks for the career advice.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re almost there,¡± Stib said, voice tense. ¡°Got a crowd too,¡±

    ¡°Of fucking course,¡± Gorge grumbled. ¡°Right. Last gear check. Helmets on, visors on, and you all shut the fuck up.¡±

    Nestra climbed out of the van in full gear. The armor and helmet feltforting, like a second skin that made her safe. She was no longer Nestra under that. Or rather, no one knew she was Nestra, with her mana cravings and the weight of envy on her shoulders. Stib was right. There was a crowd. Beat cops in the blue uniform of Threshold police held back a group of civilians behind holo barriers. A small-time frencer was already talking excitedly in front of a small drone. Maybe hoping to sell the footage to a news channel. Cries to disperse went unheard. Behind that, a sniveling twat in a designer suit waited next to a tall, powerfully built thug in a cheap suit that screamed muscle. Eye augs were visible behind a pair of sunsses, showing an ominous red glow.

    Most people made way to let Gorge in. An idiot stayed, hisints turning to a yelp when the old fucker bodied him out of the way. The suit made for Gorge the moment the squad split the cretin sea.

    ¡°Good evening. My name is Artemya¡ª¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t give a shit. What do you want?¡±

    ¡°My employer, User Tornas, would like you to keep warehouse damage to a minimum.¡±

    ¡°Toote, mate.¡±

    ¡°Listen. You don¡¯t seem to understand who you¡ª¡±

    ¡°Shut the fuck up,¡± Gorge interrupted.

    The muscle took a step forward. Gorge flexed his gauntlet and an ominous whistle filled the air.

    ¡°Try me chrome boy.¡±

    The squad arranged themselves around Gorge like pissed off gargoyles without prompt. The muscle fell back.

    ¡°I thought so. We¡¯re going to clear the spiders then the city will send you the bill and you¡¯ll say yes, sir thank you sir, and file your insurance im. We¡¯re here because you fucked up and you¡¯re here yapping like a chihuahua because your gleam boss ain¡¯t here, and he ain¡¯t here because he¡¯d have to stay to the side while baselines enter a monster den. And that don¡¯t look too good now, does it? So shut up, fuck off, and don¡¯t get in my way cause I could punch you balls in and the worst thing I¡¯ll get is three days unpaid leave. We clear?¡±

    ¡°I will remember this.¡±

    ¡°You do that, fuckface. You do that.¡±

    Gorge tapped the man¡¯s shoulder in a way that might have looked friendly to an outsider but left him wincing in severe pain. A minuteter, they were at the door. It was sealed.

    Stib¡¯s drone came to a rest over their head.

    ¡°Right. Breach.¡±

    The squad formed a line. Preach slowly slid the warehouse gate open, revealing a dimly lit interior. Containers waited on the left and right in tight ranks, piled to the ceiling in ces. Many of them had been savaged and the contents spilled on the ground along with weird, white excretion. Trash spider gunk. An open path led to an open space on the right, and a covered passage to the second warehouse farther forward. Nestra could see more white gunk from where she was.

    Stib¡¯s drone flew up and they got a feed. Nothing moved. Stib cycled to heat signature and revealed the unmoving forms of a few spiders hiding in wait near the ceiling. Nestra switched to night vision. The path became clear.

    ¡°Right,¡± Gorge said. ¡°Move in. Nestra. Lock it behind us.¡±

    ¡°Copy that.¡±

    She did as ordered. The gate slid shut with a ging like a death knell. Gorge raised his fist and they formed up behind him. Nestra was left on the left of the formation.

    The squad advanced in tight formation, weapons aimed out. No movement, still. Nestra checked Stib¡¯s feed and saw the red spots above them, hidden from them byyers of steel and half-eaten grain. Gorge must have signaled to stop because Nuts touched her elbow. The squad came to a halt.

    Gorge shot his sidearm. A shriek of pain answered and a spider fell on the ground, half-pulverized. The three remaining legs contracted onest time. The light reflected strangely on the serrated ends of the limb.

    Still no movement. The spiders might be stupid but they were still cunning. That meant ambush.

    The squad went deeper. They were halfway down the building when Stib¡¯s voice finally broke the silence.

    ¡°Movement. Lots of it.¡±

    ¡°Back up,¡± Gorge said.

    Pudding was the first to shoot. His quirk was eye-based, Nestra remembered. He could see mana through walls. His rifle easily prated the thick steel and the first shrieks joined detonations in the familiar song of battle.

    The spiders threw themselves at the humans. Screeches, gunshots. The smell of monster blood, musky and thick filled the air in an overload of senses. Nuts¡¯ heavy gun spat death by her side. Nestra¡¯s world narrowed to a slice of warehouse and part of the roof. Line the sights. Pull the trigger. It barked and jumped in her hands. A spider fell with a geyser of yellow ichor. Another. She shot a third as it was making ready to jump on Priest. The corpse fell on someone who faltered but there was a blue woosh and more of the things died. Outside it was hell but inside of Nestra¡¯s head, the world reached a perfection of rity. Her earplugs blocked most of the sound to protect her eardrums. She licked the air, tasting victory and death fencing on the edge of violence. The deaths of monsters vomited mana into the world. It tried totch to her and failed but for a single, beautiful instant, she was so very alive.

    ¡°Back up, spread out,¡± Gorge said.

    Nestra turned with the rest. They were now a wing retreating calmly towards the door. She covered the sides and forward as well, so her eyes could feast on the destruction. Nuts had mowed down anything that came before them and the path forward was so littered with corpses, one could walk on dead flesh from one end to the other without ever touching the ground. Swaths of frozen ice covered swarms of smaller spiders, newly hatched, pale limbs still soft and tender. Weak. The warehouse was a scene of devastation while more spiders poured in from the passage to their nest, dying in droves. There were dozens of them.

    Most of the spiders in the first warehouse had died so all Nestra had to do was to pick off what Nuts missed. Sometimes, Pudding aimed at a container and killed another hidden predator. Things were going well.

    Nuts¡¯ gun fell silent.

    ¡°Reloading!¡±

    Nestra shot herst four rounds in quick session, then it was her turn to reload. Something long and sticky hit Nuts¡¯ gun. It jumped from his hands, ttering on the ground. A creature screeched loudly.

    ¡°Fuck. Queen. Queen!¡±

    Gorge aimed his cryospitter, only to have the spray redirected by a highly pressurized string of goo. Nestra shot as fast as possible as thest of the swarm burst out of the passage as a single wave, led by a monster the size of a bear.

    Nestra saw eight flexible legs over a bulbous body. Dark eyes on dark chitin. Spikes.

    Everything happened at once.

    Nestra switched to full auto. Nuts grabbed a sidearm. The humans shot everything they had at the iing tide. Ast blue wave froze part of the swarm rather than the queen, then they were overwhelmed.

    Nestra dropped her empty gun and unsheathed her sword in the same movement. The baton¡¯s edge turned sharp at a press of a button, slicing a spider in half. She turned and put her hips into a swing that cut another. Priest was fighting off one biting into his arm guard. A thrust killed it.

    The queen mmed into Nuts. Two legs found an auged arm, failing to pierce. Another found his nk. It pulled back to strike harder.

    Nestra cut and the queen blocked with a limb. The de bit into muscle like steel ropes.

    Nestra pressed a button.

    A hundred and fifty thousand volts coursed through the creature¡¯s flesh. It spasmed. Nestra cut a deep furrow on its body and got an eye. Another screech. The queen hurled itself back. Around Nestra, what was left of the swarm died on bullets, knives, and knuckles, their teeth stopped for long enough by steel tes to avoid death. The queen screeched and jumped up. Pudding missed her. Priest did not. A leg flew off. Dark yellow ichor followed the elusive shape in great globules.

    The queen half-fell, half threw herself at Nestra. She lifted the de above her and waited.

    The queen could move with blinding speed, just not midair. The two struck at the same time. A limb hit Nestra¡¯s shoulder but her de fell true, up to down, a perfect strike. Nestra¡¯s motion finished with the tip hitting concrete.

    The queen wailed and contracted. Its limbs danced a pathetic jig while organs spilled from the grievous wound like quivering worms. Eyes moved around frantically. They zeroed on Nestra pulling the sword back. She struck down. The de pierced through the creature¡¯s cephalothorax with a satisfying crunch, pulping the brain stem.

    A wave of mana surged through Nestra¡¯s body, a wave of bliss, of relief. Triumph had never tasted so sweet.

    And then it failed to find a host, totch on a core.

    Nestra¡¯s mood deted almost as fast.

    Silence returned to the warehouse. The battle was over. Nestra looked around as she picked her gun back up.

    In death, the queen was a pathetic sight. The actual body was barely asrge as a car tire. The flexible limbs now lie in discarded coils around the ground. It had feltrger than life and now it was just a corpse, not even a big one.

    ¡°Nes,¡± Gorge said.

    ¡°Hm?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re not done.¡±

    Nestra reloaded her gun, wiped gunk off the barrel then aimed. Sloppy. There could be more spiders. With enough time and food, any of them could eventually be a queen.

    ¡°Form up.¡±

    The warehouse was a scene of utter devastation. There were holes on the ceiling, in the walls, corpses everywhere. Spent casings littered the ground. Spider blood and goopyered every avable surface. Limbs and guts hung off savaged containers vomiting their entrails of grain and greens, crates smashed and stained beyond salvation. It was nasty, stinky, andpletely demolished. Nestra couldn¡¯t have fucked it up more if she had tried.

    ¡°You¡¯ll be fine,¡± Priest said while spraying synth skin on Nuts¡¯ nk. The man winced a little. No one else seemed to be hurt.

    ¡°You good Nuts?¡±

    ¡°Yessir.¡±

    ¡°Stib, anything still kicking?¡±

    ¡°Nope.¡±

    ¡°Then move out.¡±

    The squad moved around the warehouse. Pudding found two stragglers ying dead, both wounded. After that, they had to clear some of the corpses to go through the passage.

    The second warehouse was now a nest. A white substance covered shelves and crates in a massive cradle protecting blocks of eggs held together by sticky goo. A pile of refuse upied the far end. No corpses in there, at least. Stib and Pudding did onest round but found nothing.

    ¡°Well, looks like we hit the jackpot,¡± Gorge said. ¡°I¡¯ll cryo this one. The others should fetch a nice bounty.¡±

    ¡°Who¡¯ll buy that?¡± Bard asked.

    ¡°Schools for training, mostly,¡± Nestra said.

    ¡°Somebs as well,¡± Gorge added. ¡°They don¡¯t research trash spiders anymore but they research beasts that eat them. Good money.¡±

    Nestra nodded. It was a decent haul. Tonight, they¡¯d make almost as much as a raider and no one had died for it. All in all, good stuff.

    ¡°I notified the recovery division. They¡¯re bitching that their holidays are over.¡±

    ¡°Our gleams are busy with gangs. Can¡¯t sell human parts. At least, not yet,¡± Gorge chuckled. ¡°Alright you fuckers, let¡¯s pack up.¡±

    The squad left the ravaged warehouse behind. They snickered when the manager walked past them, stopping with a dumbfounded look at the scene of pure mayhem they¡¯d left behind. Gorge pointedly pushed the reporters aside on their way to the van. They climbed up and drove away.

    ¡°Nice job, Padian. You¡¯re solid,¡± Gorge admitted.

    ¡°Riel. Thanks.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re still a cunt though.¡±

 1.4

    1.4

    Nestra had a day off. She filed her report remotely, stretched, then she was a free woman. Aunt ire was raiding and Siobhan Stibbons was going home so that left her with no one to go out with. She wasn¡¯t staying inside a minute more than necessary, though. That left her with one good option: visiting her favorite hole in the wall.

    District twenty-three was a dorm district for well-to-do baselines. It meant two-story houses with an actual fence. It meant wide, clean curbs with sparse trees and the asional park for the kids. Nestra walked over a few streets to the CBD though it was barely more than a gathering of designer studios, gyms, stylists, and restaurants. All of those had found refuge in arge ss structure reflecting the hope and creativity that came at the end of the incursion, before megacorps had snatched all the best skills to hoard them in their arcologies. The businesses still outside were left to survive on smaller contracts, a diverse ecology curated to produce an asional genius to snap up. It was rather empty on a weekday, so Nestra was confident there would be a spot for her.

    The Sunflour was a true bakery, not a chain that got their stuff drone-dropped every morning. Fabricators didn¡¯t work well with organics so they had small robots do the dough for them. It was all very artisanal, very fresh. It was also quiet and the regrs knew to leave her alone. She got in and frowned immediately.

    Inside, an old-style counter filled the right wall while the left of the room sprawled in a mess of tables and counters. Some old folks and the odd frencers worked on tes, steaming cups of coffee by their side. The smell was right. The low hum of conversation was right. The minimalist dark wood background was the same as ever. There was only one anomaly: the man behind the counter.

    Not someone she knew.

    He was also¡­ weird. For one, he was impossibly tall ¡ª at about one Mazingwe though thinner. He was the tallest baseline she¡¯d ever seen in person. He also had frizzy hair and very deep, soft brown eyes that gave him a dreamer aspect, one reinforced by the most genuine smile she¡¯d seen on a retail worker¡¯s face.

    That immediately set off all kinds of rms in Nestra¡¯s head. Who the fuck smiled like that? She shook her head. He was probably new and not yet used to the job¡¯s realities. She wouldn¡¯t be the one to pop his abuse cherry.

    ¡°Wee!¡±

    ¡°Hello,¡± Nestra replied, approaching like a scared deer and feeling silly about the whole affair. ¡°Are you new?¡±¡°Yes! I just bought the store.¡±

    ¡°Oh, yes, Miss Yeung mentioned selling. I¡¯m d she found someone.¡±

    ¡°Yes! And d to have you for this¡­ arvo tea?¡±

    Nestra frowned.

    ¡°Where are you from?¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± the man replied with a cunning smile, ¡°here and there. Would you care for my new dessert? It¡¯s on the house. I think Miss Yeung mentioned you. t white, yes?¡±

    He pointed at tiny squares, brown with red marbling.

    ¡°Sure.¡±

    She leaned forward. It was a painful thing to do but she had to be sure. Better to have cold service than leaving any sort of ambiguity. She wasn¡¯t sure but he did feel a little too friendly. His eyes positively sparkled.

    ¡°Maybe Miss Yeung mentioned it¡­ If you¡¯reing onto me, I¡¯m not interested in such things.¡±

    It was as if she¡¯d used him of bathing in the blood of puppies. He was absolutely horrified.

    ¡°Oh no, no! Look!¡±

    Nestra turned and realized most people had either a small empty te or a half-eaten cube. She felt stupid again.

    ¡°Sorry, shouldn¡¯t have assumed.¡±

    ¡°All is forgiven,¡± the man replied genially. ¡°I¡¯m Seth. Here is your dessert. Enjoy!¡±

    Nestra got her cup and walked to her usual table at the back. It was blissfully empty. She ced her te on the table and got a beep signaling it was charging, which meant it was time to waste time. She scrolled through the news. Star gleams getting married and filming new shows. Bio augs in development. Gidung group gaining market cap on the coattails of Hong Wang¡¯s meteoric rise to power, the star gleam raiding at record speed with the help of an absolutely impressive fire affinity. The article led her down a familiar rabbit hole. There was always a moment of fear before she pressed enter.

    The Padian group¡¯s page appeared in all its sober glory.

    No new obituaries.

    Nestra released a breath she didn¡¯t know she was holding. Her family was fine. Of course they were. Aunt ire would have told her something, except she couldn¡¯t tell her anything while she was raiding herself. No news of her little sis. Her older brother Ulysses just made it to B-rank at a record age, passing the test with ease. They were all doing fine.

    They were also very far away. It was better like this. She knew it was better like this. It had been proven true time and time again.

    Nobody wanted to see a loved one fail. Nobody wanted to see sess day after day, then face someone who was unable to share in. Nobody wanted to rejoice about a sessful raid with the one who would never raid. Her father had recently celebrated his nieth birthday. He still looked like a man in histe thirties and would for a long time. That would never be the case for her.

    It was what it was.

    Nestra¡¯s mood was demolished. She took a bite of Seth¡¯s confection out of annoyance and realized it was pretty good - crispy almonds on top with almond paste mixed with raspberry jam in the middle. It was a little too sweet but it went surprisingly well with her coffee. Maybe Seth wasn¡¯t aplete wanker. Thus revitalized, she was in a good enough mood to open the urgent mail pinging at the side of her te. It was, unsurprisingly, from Chief Ruben.

    ¡°Squad alpha and beta will be providing support for arger operation tomorrow evening around district fifteen. Your tasks will be to hold a control point. Please prepare ordingly.¡±

    As usual, what mattered was what remained unsaid. Camus wasn¡¯t back so it would be the leftover together holding a choke point while someone else ¡®pacified¡¯ district fifteen. Possibly police gleams, maybe with reinforcement. Maybe the army. Hopefully, things would be easy. There were talks that district fifteen was the home of rogue gleams and she knew her side had been busy for the past few weeks. So tomorrow was the big push. Interesting.

    Nestra pulled whatever files she could both from public domain and the TPD archives. The archive window glibly apologized that she didn¡¯t have clearance. The news were more generous. District fifteen had descended intowlessness, the long-abandoned hab blocs now used as dens by several gangs. Patrols no longer went there while suspicions of smuggling rings abounded. Short version, a fat load of nothing. No numbers, no names. Nothing concrete.

    ¡°Huh.¡±

    Amotion distracted Nestra from her funk. Well, not exactly amotion. The cozy hum of the cafe had grown unexpectedly silent. She saw them, then, standing by the door: a pair of gleams with their mana under control. She masked her surprise while she observed them much like the entire poption of the cafe.

    They were fairly young. One was a man with a bashful air and the brown glint of an earth elementalist. The girl was different, more guarded. Mildly disapproving. Her eyes shone brightly with a strange pink shade Nestra could not recognize. She¡¯d opted for a more exotic designer clothes to the man¡¯s old school shirt and cks. They were twenty if they were a day, and they didn¡¯t belong here at all.

    ¡°Sorry! I grew up around here. Don¡¯t mind me,¡± the boy said, affable.

    He went to the counter to order. Nestra wanted to leave but if she packed up now, they might take it as an insult and that could lead to unnecessarily unpleasantness. Even now, the woman scrutinized the room with silent disapproval while herpanion made small talk. They settled far enough away, at least. The boy was probably a first gen returning to his roots with his love interest. She didn¡¯t seem to be enjoying herself though. Nestra shrugged. After enough time had passed, she left.

    ¡°Come back soon!¡± Seth cheered.

    What a strange man.

    ***

    ¡°This is it. Central has had enough of the district fifteen debacle. They¡¯re sending four shuttles of auged grunts as well as three districts worth of police users, including someone from district one. They¡¯ll raise the inner walls for the duration of the purge. Our role is to lock up the maintenance ess to sixteen, sit on it, and make sure no one goes through. Alpha and beta will move and hold. For this operation, you will have ess to lethal weapons.¡±

    Nestra frowned. That wasn¡¯t normal. They were supposed to take down perps in a non-lethal fashion.

    ¡°What¡¯s the deal, Ruben?¡± Gorge asked. ¡°What are you not telling us?¡±

    ¡°You know all you need to know,¡± Chief Ruben replied, pressing a key to show a holo rendition of fifteen.

    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    The briefing room may have seen better days but the holo was as reliable as ever. Nestra called the image on her visor, moving it around but there was something about that huge 3D rendition that just worked better for her.

    Gorge switched the disy off.

    Ruben¡¯s eyes grew sharp and dangerous but Gorge, to Nestra¡¯s surprise, raised his hands in surrender.

    ¡°Off the record? Please, chief.¡±

    Fearful silence filled the room. The chief was well within her rights to punish him for that, dearly so. Everyone waited to see what she would do. Gorge clearly wouldn¡¯t push the matter farther.

    Eventually and to Nestra¡¯s surprise, she relented. That meant things were bad.

    ¡°I¡¯ve had reports that the augmentedpanies expect fierce resistance including hostile users and heavy weapons. Corp weapons.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Nestra blurted out.

    ¡°Possibly augs.¡±

    Whispers of consternation shook the squads. No one liked the augedpanies because they were brutes. If even they were worried¡­

    ¡°That is why, off the record, I am telling you this: be careful. You can use anything in the armory. You know why,¡± she finished with a pointed look.

    Trantion: it would be destroyed and moved soon anyway.

    ¡°Guess we got to train a little more then.¡±

    ***

    The inner walls were designed to contain the hordes of beasts that came with a kaiju, if the outer wall of Threshold was ever breached. They wouldn¡¯t stop a monster the size of a kaiju but if one actually got through intact, the district was fucked anyway.

    There were maintenance esses in a raised wall just to make sure all the proper parts that raised and lowered it could be reached. Those were structural weaknesses with ess to the outside. Since the door was up the wall, and since beasts were not too smart, it didn¡¯t matter in case of a breach. It did, however, matter when stopping humans.

    Nestra watched the expanse of district 15 trailing in front of her to another wall several kilometers away, a field of old concrete flowered with fire blooms, shpoints where the augedpanies did what they did best. Hab blocs in various states of disrepair gave the entire hellscape a misshapen, bloated look that turned into the diseased skin of a titan far in the distance. A cacophony of gunshots and explosions animated the night air with a steady stato. The augs¡¯ gunships hovered over the battlefields, plural. Sometimes, a hail of bullets turned the night bright and annihted whatever poor fuckers had the misfortune of being targeted. The sound that came half a secondter was like thergest raspberry blown and added a grotesque dimension to the massacre, because it was a massacre. The weirdest thing was that it was not already over.

    Somehow, the gangs were fighting back. And that was bad. Real bad. Because the only rational reaction when the augs dropped was to run for your fucking life. If the gangs stood and fought, it didn¡¯t just mean they were hard targets. It meant they were ready.

    They knew, or at least they expected someone toe.

    Nestra grabbed her rifle tighter, well-aware that any goon with an unfettered fab could copy hundreds of them every day. The tform she was on was about two stories over the nearest roof and only a couple stories below the ess itself, so about midway. She was thest line of defense before whoever came up reached the entrance and Stib. Gorge was here as well, checking his visor for the many feeds from security cameras and drones alike.

    ¡°Aight. Is the goodie ready?¡±

    ¡°Checking now,¡± Stib replied.

    Nestra checked the feed of the room two floors below, their main defense node. The rest of the squad was here behind barricades centered around a small, rotating turret, courtesy of Gorge¡¯s ¡®cousin¡¯. They had enough weapons to start a small rebellion. Well, not really. Notpared to the fuckers outside. The small, improvised fort faced the only way up and down: wide stairs without railings.

    A loud explosion distracted her and she returned her attention to outside, seeing a new plume of incandescent death joining the rest.

    ¡°What is going on¡­¡± she whispered to herself.

    ¡°Don¡¯t know,¡± Gorge replied, voice heavy for the first time since Nestra¡¯d first met him.

    ¡°Nothing good. Lots of chatter. The augs aren¡¯t happy.¡±

    ¡°What are they saying?¡±

    Gorge scoffed.

    ¡°Nes, you daft cunt. I can¡¯t tap into mil-grade systems with my homemade shit. Oh, look who¡¯s here.¡±

    A pair of gleams in the white armored uniform of the user police floated down from the wall, alighting on the tform with unearthly grace. Two men. One with a square jaw, a broody countenance reinforced by dark hair and the orange eyes of a firespark. The other had dirty blond hair and viridian eyes that could be jade or life, she wasn¡¯t sure. They didn¡¯t look happy.

    ¡°Well well well,¡± the firespark said. ¡°It¡¯s the fossils.¡±

    ¡°Ha-ha,¡± Nestra mocked before her brain could catch up with her.

    The gleam¡¯s features twisted with fury. Hispanion ced a hand over his shoulder, gently.

    ¡°Let it go,¡± he said in a soothing voice.

    Nestra¡¯s irritation red in return. She¡¯d been without mana for two days now and her temper was raw. A part of her wanted to tell the fucking gleam not to dish it out if he couldn¡¯t take it but a more rational part knew that the gleam could just punch her until she projectile vomited and she¡¯d get a warning for insubordination on top of that. That was just how things went.

    It also looked like the gleam wasn¡¯t going to let it go until something happened. Everyone turned when Gorge gasped.

    The hissing noise of a missileunch heralded a light trail aiming for one of the gunships. It moved aside, shooting res while aser pulsed. Nestra almost breathed in relief when the blinded projectile missed its target but it was a trap. The gunship flew over one of thergest, highest hab blocs, and the moment it did, the jaws of the trap closed in on it.

    Nestra counted at least five trails of white dumb fire rockets aimed with disturbing uracy. Some sort of point defense took down three before they could hit but the other two hit with a loud boom that echoed against the wall.

    Her previous missions hadn¡¯t prepared Nestra for war. It was very bright and so damn loud. The gunship huped and iled, its surviving rotors struggling topensate for massive damage. With a strong whooping sound, it crashed into the side of another building, leaving behind a ck tail of smoke. Immediately, the other gunships gained altitude but the damage was done.

    Nestra blinked.

    They had missileunchers?

    ¡°We need to go,¡± the viridian gleam said, and the pair flew off at speed.

    Nestra was left staring at the carnage.

    ¡°Fuck, it¡¯s chaos down there,¡± Stib said a minuteter.

    ¡°What?¡± Gorge replied.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on! Folksing out from around. They¡¯re augs. Something¡¯s happening!¡±

    Nestra moved to the edge of the tform and watched the iing tide in the distance. There were men and women and old and young, all wearing sturdy street wear, thick garments meant to keep the owner warm and protected. There were augs, an arm there, legs here. Helmets. Weapons. A lot of weapons. Armbands.

    ¡°Nuts. Open fire,¡± Gorge ordered.

    ¡°Sir?¡±

    That wasn¡¯t what their rules of engagement said.

    ¡°You heard me Riel dammit!¡±

    A hole the size of an orange opened in the chest of a man carrying an actual machine gun. He toppled, falling to his death floors below. A woman who stood still to shoot soon joined him. Gorge raced to the edge of the tform and Nestra followed. Both of them deployed their weapons, barrel twisting to the side to allow them to shoot from cover. It was always weird, watching distant targets through her visor with a target reticle on them. Nuts¡¯ rifle spat again and pushed an aug back. He kept running, intestines following like a morbid snake.

    Nestra¡¯s world narrowed. She was cold, hot, excited, scared, then focused. She took down a man hoisting an old RPG on his shoulder. The return fire from the approaching wave shredded the ess way, blowing holes in concrete and showering her in dust and debris. She lined up an old man whose weapon had a scope and shot him, catching him in the neck. He fell like a puppet with its strings cut.

    A part of Nestra reminded her that she¡¯d killed a person for the first time since the beginning of her career. It was weird to do it like that. Casually. From afar. It was wrong. It was only fair. It was necessary. Nestra forced her mind to shut up. The gangers outside had found cover. Others moved to street level, making their way up that she could see from her feed. Gorge triggered one of the traps and a couple of young men fell, body pierced by a hundred ball bearings. They still wed on the next step after that with their eyes clouded, teeth bared in a rictus.

    ¡°Be advised, the perps are stimmed,¡± Gorge said with a calm Nestra didn¡¯t feel.

    She shot someone else and missed the first two bullets. Almost all the gangers had either gone to ground or¡ª

    Movement. Close. Nestra rolled to the side and something stomped where her head had been.

    Man. Very close. Auged eyes. Auged chest. Auged legs visible under a tattered ck waistcoat. She shot him point nk range and full auto but the bullets pinged against his chest.

    He grinned, foam at the corner of his mouth. Nestra¡¯s heart bounced against her ribs in that one defining moment. She stood and unsheathed her baton in the same upward movement. The de caught the aug in the arm and stopped.

    The electricity didn¡¯t.

    Enough juice to stun a horse seared the man¡¯s augs through the slice Nestra had left there. He fell down with a ponderous ng, sliding off the tform a momentter. Nestra turned just as another augnded there, leg actuators whining from the effort.

    A loud boom made Nestra jump through her ear protector, then another. Gorge had both hands firmly around some illegal hand cannon. Each shot pulled the barrel up with a monstrous kick. The auged guy had two gaping wounds spurting blood and still, he kepting.

    Thest shot took the head off.

    Nestra looked.

    There was brain tissue on the cement just to her side. Blood everywhere, the stench cloying. It was suddenly much silent. She was hyperventting.

    ¡°Nes.¡±

    What was that? Oh, yeah, her call sign.

    ¡°Nes!¡±

    ¡°WHAT?¡±

    ¡°Nes, stay with me.¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Yeah. Sorry.¡±

    ¡°We gotta keep shooting.¡±

    Nestra could see why. More augs and gangers ran up the stairs while others were approaching from the rooftop, trying to split the lower squad¡¯s attention. Nestra grabbed her gun. Reloaded. Crawled to the edge of the tform to resume firing so she could force the gangers to hunker down. One of them made the mistake of hiding behind an empty panel and died for it. Too thin. Line the sights on her visor. Shoot. Line. Shoot. Keep an eye on the various feeds. A man with a rocketuncher aiming up at the squad¡¯s location from a floor below.

    ¡°Shit. Explosives.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± Gorge said.

    The entire ess stairs shook from the detonation. They lost the feed.

    ¡°ce is designed to hold against monsters. It will take more than that. Focus on keeping them away. Stib, reinforcements?¡±

    ¡°No dice, sir. They didn¡¯t even give me an ETA.¡±

    Nestra didn¡¯t swear because she was a pro like that. She reloaded again. There was a lull in the battle. Below, the ess stairs were a mess of body parts and entrails where the gangers had tried to storm their way in.

    Stib threw up in her microphone. Nestra remembered that turrets needed to have a drone operator plugged in even on auto-fire for safety reasons. Yeah. Could not have been fun.

    ¡°They¡¯re pulling out?¡±

    The feed ¡ª whatever cameras were left ¡ª showed no more people. Explosions had taken out some of them.

    One more winked out as she watched.

    She heard the slow ng of something heavy making their way forward.

    ¡°I¡¯m losing the feeds. Jammer,¡± Stib said.

    ¡°The turret¡¯s shielded. Focus on that,¡± Gorge replied. ¡°Nuts, you good?¡±

    ¡°Got the AMR ready. Concrete¡¯s too thick to get a reading but I think it¡¯s a walker.¡±

    ¡°Got a visual!¡± Stib said.

    She¡¯d sent a flying drone at record speed. Pictures captured through the gaps in the stairs¡¯ structure showed the frame of somebat walker. Nestra didn¡¯t recognize it. It looked unmarked. in. Who the fuck could make homemade walkers? Those were military weapons for Riel¡¯s sake!

    Gorge stayed calm.

    ¡°Looks like a makeshift Dilong Mk 3. Without the ting. Ok I need you to do exactly as I say. Bard, Preach, Pudding, toss grenades as it climbs, then shoot the limbs. Arms first, then legs. Shoot it to shit to confuse the pilot. Nuts, get the top weapons. Don¡¯t bother with the habitacle. And don¡¯t leave cover. You leave cover, you die. Stibs?¡±

    ¡°Reconfigured for point defense and disablement.¡±

    ¡°What about us?¡± Nestra asked. ¡°Should we get down?¡±

    Gorge shook his head.

    ¡°We got nothing that can pierce this thing. Even if we did, theds have steel barricades. We show our asses, we get pulped.¡±

    ¡°That won¡¯t¡ª¡±

    ¡°I know! Shut up. I¡¯m thinking.¡±

    The ngs continued. Nestra was out of her depth. Her job was small monster extermination and taking down criminals, not waging a fucking war. She watched the feed of the main room. Her team huddled behind a thick pane of neosteel, weapons slid through ports. Not one inch of their body was exposed.

    ¡°Now,¡± Pudding said.

    The squad pulled pins and released the grenades almost immediately. The walker crested the edge of the stairs.

    The feed went white. The building rumbled. Nestra¡¯s ear protections tried to stop the cataclysmic exchange but she could feel it in her bones. Her teeth clicked. She fell to one knee, bnce lost for an instant. There were a few more exchanges. There were holes in the barrier.

    The feed died and Stib screamed. Gorge and Nestra were running before she was gone.

    ¡°You get down and do what you can. I¡¯ll get her,¡± Gorge ordered.

    Nestra didn¡¯t want to listen. She wanted to protect Stib first. The others¡­ but no. She nodded.

    ¡°If you hear the walker, run away.¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡±

    The stairs. The smell of spent powder and offal. Ate gunshot.

    Nestra arrived.

    The barricade was savaged. One major hole, a series of smaller ones. Nuts was dead, cut in half, augs coated with blood. His ribs jutted out and the broken ivory caught her eye first. Preach was down but she couldn¡¯t see how bad it was. He was lying on his side. Very little was left of the walker except a steel sarcophagus shredded to ribbons, metal peeled like old paint, limbs bleeding oil and propent.

    Thest thing that caught her eye forced her to a stop. It was Bard. He was holding a strange device that looked far too much like a spent EMP grenade to be real. That wouldn¡¯t make sense. Walkers were heavily shielded.

    His other arm held his sidearm. He pointed it at Pudding and blew his head off.

 1.5

    1.5

    Nestra¡¯s heart skipped a beat.

    ¡°What the¡ª¡±

    She charged, de out, brain switched off from the fury. Her own gun wouldn¡¯t go through Bard¡¯s body armor.

    ¡°Ah,¡± Bard said with azy drawl. ¡°You were not supposed to¡ª¡±

    Bard pivoted and shot. It went wide, mostly because Nestra¡¯s thrown de was nted in his shoulder.

    ¡°Fuck!¡±

    She made contact. Her feet caught the gun but Bard¡¯s grip held. His hook got her in the chest just as she grabbed the handle of her sword. Most of the damage was blocked by her armor and yet the punch still winded her. His sidearm could pierce armor. No choice. She thrust and he failed to catch it on his vambrace. The de dug in the same shoulder a second time, not deep. Deep enough.

    Bard screamed in pain when electricity coursed through it but most of it was caught by the armor, dissipating harmlessly on the floor. She struck his side arm and it broke. He stared in disbelief. She made for the kill.

    She was sent flying across the room.Nestra¡¯s back hit a nearby pir. Pain there. Pain in her shoulder. Pain in her chest. Shake her head. Get up. No, not get up. She stared dumbly at the piece of metal digging into her torso, just below the rib. It hurt. It hurt quite a bit. She opened her mouth and gulped some air. More air. Breathing was pain but it was life also.

    Agony filled her mind. There was nothing but the next breath and the ruby blood darkening her uniform. Only when a noise came did she remember she was one bullet away from death. Bard was still alive.

    MAJOR WOUND DETECTED

    PLEASE PROCEED TO A SAFE AREA

    She turned off the notifications to watch the man who¡¯d pushed her. He faced Bard but his gaze found her and his bitter smile turned into a sneer filled with hatred.

    ¡°Well. Never send dregs to do a gleam¡¯s job.¡±

    Only now did Nestra notice the unmarked armored vest made from mana-enhanced material, the silver armband. His eyes shone with the tell-tale yellow of an electric elementalist. A buzzer. Still D-ss from the intensity, not that it would matter to her. Bard clearly feared the guy but not in the way one would see death. In the way one would see a pissed off boss.

    What the fuck was going on?

    ¡°I did what you¡ª¡±

    ¡°Shut up. You messed up the timing which cost us a walker. You shot yourrade with your personal weapon, which means the bullet could be traced. You know what? Fuck this, dreg. Your ipetence just baffles me. Kill the bitch with the gun of one of the dead borgs so at least ballistics doesn¡¯t get a clue. You can manage at least that much, right?¡±

    The gleam¡¯s presence warped and he appeared again near the stairs with a crackling sound, then he was gone.

    MEDIPEN REQUIRED.

    With feverish hands, she grabbed the medicine-filled tube from a chest pocket and slotted it into the armor near her throat. Cold relief filled her vein but it only brought into more contrast the foreign presence digging in her chest. Piece of rebar or something. She grabbed it then stopped. Had to keep it there or she¡¯d bleed out.

    Bard found a suitable gun. He turned. Nestra lifted her own gun and fired at him. The bullets pinged uselessly against reinforced ceramics but he still felt the impact. She stood. Something liquid dripped down her bodysuit below the armor, soaking it. Bard finally had enough. He ducked behind the remnants of the barricade. Stupid. He could finish her off easily but he was sloppy. Always looking for the easier way out.

    ¡°What the hell¡¯s wrong with you!¡± Nestra roared, half to dy and half because she still couldn¡¯t believe it. It hurt to scream.

    She made her way forward then to the side, to her salvation.

    Her gun clicked empty. She dropped it and kneeled, her hand behind her back, palm on her salvation.

    Bard stood up, still slow and almost bored.

    ¡°Sorry, Padian. We¡¯re all on our way out. Just wanted a little retirement fund, see? I can¡¯t just be on the loser¡¯s side all the time.¡±

    ¡°Fuck you.¡±

    ¡°Yeah yeah.¡±

    The message she was waiting for finally pinged her, trumping the medical diagnostic in the notification priority queue.

    USER RECOGNIZED.

    She dove to the side and pulled Nuts¡¯ sidearm with her. Bard¡¯s first shot went over her head. The second pinged against her greave.

    She shot through Bard¡¯s chest. For a brief instant, she saw concrete beyond before pressure filled the void with organs. Bard gasped behind the visor, surprised. Very surprised.

    He fell like a puppet.

    Something locked in ce in Nestra¡¯s mind. Suddenly, it was as if a veil was lifted. Her confusion and fear evaporated to leave behind a center of tranquil focus from whence she could draw. Even her mana craving receded to be nothing more but a quiet whisper. Pain still called.

    SIGNIFICANT BLOOD LOSS DETECTED.

    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    PROCEED TO A SAFE AREA IMMEDIATELY.

    ¡°Fuck,¡± Nestra said.

    Had to save Stib.

    Maybe.

    No choice. There were still gangers below, she remembered, and she was in no state to face them. She had to go up, find Gorge and Stib if they were still alive. Lock the wall ess. A tall order considering a gleam was after them.

    There was only one thing that could improve her odds, even slightly.

    She made her way to Preach. Found he was still alive but unconscious. Slotted a medipen. Her system was off. She didn¡¯t know what else to do. There was a fast-acting clotting spray she could use to seal his wound so she did that. Then she found what she wanted. Combat stim. She dropped the empty medipen and slotted the stim instead. The rush was immediate.

    ¡°Much better.¡±

    The gangers woulde or they wouldn¡¯t. They would find Preach and kill him or not. She was in no position to stop them. What she needed to do was go up. Carefully, she climbed the stairs, well aware of the metal still digging under her ribs shifting with every step. She was leaving bloody footprints behind her. It was probably super bad. Two floors went as quickly as she dared, then she heard a loud gunshot. Two. Gorge¡¯s special sidearm. She reached the ess floor.

    There were no tforms here, only an empty space surrounded by walls with openings overlooking the hab blocks below on every side. The maintenance ess gate waited beyond, locked tight. Stib was supposed to be inside but she wasn¡¯t. She was on the ground, crying, holding a bleeding Gorge doing his best to hold his guts in. There was a lot of blood. His guny to the side, discarded. There were two impact holes on the otherwise pristine walls.

    The gleam was here, because of course he was. Blood dripped from his hand, evidence he¡¯d hit Gorge instead of simply frying him with a spell. He was ying with his food.

    The gleam knew she was here. He was merely watching with utter disbelief.

    ¡°How the fuck did that dreg¡­ Nevermind. All the better. That just gives me more material to work with. So, still going to be silent?¡±

    ¡°Nooo,¡± Stib wailed.

    Gorge coughed.

    The gleam pointed a finger at her.

    Nestra moved before he was done. Her mind was so clear. Everything made perfect sense. It wasn¡¯t the blood loss, or the stims. It was the absence of craving despite theck of mana concentration in the air. She was not sated. She was just not hungry, the feeling turning into a cool wave settling in her bones.

    Her de hit the ground as a bolt hit her gauntlet, electricity traveling down her de. It was mana electricity so a part of it couldn''t be denied that easily and yet what coursed through her body fed her more than it harmed her. The rest dissipated harmlessly in the ground.

    ¡°Open the door,¡± the gleam calmly ordered.

    Then he saw Nestra still standing.

    ¡°What the hell?¡±

    She felt him move to her side and pivoted to cut him but a sharp pain aborted the motion. Fingers like steel vises gripped her left shoulder. Her pauldron creaked from the pressure.

    ¡°How did you get your dreg fingers on a mana de?¡±

    Before she could respond, there was a gunshot.

    The gleam made to sigh with annoyance. Nestra knew why. He had a mana vest.

    However, his condescending gaze turned into a scowl of disbelief, then shock. He gasped painfully.

    A second shot forced him to take a step forward.

    ¡°What? You dreg¡ª¡±

    Gorge¡¯s gun clicked empty. He grinned, sweat covering his brow and pain clouding his eyes but his bastard smile still showed the triumph that came with ast ¡®fuck you¡¯. The gleam turned away from Nestra, rage distorting his features in a terrible rictus. Crackling energy coursed through his arm to deliver death. Nestra saw his back was hurt through the armor. He was distracted. Confused. He was still holding her, and she was still holding her de. A detached part of her felt an intense feeling of satisfaction for having outsmarted such an arrogant hunter. The rest of her focused on the one thing she¡¯d practiced for endlessly, spending thousands of hours repeating the motions until they became perfectly ingrained: that one necessary, perfect strike.

    Nestra pushed back her pain. Feet nted, strike with the whole body. The sharp de caught the gleam in the side of the head and bit deep. He spasmed. He fell to his knees. Nestra waited until he was done falling with her de overhead, ready.

    He stopped moving.

    Up to down, two handed strike on the crown of his head. Her de bit into bone with a pleasant crunch just as she was absolutely sure it would. He was dead before he hit the ground, sword still embedded. She knew he was dead. She felt him die.

    Her head swam. She copsed against a nearby wall. There was a puddle of blood under her feet. That was a lot of blood. Shit, that was a lot of blood.

    ¡°Ooooh that¡¯s a lot of blood.¡±

    A lot of blood.

    ¡°Nestra!¡±

    ¡°Uh?¡±

    ¡°Stabilize her, Riel dammit,¡± a man said.

    Nestra could see it coating the piece of metal in her torso. Mazingwe always said, save the brain, the heart, and enough blood to keep them working and I can fix anything else. But that was too much blood. Hands pushed hers away, gentlyying her on the ground. Clotting spray on the wound, she thought. Her head swam a lot.

    ¡°Hey Stib.¡±

    Stib did not reply. Rude. There was someone else. There were two people. They¡¯d just arrived. She didn¡¯t see them arrive.

    One of them was the viridian eyes boy from earlier. The cop gleam. He wasn''t doing too well but he was being held by another guy, this one in armor that looked like bone and long ivory dreads falling down his back. He had weird milky eyes. Her brain finally noticed the silver armband and the fact he was, in fact, holding the viridian guy like a beat up human shield.

    ¡°Oh.¡±

    Was probably pretty bad but that was no longer her problem because she was down here and down here was prettyfortable and she was not moving, not with all this blood under her. Fuck, that was a lot of blood. Stib sobbed. That was bad. Stib was a friend. Nestra patted her shoulder. That was a gesture offort and affection, pretty sure. She didn¡¯t lookforted. Maybe Nestra just needed more practice.

    The new gleam¡¯s eyes found the body of his ally.

    Nestra was pretty sure she was about to die when, suddenly, something very bright exploded behind her.

    The next moment, the gleam was gone.

    Nestra looked outside the window to see the new gleam locked in a duel with a form d in crimson armor. Or at least she assumed the ever-shifting form of flesh and bone was the milk-eyed gleam. They were far too fast for her to follow. She recognized the red shape from her newsfeed. That was Hong Wang, the red king. A proper guild star.

    Someone touched her shoulder. It was the viridian guy, quickly healing from what she could see. He grabbed the piece of metal.

    ¡°This is going to hurt.¡±

    Green mana expanded from his free hand. Nestra¡¯s body gulped it down greedily, which caused the gleam to scowl but not to stop. A refreshing sensation spread as slowly and without more loss of blood, he extracted the foreign object.

    Nestra was left staring at a pink piece of flesh where her wound used to be. It felt very tender.

    ¡°You didn''t feel that?¡± viridian dude asked.

    ¡°Am drugged to the fucking gills.¡±

    ¡°Ah, I should have guessed. And now if you will excuse me, I must attend to your friend.¡±

    Nestra wanted to tell viridian that Gorge wasn¡¯t her friend just as Stib was holding her hand very tightly. That was probably a bad thing.

    ¡°The others?¡± Stib sobbed.

    Right. Coms were still down. Maybe it was the walker. Maybe it was the dead buzzer.

    She didn¡¯t think it mattered.

    ¡°Uh, I think Preach was stable when I left him. You, uh...¡±

    The drone operator left in a rush.

    ¡°Might not want to see this,¡± Nestra finished telling a block of concrete.

    ¡°Fuck.¡±

    She was going to see¡­ Ah fuck, this was going to be hard for her.

    Nestra felt a strange disconnect. She was both healed and weakened, really awake and also really out of her mind. Bard¡¯s inexplicable betrayal stabbed her heart like a prop knife. It was there. She knew it was there. It just didn¡¯t hurt, at least, not yet. Most of the squad was dead. It wasn¡¯t her squad. They should still count as her people but somehow, they didn¡¯t. It was as if a solid wall like an iceberg blocked the path between her sensations and herself, pushing away confusion and the craving that had been her constantpanion for so long. It wasn¡¯t thebat stims. They weren¡¯t designed to do that. It was something insidious seeping under her skin and now it was doing something.

    Waking up.

    Waking up? That made no sense.

    ¡°Sorry, sir, I cannot heal that level of damage,¡± viridian told Gorge.

    ¡°A polite gleam,¡± Gorge replied with a bitterness that edged on insanity.

    Nestra watched outside. Night was falling fast and now plumes of dark smoke rose to the heavens like monstrous pirs, carrying with them the stench of ash. Shapes flew around at great speeds while corpo gunships flew in low altitudes, disgorging armored goons on the fleeing gangers below. Hong Wang remained the master of the sky. He wasn¡¯t fighting anymore. He was just there, talking and gesturing a few hundred meters away.

    Probably a promo shot.

    To show what Gidung could do.

    What a fucking disaster. At every possible level. The squad was dead, the gangers were dead, the traitor was dead, and the buzzer was dead. It was a fucking bloodbath and for what? For Gidung to swoop down and save the fucking day. Her mind reyed the elements of the evening and it became painfully, painfully obvious that it was very likely a set up. A set up to show the current police was not capable of handling the new threats of well-equipped gangers by creating that new threat to begin with. And Nestra¡¯s squad was just coteral damage, a delicate machine pushed to the edge then used for a role they were not meant to fill. The squad had still managed to hold against all odds. And it would mean fuck all. In the end, whoever wanted to make a point had made it.

    Maybe it was Nestra¡¯s paranoia speaking. She didn¡¯t think so.

    She stayed there until reinforcements came. It took a while.

    ***

 1.6

    1.6

    ¡°Retirement fund, he said?¡± the left gleam from internal affairs asked.

    Nestra methodically removed her fingers from the cup of coffee the medic had given her. She was in her bodysuit with a rescue cover on. It was warm under her but still, she felt light-headed and a little feverish now that the stims had faded. She was also exhausted. On every level.

    The space inside of themand tent felt stifling. The two rats were dressed like spooksplete with sunsses inside the fucking tent at night.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± she repeated with some hesitation.

    The two checked notes, or maybe they weremunicating, somehow. One of them tapped against the steel table they were sitting at.

    ¡°Are you certain this is what Mr Wilson said? You were wounded at that time, and suffering from heavy blood loss, right? The timing checks out.¡±

    What the?

    Ah.

    So, this was how it was going to be.¡°Memory can be such a tricky thing,¡± the right rat said.

    Having the policepromised on paper would look bad for them, especially if they¡¯d not seen iting. It was also possible they wanted to keep things under wrap for a separate case. It was also possible that they werepletely corrupt.

    In the end, it didn¡¯t matter.

    Nestra was tired. Bone-weary. Not just physically but morally as well. There was no point insisting on being right, even though she wanted to, and even if keeping quiet represented everything she hated about society. One person had to stand up first to start anything.

    And that person would be the first to fall.

    Nestra was not that person. Not today. She was tired, and she was going home to lick her wounds. This battle was tomorrow¡¯s Nestra¡¯s.

    ¡°It would be best not to include in your reports the elements you are notpletely sure about.¡±

    ¡°I may have misheard,¡± Nestra conceded with a heart filled with the cold acid of guilt and self-loathing.

    ¡°That might be so.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s all I remember. Are we done?¡±

    Should not have said that. The gleams stiffened.

    ¡°Please?¡± she added, this time a bit more politely.

    ¡°You¡¯re probably exhausted. Do go home to rest. We will be waiting for yourplete report.¡±

    ¡°Sure thing.¡±

    Nestra stepped out. Around her, the police camp was a hive of activity. The broken remnants of the assault teams upied half of it, and the suited gleams whose job it was to distribute the me took the rest. People red and the mood was bleak. Nestra blessed her good luck that she was too insignificant to get axed as she made her way to the district exit.

    ¡°Hey,¡± a voice said nearby.

    It was the viridian cop gleam from earlier. He was sitting on a supply crate in a new, clean armored vest. None of the earlier wounds were still visible though he looked rugged and exhausted.

    Nestra felt cornered. Gleams didn¡¯t talk to baselines unless they wanted something, in her experience.

    Maybe it was recognition.

    ¡°Thanks for saving me earlier.¡±

    ¡°Least I could do. And your teammate, Preach, will make it as well,¡± he said.

    ¡°I know. I went to see them.¡±

    ¡°I apologize for failing to save the others.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, sure.¡±

    Not even Shinran could bring the dead back and he was Earth¡¯s most powerful healer.

    ¡°I assume you are heading back,¡± he continued like a man grasping at straw, pushing a dead conversation past the proper burial time. Nestra just wanted to go home.

    ¡°Sorry, sir. Really tired.¡±

    ¡°Of course. And I imagine you would not want to¡­ to return to the precinct after everything. Let me call you an executive cab. I¡¯ll use my card.¡±

    ¡°Eeeh.¡±

    She hoped he wasn¡¯t trying to go with her. Being alone with a gleam in a space they controlled was dangerous. She hoped he was just being nice but she couldn¡¯t take the chance.

    ¡°Please. Let me help. I just¡­¡±

    He extended his hands, light smile growing brittle.

    ¡°I just want to help.¡±

    ¡°Ok,¡± Nestra finally said, following her gut feeling.

    They walked through the checkpoint, the gleam staying at a respectable distance. His uniform and shiny eyes made the process easy since no one stopped her for her ID. Outside of the camp, there were journalists waiting for their pittance of public statements but the gleam discouraged them with a shake of his head. A hover car was waiting by the curb, long, sleek and ck. Executive cab, the most high-end transportationwork in Threshold. The gleam gestured and the door opened.

    Nestra turned as she was going in. The gleam was still waiting at a respectful distance. It would be weird to leave like that. Dangerously disrespectful as well. He might perceive her as ungrateful and that was extremely dangerous. She decided to share her name not just because it was a sign of trust but because he most likely knew it anyway.

    ¡°Thanks. I¡¯m Nestra.¡±

    ¡°Valerian of House Nephrite. Sorry, I just¡­¡±

    He took a deep breath, seeminglying to a decision.

    ¡°I know what it feels to be the odd one out. Anyway. Be safe.¡±

    Ah yes, it happened sometimes. Some people recognized her as that one weird anomaly. Huh. Nestra watched his receding back for a second before hopping in. A basic AI requested an address which she gave. The flight over the city gave her a wonderful view of district one, the tight clusters of gravity-defying skyscrapers still ruling over the encroaching arcologies. Their innumerable lights felt as majestic and distant as stars. They were also powered by mana crystals, the outrageous spending a testament to Threshold¡¯s affluence and power, the mightiest of fortress cities. It was all Nestra could do to watch those and remain conscious. She had to p her cheeks a few times not to keel over even with strong coffee buzzing through her veins.

    The cab dropped her on her front door, forcing her to rush out in her survival cover and bodysuit in the weirdest rendition of a walk of shame. Anyone looking out right now would assume she¡¯d banged a high gleam and then been sent home in a nice ride. She rushed up the stairs to her bedroom andsted long enough to remove her itchy body suit before she copsed.

    Then, she dreamt.

    ***

    The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    It started like a familiar dream. She stood in her mind pce, the elegant room as devoid of a core as ever, yet something had changed. The light was different. Where before, a golden glow shone on the neossical design like a fairytale cliche, now it bore a strange hue that seemed to absorb colors. All was gray, ck or white, and yet the variations were both rich and deeply pleasant. More importantly, some doors had unlocked.

    Nestra had always assumed that the doors were decorative in this highly symbolic ce; it had never urred to her that a door might lead to something else. Now three of them waited invitingly, half-open like whispered promises. She moved to the first and found herself in a cavern with soft, round stctites covered in bioluminescent growths.oids danced over a blue puddle, never touching. She extended a hand for the brightest one toe, and it did. It levitated over her open palm until she felt its nature. It tasted like a burst of wind, a perfect step, an uncanny dodge that left her opponent dumbfounded. The light colors on its surface shifted in airy patterns. It was barely awake though, so Nestra released it to rejoin the eternal waltz while she called the next one.

    That metallic tasted like onest rep and one more kilometer. It tasted like healing bruises and standing up again and again. Its surface was cratered by too many impacts to count and harder for it. It too, was barely waking up while the others remained dull. There was potential here but it would need more¡­ it would need more¡­

    More deaths.

    Many more deaths.

    The right deaths.

    It made perfect sense to dream Nestra.

    She was curious to see more. Leaving, she found that the next room was a castle corridor decorated by shields and suits of armor. Again, only two were active. One was an old middle-age te suit, gray and battered. Serviceable, though it was nothing special and would certainly not stop a bullet. The other item was a kite shield hanging nearby. Its surface was a window into an ocean suffering the fury of a devastating storm. Bolts stabbed the mountainous waves every second with unceasing rage.

    The rest remained inert. Waiting.

    Nestra kept exploring. Even in the dream, a sense of excitement filled her. There was no core but there was something else and that something else, well, it was better than nothing. In fact, it looked like it could be much, much better than nothing. She knew it would take a lot of work to wake everything up, yet that failed to dampen her mood. She had been denied this opportunity for her whole life. She had begged for the chance to work at things. And now, it looked like she would finally get it, not in the way she hoped, and perhaps that was for the best.

    Thest room was the simplest one and also the most awake. It held a tiny core crackling with energy. She recognized the mana maniption ability of an electrokic yet the colors were wrong. Everything was gray.

    ¡°Weird,¡± Nestra said.

    And then she woke up.

    ***

    ¡°Huh, what a strange dream.¡±

    Nestra ced a hand over her face, the skin inexplicably smooth this morning. Maybe the stims were notpletely out of her system yet? She also realized she¡¯d forgotten to switch off the light.

    Although,e to think of it, everything was in ck and white.

    ¡°Hm. Lights off?¡±

    Nothing changed. Fear started to worm in her mind.

    ¡°Light on?¡±

    The lights switched on and colors returned. But¡­ how? And she was feeling great. Well rested. What was going on? Had she overslept?

    She approached a shutter. Outside, the world was a ck and white vista besides the distant shape of the Wellington arcology, its blue and red lights disying advertisements. The contrast was really strange. Nestra touched her eyes. They felt normal. Maybe she was not fully awake and a cold shower would do her some good. She frowned harder and made her way to the bathroom where a demon greeted her in her sink mirror.

    At least, the reflection was like a demon but it was also clearly Nestra. The face was the same, if a little sharper. The body shape was mostly the same though a little taller. Really, the only differences were the uniform gray skin, the white hair, the small nubs of horns forming at the top of her forehead, and the ck eyes. They were as dark as the void. Pure pits of darkness. Nestra didn¡¯t panic because it was, quite obviously, her and this was, equally obviously, a dream.

    ¡°Huh.¡±

    She settled to wait until something dream-like happened. Maybe her high school teacher would break through the wall to inform her she waste for her presentation. After all, Nestra was already naked and so dressed for the role, so to speak. When nothing like that happened, she decided to go for a coffee instead.

    She walked downstairs and made herself one on her expensive machine. It tasted nice. She almost cut her tongue on her teeth. They felt weird in her mouth.

    Climbing back to the bathroom, she checked them and realized they were now all a nacreous ck, tapering off to a serrated end.

    She also realized she still had mana. And it was not fading away. Out of curiosity, she called it forth and for the first time, for the first damn time in her life after thousands of attempts¡­ it worked.

    An electric current coursed from one hand to the other with a sharp crack though she barely felt more than a small pinch.

    That, however, confirmed that she was fully awake.

    Only then did she scream.

    ***

    ¡°Oh no oh no oh nonononononono this must be a dream. That¡¯s it. I¡¯m tripping balls.¡±

    Nestra went over everything she¡¯d done trying to determine ifbat stims could lead to vivid hallucinations. The problem was, she would be sweaty and nauseous. Right now, she was feeling fantastic. Wide awake. Sound of mind if not of body.

    ¡°Riel dammit. Why.¡±

    She walked over her house, touching random stuff to make sure it was still there. Disys showing family pictures. Her teddybear called Mr Slump which she would not confess she had even under torture. Bananas. She took a bite of the banana. It tasted sweet and a little too ripe.

    She only stopped when a tap sounded on her door.

    It was a single sound, not intrusive and she would have doubted it were it not for the fact it was three fucking AM and the entire district was as active as an ountant¡¯s cadaver. No mana seeped under the entrance that she could tell and the first floor¡¯s shutters were all closed. Nestra regretted that she¡¯d left her sword with the rest of her gear. The security disy was near the kitchen so she went there and the camera activated, showing a piece of curb and a side of fences. The only anomaly was the package.

    There was a package on her porch.

    Not a standard delivery cardboard box either but a white, nice box with a little bow on top. It was deliciously, suspiciously antiquated. It was also suspicious as fuck. The timing was not bad, it was fated. So Nestra watched the damn box and¡­ nothing. No noise, no movements, nothing. She checked other cameras around the perimeter: not a thing to be seen.

    Her paranoia spiked.

    Because she knew she had to check it.

    Nestra had no idea what was going on or if she was even a human anymore. She most certainly felt like herself and in control, no weird parasite or possession. She also knew that she had the appearance of something else and, in Threshold, that bore an immediate and strict consequence.

    The fortress city had very strict rules when it came to suspicions of monster presence, and that rule was extermination. Oh, perhaps she could get away with being shipped to someb for study but that was obviously a shit solution. So now she was pretty desperate and willing to open her door in the dead of night to check a suspicious package that might contain, for all she knew, a facehugger dipped in arcane batrachotoxin.

    Nestra unlocked the door, opening it a little bit. The night¡¯s cold air pped her face. The dark night of the camera resolved into a bright, colorlessndscape in her view. The package waited invitingly.

    She grabbed it and pulled it like a gremlin. She shut the door as fast as she could. It mmed with a loud bang that scared her. Far in the distance, a dog barked.

    Nestra rushed back to the security station. The cameras showed nothing at all. The package sat where she¡¯d left it, on the kitchen table.

    Just existing there.

    Menacingly.

    ¡°Right. Right. Here goes.¡±

    The cute little bow on top of the box came off easily, leaving behind a nondescript wooden box with a smiley drawn with some sort of pencil above the words ¡®not a trap¡¯. The bow itself was made of some cheap wrapping paper.

    Nestra felt silly. She opened the thing before losing herself in conjectures.

    It contained two items. The first was a message on an actual piece of paper. The second was a small ball rolled up in a wrinkled napkin. It smelled heavenly. She opened the paper first. Always read the manual before touching stuff.

    Words danced in her mind. That was the best way to describe it. Strange, angr runes resolving in curves spoke their meaning directly into her psyche. The message was as weird as the means of delivery.

    ¡°Congrattions on waking up, little Nezhra!

    Your first quest is to rebuild your Mask.

    Go to a mirror and pour your image back over your head, just like water!¡±

    There was more but Nestra didn¡¯t care just quite yet. She rushed to the bathroom and stopped, looking once again into the starless pit of her own gaze. The nubs of her horns still felt solid under her fingers. At least she didn¡¯t have ws. Yet.

    Feeling ridiculous, she raised her hands over her head as if to contain liquid, then she poured.

    Nothing happened.

    Her instincts told her something ought to. She was just¡­ doing it wrong. It didn¡¯t matter that it made no sense. What mattered was hiding. She was vulnerable right now. Exposed. She needed the Mask.

    Doing the same movement, she pretended to pour lies on the gray creature in the mirror. She needed the old Nestra. The one she¡¯d grown up to be.

    As if sprinkling ink over a white and ck picture, colors bloomed on her. The white hair returned to its usual dark blonde, the ck eyes became gray again, and her skin lost its doll-like luster to return to its pinkish and slightly scarred self, with the small hair and beauty spots and all the tiny imperfections that made Nestra, Nestra. It felt strange now, not exactly stifling but certainly not as natural as it used to be. The real Nestra was the gray thing and the human was a trick. A honey pot. A disguise. A lie worn every day to survive.

    Nestra left the bathroom and sat on her bed.

    All her adult life, she¡¯d felt like a fraud, a failure. A stranger. She could not fit among the gleams because she wasn¡¯t one. She wasn¡¯t even a quirky, with part of a mana circuit that could at least make them useful in a mundane gleam job. No, she¡¯d been a constant reminder of the possibility of downgrading, of having one¡¯s child hopelessly incapable of equaling the parent, of an evolutionary deadend because that¡¯s what baselines were, in a way. Dead ends unsuited to the new world. Nestra had left the family because she was a stranger in their mist. She had not fit among the baselines because she had a chip on her shoulder the size of a fucking boulder. There was a deep pain in her heart that had grown over the years, thorny tendrils reaching out to grab people to pull them in, anyone, any tribe that would say she belonged with them, any friend that would touch her shoulder and say hey, it¡¯s ok, you¡¯re good as you are with all your inadequacies. But that had never happened because Nestra was a ferocious bitch who¡¯d picked a lethally dangerous job to prove something to herself. She¡¯d bitten back and fought to prove to the world that it had been wrong to deny her her birthright. Because she was strong and hard-working. She¡¯d battled every day to make a point and, of course, predictably, the world had not given a flying fuck. Her sword techniques teaued. Then the mana cravings drove her forward in a race that could only end with her nted in some walls, face first. A race with no cheering crowd. Just her and the iing bricks. Nestra realized that at some point, she¡¯d given up. Oh, she¡¯d made ns of course. Because just lying down and waiting to die meant the world won, that she did not deserve the gift of mana. That was uneptable. But she¡¯d given up on happiness. She¡¯d just waited to die. Or rather, she¡¯d just waited for something to kill her.

    And that would have been fine with her. Death.

    Really, the only problem was pain and not being eaten.

    But death was ok.

    And now she realized that all those years feeling like an impostor among her own, and her inability to fit in had, in fact, a very clear exnation.

    She wasn¡¯t who she thought she was.

    And that was¡­ an incredible relief.

    Tears welled in her eyes, the human ones. Nestra made a gesture to rip and the mask fell off, the color dripping off her like cheap paint. The void-eyed Nestra cried tears of bitter joy and disbelief that finally, finally, after twenty-four fucking years of agony, she knew what was wrong with her. And it was not being a shit person. It was being a not-a-person trying to fit in with people. That was why it had never worked.

    What a fantastic realization.

    Nestra returned to the box needled by curiosity though she was feeling sleepy again. The rest of the message was pretty short. As before, the glyphs danced in her mind like oldpanions even though she was positive she¡¯d never seen them before. The word for her name, Nezhra, was wrong. A phic rendition of Nestra. It felt strange yet weing.

    ¡°Quest reward: mask + Kero nut¡±

    The mask was necessary. The nut was probably a bonus. She removed the paper to reveal a strange spherical body shaped like a kidney bean. Just like the real her, it was gray and colorless, almost silvery under a certain angle. It also smelled delicious. She popped it in her mouth and bit down.

    An explosion of taste drowned her spirit, washing away all her worries in a tidal wave of vor. The crunchy bits cracked under her teeth with a pleasant pop. This was an apotheosis of a gustative experience. It elevated her mood and her spirit.

    And then, it was gone.

    ¡°Aw. Just one?¡±

    The crumpled piece of paper didn¡¯t reply. She decided to finish the message, despondent.

    ¡°Your next quest will be at these coordinates tomorrow night. Bring your sword!¡±

    An extremely precise set of GPS coordinates followed. Nestra could input this in her car and get close enough, though that would leave traces. Instead, she used a map on a random website to get the right spot within the proper block. It was an automated warehouse near the wall, in district eighteen. Maybe twenty minutes away on the outer ring with no traffic. Interesting.

    Should she trust the mysterious messengers? Possibly. She remembered the rooms in her mind pce. They required more blood, more sacrifice. It was clear the messenger knew what she was so it was logical it knew what she needed.

    Nestra knew she couldn¡¯t run away anymore. It had to be done.

    Tomorrow.

    She returned to bed and crashed down hard.

 2.1

    2.1

    Nestra woke up after sleeping fitfully. The light of dawn filtered through her windows, chasing away the fog of her mind. She felt tired but too nervous to go back to sleep. Too shaken. Pudding and Nut were dead. She¡¯d killed Bard. Fuck, she¡¯d toasted him for his birthday only a couple of months ago during a truce because it was important for the team. He¡¯d betrayed her first. He¡¯d betrayed all of them and she¡¯d killed him for it. Hollowed out his chest. She remembered gore pouring through the massive bullet wound. She¡¯d done that.

    She¡¯d killed the gleam. His skull had crumpled under her de. It had been far too easy but he¡¯d really underestimated her.

    It had felt good to kill them. Not just because they¡¯d tried to kill her and failed, but also physically. It had given her something. She was feeling better now than any morning in the past seven years. No cravings. Even the pain andck of sleep couldn¡¯t dull the relief and euphoria.

    Deaths. Vengeance. Pain. No cravings. End of her career, also, she assumed.

    And a new species.

    Had to be honest, that was the one thing she¡¯d been trying not to think about. Was it all a dream? She retreated to the bathroom, shut down the door, locked it. Darkness became almostplete. She couldn¡¯t see her fingers but she could see the tiny green dot of her charging toothbrush, hear her panicked breath.

    Had to be sure.

    She pinched a symbolic point above her head and pulled. The Mask disappeared into the recess of¡­ she didn¡¯t know. She couldn¡¯t be sure. Maybe it was not disappearing so much as¡­ going somewhere else? Immediately, her pain abated. The dark of the bathroom became a ck and white canvas, clear as day. Her vision sharpened. Her nose picked up the scent of soap, humidity, her favorite shampoo which she¡¯d spilledst morning and not cleaned yet. She felt strong. She was also slightly taller, and naked.

    Had to find out more.Nestra left the bathroom and picked a cotton pajama, which was a little tight in her demon form. She closed all shutters, switched off all cameras and all lights since she didn¡¯t need them. Followed a brief inspection.

    Her teeth were sharp, incredibly so, to the point that she pierced her skin just by brushing them. Her blood was grey, then red as it spilled. The wound closed almost immediately.

    Sucking on her thumb, she checked the nubs of her horns next. They felt very sensitive and the mana was somehow thicker around them. Not sure what else.

    Her ears were a little longer and thinner but that was thest weird thing except for the color. Her hair felt normal. All her senses were better though.

    Next, she headed to the basement and the gym there. Her flexibility hadn¡¯t changed though it was already good. She casually bench pressed twice her normal maximum next.

    Ok, so stronger. Definitely stronger. Maybe a little faster as well, though she wasn¡¯t sure. There was also something else. She still felt¡­ a little hollow, like an empty hearth waiting for a roaring fire. This was just the beginning. Or at least, that was how it felt.

    Which led to the next question.

    Why, and how?

    Why was she not human, and how the fuck did that happen? Was she born like that? Had someone sacrificed her soul to the monochrome devil or something?

    Her rm rang. The surprise made her pull her Mask on before she realized it was just that. One thing was for sure, she could choose to transport her clothes from one form to the other as she changed. So at least there was that. Really weird, anyway.

    Maybe the box sender would have more answers tonight. For now, she had to leave if she wanted to keep a normal life.

    ***

    The car hummed in eleration then hooked behind a convoy of corpo limos. Honestly, Nestra knew she should let the autopilot work all the time. Most traffic was directed by AI which tended to pile cars in a neat line that actually made traffic smoother for everyone. It just annoyed her to have her own expensive vehicle and then never use it.

    All that thought of cars failed to distract her from the big question as she made her way to the station.

    Should she tell anyone?

    After all, figuring out you¡¯re actually a gray demon masquerading as a person was the sort of stuff she could use some advice on.

    Stib was a risky proposal because as much as the girl was loyal, she was also loyal to the city. Right now, Nestra looked like a fucking monster.

    Mazingwe was out for another reason. Anyone who¡¯d survived through the incursion hated the monsters with a burning hatred, no exception. She¡¯d seen footage of her father going through some bipedal lizards in a portal world, once. It was hard to reconcile her stoic yet friendly parent with the armored avenger ripping through ranks with methodical fury, crushing skulls with a brutality that went beyond mere efficacy. So no, Mazingwe was out. And so was her family, she realized.

    There was a chance someone in her family was also a monster. After all, one didn¡¯t just magically turn into something else out of nowhere, and yet, if one or both of her parents were just like her, surely they would have mentioned it? Or at least given a hint, something like ¡®oh if you feel weird and something massive changes about you, don¡¯t worry, call us¡¯? That would have been the very least. It had not happened.

    So no, she couldn¡¯t tell anyone. At least not anyone who wasn¡¯t the strange benefactor leaving her the package.

    Her mind naturally turned to their identity. Obviously, Nestra was under surveince or she wouldn¡¯t have gotten the package when she had. It would also be wise to guess who kept an eye on her.

    Her mind went over the possibilities. It could be her Aunt ire, who had substituted herself as a parent for most of Nestra¡¯s adult life. It could be Mazingwe since he¡¯d volunteered to be the squads¡¯ doctor for no discernible reason. Hell, it could even be that goofy Seth because he was just weird, though the timing was a little short for that. The problem was that she couldn¡¯t just sit down and ask them: hey, are you the one who left a package in front of my door teaching me how to blend in with the humans? Because that would be weird and a little intimate.

    Best keep things to herself, for now. Follow the trail of ¡®quests¡¯ if there were more. Maybe sweep her house for spy devices even though finding any implied a long scream and burning down the entire building to exorcize that horrible vition.

    The next serious question was¡­ did it change anything in how she saw the others?

    She¡­ didn¡¯t think so?

    Her friend was still her friend. Her family was still her family, good and bad. Things might change in the future, especially if they learned what she was. That was up to them.

    By the time the car turned into the precinct, Nestra was calm. She sent a message to Stib, possibly still in the hospital but received no immediate response.

    Her building was empty. Truly empty. The first sounds of life came when Nestra reached the office floor and heard banging things in the chief¡¯s office. A knock on her door interrupted the movements.

    ¡°Chief? It¡¯s Nestra.¡±

    ¡°One moment please,¡± a broken voice replied.

    It took a good fifteen seconds for Chief Ruben topose herself. The door opened into a mess. The chief pretended she hadn¡¯t been crying and Nestra ignored the red, puffy eyes and the asional sniffle.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t have toe today,¡± the chief chided. ¡°You should be resting.¡±

    ¡°Just didn¡¯t want to be home alone with everything¡­¡±

    Nestra shrugged.

    ¡°You know. In the air. So¡­¡±

    A heavy silence hung between them while Nestra looked at the piles of belongings on a cardboard box. Mostly rewards and certificates. A few ancient books made of actual papers. A couple of medals.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t expect that after yesterday, I¡¯d still be around, Padian? Some heads have to roll.¡±

    ¡°This is bullshit.¡±

    ¡°Yes! Nice of you to say that,¡± the chief said without malice. ¡°But the squads were under my responsibility and¡­ you¡¯re the only one left standing.¡±

    ¡°Then the department¡­¡±

    ¡°Is closed as of now. I¡¯ll let HR know you¡¯ve swung around. They¡¯ll sort you out. Don¡¯t worry, you¡¯re too low on the pole to get axed so easily.¡±

    ¡°What about you?¡±

    The chief looked at Nestra, the cold underneath returning into her features. The chief never liked it when people poked into her business but Nestra figured it didn¡¯t matter right now.

    ¡°There will be an inquiry. I¡¯ll be transferred to some cushier position if all goes as I expect it since the TPD can¡¯t afford to throw talent away right now. If the call for blood is too strong, my head will roll and I¡¯ll be fired, no matter whose fault it is. It depends.¡±

    The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the vition.

    ¡°There was something I wanted to tell you, actually,¡± Nestra said, her mind made.

    The chief waited, uncertain.

    ¡°Off the record.¡±

    ¡°Everything we say right now is off the record.¡±

    ¡°Ok. We were really betrayed. Bard turned on us.¡±

    The chief clenched her jaw. She grabbed the edge of her table then leaned on it, face reddening.

    ¡°That little wanker.¡±

    ¡°The rat squad mooks made it very clear I shouldn¡¯t put it in my report unless I was ¡®very sure¡¯. Look, I won¡¯t poke the fuckers but¡­¡±

    ¡°But I could look into it. Yes. You did well. They would have just dered you unfit to testify. Then you¡¯d have to pass a psych eval just to get a job back. Alright. Let me be honest in return.¡±

    ¡°Hm?¡±

    ¡°Internal affairs highly suspects that the gangers received weapons and augs from a corpo supplier. A unique corpo supplier. And by suspect, I mean they are absolutely sure. They just need proof. Not an easy thing to acquire.¡±

    ¡°Gidung? They¡¯re the ones who stood to earn the most.¡±

    ¡°And the timing of their rescue was¡­ just a little too perfect. Yes. Look, don¡¯t be stupid. You can¡¯t just go after them. Even your family will not protect you if you do.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not stupid,¡± Nestra replied a little sulkily.

    And she really was not that stupid. She was weak and isted. For now. It might change though, the weak part, not the isted one. Maybe. Then they would see.

    ¡°Good. Oh, HR is there. Go talk to them then pack your things. Will you attend the service? We are¡­ we are burying everyone at the same time. With Regis. The families agreed.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll be there. Tomorrow?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    Nestra left in an awkward silence. She was just¡­ not very good with grief and expressing sympathy. Some of her attempts had not gone very well in the past. Aunt ire had even rmended some online sses on how to express empathy but¡­ they felt hollow. She did feel sorry for the chief, who had lost the people in her charge. But what would be the best answers? A hand on the shoulder? A word that she¡¯d tried her best? Just supportive silence? Nestra knew she was supposed to be devastated as well. How would that trante?

    What a fucking mess.

    The HR team was settling down in the same meeting room the rat squad had used a few days and an eternity ago. Nestra exchanged hushed greetings. She recognized one of the girls from the main office, the same who usually confirmed her holidays were approved. She was an energetic, mousy tan girl. The man wasn¡¯t familiar. He was older, with an impable navy suit and the kind of exact hairstyle that required discipline and a frequent visit to the stylist.

    ¡°Hey, Fon,¡± Nestra greeted.

    ¡°Nestra! Thank Riel you¡¯re ok. You¡¯re ok, right? Of course not, what am I saying?¡±

    ¡°Ahem,¡± an older man said, though not unkindly.

    ¡°Sorry Mr. Ling.¡±

    ¡°Not to worry, I just wouldn¡¯t want to overwhelm our friend. Business first, if you would allow. I ammissioner Ling. I handle staffing for this district. I¡¯m sorry, there is no other way to say this. Your unit is dissolved as of now.¡±

    Nestra nodded. There was no unit left so¡­ she already knew that.

    ¡°In recognition of your services and the emotional trauma associated with your loss, we are providing you with the followingpensation as well as three months of leave you may take at any time you wish within the rest of your employment. If you decide to leave the force, which we would understand, the precinct will issue a letter of rmendation at your convenience.¡±

    Ling gestured and Nestra put on and turned on her visor. A sort of contract arrived in her mailbox. It was exactly what Ling said in addition to the cozy sum of forty thousand credits, untaxed, which represented a year of ie. There were no demands in return which meant it was a bribe. Therge amount of money was here to make sure she wouldn¡¯t raise a stink out of fear of losing the benefits. That was fine by Nestra. She didn¡¯t think she would get her revenge going the normal way.

    She frowned. Did she really want revenge?

    Yes, she did.

    It was a distant sort of anger, more a principle than an emotional drive to get even. Someone had callously written her off as an eptable loss in their grand n and they would get theireuppance. It was as simple as that.

    ¡°If you have any questions¡­¡± Ling said.

    Actually, might as well dig a little.

    ¡°Those are generous terms. Let me be honest. Is there a catch?¡±

    Ling started to answer but he reconsidered.

    ¡°Ms Sonchai, would you give us a moment, please?¡±

    ¡°Okay¡­¡±

    Fon looked worried and Nestra felt herself tense, however themissioner''s neutral expressioncked the affected sympathy that usually heralded bad news.

    ¡°Alright. There is no catch. You get that no matter what. There is something we would like you to do, however, or to be more precise, something Internal Affairs would like you to do. Again, this is not a binding agreement, Miss Padian. We merely believe that you would have a vested interest in the proposal.¡±

    A free lunch AND amissioner using honorifics on her? They really wanted her something bad.

    ¡°Officer Kim would like a word with you. You met her a couple of days ago. I¡¯m sending you her coordinates right now.¡±

    He gestured.

    ¡°Please call her before you make a decision. Now sign the paper and get your break. Remember. We look after our own.¡±

    Nestra red at the utter bullshit of it. Once again, her obvious disbelief grated on her superior¡¯s nerves. Ling seethed but he took a deep breath before he could go off, which meant Nestra had gotten away without pissing off yet another member of her hierarchy.

    ¡°Let me rephrase. We look after our own within the limits imposed upon us by central.¡±

    ¡°Appreciate it.¡±

    Nestra signed. She said goodbye to Fon on her way out.

    ¡°If you need help picking a new job, let me know!¡± the shorter woman told her. ¡°I havepatibility tests, offers, the works. Just let me know and I¡¯ll clear a slot for you. Don¡¯t just disappear on us.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, Fon.¡±

    Nestra walked back to her office. There was another message for her, from the chief.

    ¡°Padian. Before you go, please go by the armory to retrieve your sword. Thank you.¡±

    Right. The sword was her personal property. She even had a license for that. She grabbed her personal effects and put them in a cardboard box. There wasn¡¯t much, merely a change of clothes and a couple of mementos. Nestra didn¡¯t consider her office as anything personal, more like a shelter than a personal spot here. Her house was her haven.

    In the main building, many officers whispered as she passed by. Some of them gave her nods of sympathy. Nobody seemed angry at her, or disappointed, which was nice. The quartermaster locked the door behind her when she came in. That instantly made her nervous.

    ¡°Officer Padian. Here for your sword?¡±

    ¡°Yeeees?¡±

    ¡°I need a favor from you. You see, I was given this nice little piece belonging to Gorge.¡±

    He ced the revolver on the desk in front of him, shiny and clearly enchanted with mana stuff now that Nestra could look at it.

    ¡°The problem is that it¡¯s a mana tool, one that can only be owned by someone with a special license. Like you, Nes. So, I am going to assume that Gorge merely omitted to tell me he got that license after all and I will release it into your custody so you can return it to him and if I get inspected, everything¡¯s copacetic. You get me?¡±

    ¡°I get you.¡±

    ¡°In return, let me give you your own stuff since it¡¯s going to be destroyed anyway. You got a weapon safe at home, right?¡±

    ¡°Uhm.¡±

    ¡°Riiiiight?¡±

    ¡°Why yes, of course I do.¡±

    ¡°Excellent. I patched up your armor. You got your submachine gun and, let¡¯s say, two boxes of rounds you used in training. Three spare magazines you lost yesterday. And your sword, of course.¡±

    ¡°Right. Thanks.¡±

    ¡°Think nothing of it. Let me walk you to your car.¡±

    ***

    Nestra set the autopilot to the hospital where Gorge was. It was a different one from Camus¡¯, possibly because ravaged intestines were harder to fix than cracked ribs. She used the opportunity to call Officer Kim.

    ¡°Yes?¡±

    ¡°Hello Officer Kim, this is Nestra Padian.¡±

    ¡°Ah, excellent. I was expecting your call. Do you have time for lunch tomorrow?¡±

    ¡°Sure?¡±

    ¡°See you there,¡± Kim said after rattling off the name of a restaurant, then she cut the call abruptly.

    Maybe she was busy.

    Nestra wondered what the rat squad wanted with her. The mooks had been clear they wanted her to shut up about Bard¡¯s treachery but maybe that was not all there was to it. It was clear the TPD had been shafted badly in district 15, losing men, equipment, and face. She was sure they were itching for aeback. Maybe there was a way to use official resources to go after the assholes who¡¯d bought Bard. Maybe she could use both official and unofficial tools.

    Nestra pulled into the hospital¡¯s parking lot. It was an older one, she noticed, poorer too. There wasn¡¯t a gleam in sight and her mana perception remained unequivocally inactive. She grabbed the revolver box and made her way to a cluttered reception room, joining a queue behind an old woman in a wheelchair and a panicked mother with a gaggle of stressed kids. Tense discussions filled the air along with the stench of sweat and cheap antiseptic. Somewhere to the side, someone was crying. Nestra hunched her shoulders. She didn''t like hospitals. Only Aunt ire came to visit.

    ¡°Yes?¡± the exhausted nurse asked.

    ¡°I am here to see Gorge, sorry, I mean. Aaron MacMin?¡±

    ¡°Hm. Oh, yes, let me check.¡±

    The nurse frowned. She had a pad rather than a visor. When she looked up, there was hesitation in her voice.

    ¡°Hm, Mr McMin will only receive family at this time?¡±

    ¡°Could you let him know Nestra is here. I have something of his.¡±

    ¡°I, errr, I¡¯m not supposed to¡­¡±

    ¡°Look,¡± Nestra replied. ¡°we¡¯re part of the same squad. I assume he wants our hierarchy off his back. Please just ask him? If he says no, I¡¯ll leave. Promise.¡±

    ¡°Oh, alright.¡±

    The nurse pulled on a visor while Nestra waited patiently.

    ¡°Sir? There is a Nestra here to see you. Yes. Yes. No, I would not use that term as it is quite rude. Yes, I¡¯ll send her right away.¡±

    The nurse hung up.

    ¡°Room 576. Take the elevators on your right. And, uh, are you really friends?¡±

    ¡°Not really. Why?¡±

    ¡°He asked if you looked like a frigid bitch.¡±

    ¡°Then he''s in a good mood. Thanks for the help.¡±

    Nestra moved through the first floor. The hospital was clogged, with patient beds pushed against the wall. She decided to take the stairs when she realized how many people were waiting, some of them wearing patient gowns and dragging their own IV bags with them. The fifth floor was much calmer, which was a relief. She found 576 after a quick search. The hospital was big.

    ¡°Come on in!¡±

    Gorge lounged in arge bed, his muscr arms grabbing an ancient pad.

    ¡°Holy shit Padian, the fuck are you doing here?¡±

    Nestra ced the case on a side table. Gorge¡¯s room was a single, tight yet cozy with arge screen and two wide windows. Personal effectsy scattered over the room as if Gorge had been there for a week.

    ¡°Brought you back your iron on ount of its illegality.¡±

    ¡°Covering for me? How nice. However, let me ask you something.¡±

    ¡°Yeah?¡±

    ¡°What happened to my men?¡±

    Gorge¡¯s face was raw. Raw and angry. She felt like walking through an alley only to find two groups of goons on either side and her in the middle. Gorge didn¡¯t know what happened. He couldn¡¯t. Thes were down when Nestra killed Bard.

    ¡°Fuck.¡±

    ¡°I know only you and Preach made it. I know you saved him. Now tell me how the others died.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not going to like it.¡±

    ¡°Fuck no I¡¯m not going to like it, you cunt. Tell me anyway.¡±

    ¡°Off the record because the rats told me to shut up.¡±

    ¡°Start talking or I¡¯ll use the revolver on you.¡±

    So Nestra shared her tale, leaving nothing back. She thought Gorge might blow a fuse when the truth about Bard came out.

    ¡°That fucking disgusting son of cock-gobbling shitstain sow. Tell me you killed him.¡±

    ¡°Blew his chest off with Nuts¡¯ sidearm.¡±

    ¡°Okay. Good. Good.¡±

    He breathed hard, his bald face was now in the boiled lobster shade of red.

    ¡°And the mooks told you to keep the betrayal to yourself?¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡±

    ¡°Those motherless skunk tampons. What are you gonna do about it?¡±

    ¡°I¡ª¡±

    Nestra hesitated. Gorge¡¯s intense gaze made her ill-at-ease.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, okay? The fuck you want me to do, drive a demo truck into the Gidung arcology? I don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°But you¡¯ll try something?¡±

    Nestra sighed.

    She didn¡¯t even like Gorge.

    ¡°I will try something.¡±

    ¡°Ok. Then you keep the gun.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Shut the fuck up, okay? That¡¯s my gun. You can keep it for now. I got no more use for it.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re leaving the force?¡±

    Gorge sighed. Then he lifted his cover. Nestra gasped at the sight of a mess of bandage and the very obvious colostomy bag attached to it.

    ¡°I lost half of my damn guts. There isn¡¯t going to be any running around in full gear for me. And before you ask, no I won¡¯t get an aug. I can¡¯t afford it. Not even with the nice bonus I got in the mail this morning.¡±

    ¡°You can ask for a loan?¡±

    ¡°Listen you bitch. If I do take the loan, I¡¯ll be indebted for my whole fucking life unless I ve away for a chaebol and no way I¡¯ll ever go corpo. If I don¡¯t take the loan, I get insurance payment and my kids get to go to college loan-free.¡±

    ¡°Holy shit.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°You have kids?¡±

    Gorge was so taken off guard, he actually calmed down.

    ¡°Divorced with two children. Why? Is that a problem?¡±

    ¡°Just can¡¯t believe the same woman would let you fuck her twice.¡±

    Gorge¡¯srge frame shook and for a moment, Nestra thought she¡¯d gone too far. Fortunately, the shaking turned into a seismicugh.

    ¡°Fuck you Padian, don¡¯t make meugh like that. That''ll blow the stitches away. Take the gun and fuck off. And let me know what you find out. I can get you a lot of goodies you won¡¯t find anywhere else. Hell, I¡¯ll even give you a discount.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re an angel.¡±

    Nestra left still carrying the revolver in her hand. She had her own personal arsenal now, which was kind of cool. Only when she sat in her car did she realize the problem.

    ¡°Fuck. I don¡¯t have bullets for the revolver.¡±

 2.2

    2.2

    Midnight descended on the city. Nestra was wide awake after a deep nap in thete afternoon. A quick look outside her window confirmed that the city was mostly asleep. In her human shape, the night was clearer but not ¡®clear¡¯, not like in her true form.

    She called electric mana to her hand. A trickle made it through, barely enough to light a bulb. It appeared the mask smothered her ability, which didn¡¯t surprise her. If a baseline started to manifest stuff around, people would ask questions.

    And that led her to a real issue.

    Anonymity.

    Moving in secret around Threshold was not something baselines could manage, especially not affluent ones like Nestra. Her house recorded her ins and outs. Her car had an integrated GPS, every prompt ryed to, and recorded by, a central AI which sent her to her destinations via the least congested roads. She could not even visit the ce mentioned in the quest without a data trail, and that was just the beginning of it. Even transients without IDs still showed up on security cameras, which Threshold was absolutely chock full of. That was a necessity when portals could open anywhere.

    If Nestra went close to that ce, her house would show her leaving, her car would show where she went, and every camera around would record her face in precise details, including the demon one.

    Calling a taxi meant that apany would have her ID in storage, since she would have to pay with her ount.

    Nestra checked the map again. That part of the district was empty.

    Maybe it would be fine.¡°Well, nothing to it.¡±

    Nestra¡¯s car sat waiting for her in the underground garage. She¡¯d bought it second hand from a taxipany renewing their fleet. It was dark gray and unassuming which was all she needed, really. When she packed her gear in the back, she realized it was the first time she would go out to do anything truly wild. It was weird. She¡¯d stuck to the rules for so long, not least because she was under scrutiny as an odd case. Going out like that felt liberating in a way that gave her vertigo.

    ¡°I¡¯m not even doing anything illegal. I have the right to carry all of this with me. I need to calm down.¡±

    The pep talk didn¡¯t work very well.

    Nestra drove the car herself. A quick journey on the outer ring highway led her to a deserted offramp. Old traffic lights spread a bleary pale blue light on cracked tar. Some of the bulbs had died, not to be reced. She drove past old warehouses and rent-a-space storages. The only light came from security booths and a single delivery pizzeria.

    The rental spaces gave Nestra an idea. She could always rent one to use as a¡­ transition spot. Ugh, this wasn¡¯t even technically illegal but she still felt terribly guilty. Here she was, joining the ranks of the illuminaughty.

    She stopped in an empty parking lot in front of a shuttered mattresspany. No wonder since the mattress market was firmly cornered by BaiHua. No cameras there, at least. She grabbed herrge bag containing everything and went for a walk.

    The bag was heavy as hell.

    Maxsec armor wasn¡¯t designed to be carried on the back. By the time she¡¯d crossed the lot, Nestra was already sweating under her hoodie. The coordinates led her past a deserted street into an empty factory. The gate stood open, the chain broken. There was an arrow on the ground drawn in fluorescent paint. She stopped.

    She was expected.

    Nestra walked into a deserted lot. She spotted the spherical shapes of cameras near the roof. All of them were busted. Her perception picked up when she approached a breach in a nearby wall. She felt it before she could see it.

    A portal.

    In the middle of an empty building, it waited for her. It was a tiny one, the blue of its surface dim, the flow of manaing to her pathetically weak. It was the sort of portals guilds would be paid to clear instead of having to purchase them. And even then, they would send a pair of D-ss raiders as a punishment detail.

    It was still the most beautiful thing Nestra had ever seen.

    She shed her mask without thinking. Immediately, the night cleared and the bag on her back was not so heavy anymore. She took a deep breath of dusty air. Being near the portal was just so deeply pleasant. And now she had this one just for herself. It felt great. With a sigh, she opened the bag and retrieved her armor, changing in record time but leaving the visor interface off. She strapped her sword to her back. The revolver had no bullets and taking the gun felt¡­ wrong. Her ammo was category one as well, just in mundane. She left everything there.

    There was only one thing left to do.

    She hoped it would work.

    Nestra ced her hand against the surface of the portal and felt a resistance. It was the first time she touched one. Even as a child back at the estate, children were kept well away from portals for security reasons. Her mom had described the sensation in detail. It was like being sucked into a cold bath, apparently, a slightly unpleasant sensation Nestra braced against. Instead, there was the smallest amount of resistance and then she pushed in through the membrane.

    She was in.

    Excitement rose in her chest. She was in. She was in! Only users could enter portals! And she could! That meant¡­ well, not much since she clearly wasn¡¯t a vani human. But still! A childhood wish, finally fulfilled after so many years. A stronger mana concentration made her breathe deeper. The portal world! It was¡­ It was¡­

    Well, it was a little bit underwhelming.

    Nestra sighed. She was being silly again. This was a tiny portal, so obviously to a tiny world. A rocky tunnel extended in front of her before veering sharply to the left. There were no sources of light. The mana also didn¡¯t feel particrly good.

    The sense of wonder she¡¯d felt earlier evaporated. She¡¯d waited for this for so long that, in truth, she¡¯d given up on it. And now that she finally had it, it just didn''t feel the same. Like a trophy delivered a year after apetition. The pleasure was gone as surely as the expectation.

    She felt a little hollow but that didn¡¯tst long.

    ¡°Right. This is just the beginning.¡±

    And it was. Memories returned from all the sses she¡¯d taken before she was sixteen, all the training she¡¯d undergone back at the manor when she was heir apparent and dear brother Ulysses was still cking off. This was the lowest ss of portals in an underground biome, the mostmon. That meant either giant ants or mycoids. There were no spores, so, giant ants. Really a shit portal.

    Nestra shook her head. She was lucky. This was perfect for getting started, and giant ants could still be dangerous, hence why D-ss always went in pairs. She unsheathed her de and made a few experimental low cuts, a technique that allowed for effective downward thrusts. Her body remembered the movements despite not having practiced those specific cuts for a long time. The tunnel would be too narrow for anything else anyways.

    The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the vition.

    She should grab a knife as well. Better luck next time.

    Right, she was ready.

    Nestra moved forward, then turned with the tunnel. It smelled mustier now and she could hear grating sounds overhead as the tunnel snaked deeper in. She crept and turned until she came across a slightlyrger cavern.

    Three giant ants dug despondently, their backs turned to her. Giant ants were thin and a bit human-like in their silhouette but their heads were what one would expectplete with a powerful mandible that could cleave rock, though those specific specimens were struggling. Their brown bodies easily melted into the background. Nestra recognized drones because theycked any sort of ting. She felt giddy.

    That was it.

    She rushed forward and lunged low, catching the first worker at the base of the neck. It let out a sharp hiss as it died and the other two reacted immediately. One stood up and turned just in time for Nestra¡¯s side strike to cut it in two. She barely felt resistance from the thin chitin. She braced for thest one¡¯s charge, her downward attack crushing its back. It died against herbat boots.

    Nestra walked to the wounded beast, delivering the coup de grace as it moved away, trailing thin intestines.

    Silence returned to the grotto. The entire fight hadsted less than three seconds.

    She¡¯d won. Handily. And she felt better. She had hunted and she had triumphed, and although the prey was weak, it was also¡­ new. A pristine entry to her list of victims. She felt just a little bit better. Something changed as well. If she focused, she could hear more digging sounds from up ahead across the cave¡¯s only exit.

    She kept going.

    The giant ants were probably weakened by theck of mana. Portal monsters were usually stronger than those found in the wild, the offspring of the first portal break escapees. This was clearly not the case here. They were too sluggish, as confirmed when she turned again and found more drones trying to dig a side tunnel. Two worked while one rested.

    Nestra charged forward just as the resting one became more alert. Shecked space to swing her sword properly. She killed the first as it moved and the second in another lunge as it moved. The third locked its jaw on her de and pushed, but she knew what to do. Giant ants were tremendously strong but also quite light so she turned on herself and mmed the creature against the nearest wall. Before it could recover, her handle strike cracked its skull, causing it to fall. She delivered thest strike while it was temporarily stunned.

    Once again, the battle was over before it could begin and once again, she felt just a little bit more aware. There was something else though, something she wasn¡¯t sure about. She cleaned her de of the ichor and turned around, eager to find more prey. Giant ants body parts held no value so she didn¡¯t consider harvesting anything.

    What they were digging for, however¡­

    Nestra carefully picked up her prize from where the creatures were excavating. It was cracked and transparent, the lowest possible quality, only good enough to be crushed and used as fuel¡­ and she didn¡¯t care.

    It was a mana stone.

    Her first treasure.

    ¡°Hell yes. Loot.¡±

    She picked it up and inspected it. The mana was there, at the tip of her finger, ready to be withdrawn. She had killed her first monsters and she¡¯d stolen her first resources.

    Amazing.

    Just had to keep going.

    Nestra moved on. This world was as basic as they came, pretty much a linear path to the end. In moreplex worlds, raiders took supplies with them including food and automatic map-makers. Some biomes could get sorge, it took powerful users like Aunt ire a week to clear, if they survived. She would be more prepared for the next opportunity.

    Nestra cleared another group, this one of four drones at the center of a cavern. Thest one managed to pinch her leg but the MaxSec armor resisted well enough. She was on her knee, inspecting the light damage when a noise alerted her.

    Nestra turned and blocked in the same motion, sword raised in front of her. Heavy mandibles nged against the de. She saw an armored head, more powerful limbs. Dark, insectile eyes. The creature wasrger with a thicker shell. She immediately pressed the button.

    Powerful current shook the warrior¡¯s body. Something hissed and popped in its thorax and it fell back, meaning she got a full view of the second warrior charging her. No time to wind up an attack. It was time to use mana.

    She pulled a thread from her body and pushed it into the sword, the mana tool easily epting it. Gray, alien energy coursed along the edge. crackling as it went. The warrior¡¯s mandible mmed against her weapon in its urge to clip her neck. The de slid into the warrior¡¯s skull before she was even attacking.

    With a roar, Nestra struck down. The de sliced through the warrior¡¯s entire body like a knife through butter. Heavy limbs convulsed, barbed tips raking her armor without prating. It fell, dead. She turned and struck the first warrior just in case but the beast was in, cooked alive by electricity.

    Nestra breathed hard. Using mana took a lot of stamina.

    ¡°Now that¡¯s more like it.¡±

    Her voice rang hollow in the surrounding silence. She was talking aloud because she was¡­ scared and alone. That was fine but she still ought to stop.

    The warriors left her feeling marginally stronger but it was so weak, she might have been mistaken. She checked around for more mana crystals but found nothing. She did, however, find two recesses in the ceiling, sleeping spaces used by warriors to conserve energy. Normally, those would be in the central chamber but apparently not this time. Had to be more careful in the future.

    Nestra kept going,ing across a couple more groups of drones who fell as easily as the first. Some light ahead warned her that she was approaching the end of the portal world. She moved up as quietly as she could, leaning against the wall to take a look around the corner.

    There, in arge central chamber, arge creature waited. The insectile being wasrger than Nestra and stood upright over a bulbous, fluorescent yellow sack. It faced the entrance with attention. Nestra recognized it as an acid ant.

    Technically, the acid ant was not abat member of a hive. They used their acid to smooth surfaces. That would make no difference to her skin.

    Worse, it was actively expecting her.

    She did her best to remember. Acid ants used pressurized nds, she remembered. They didn¡¯t have great control over them and it took a long time for the nds to refill. Maybe she could bait out an attack.

    She strode out, staying near the entrance. The acid ant attacked the moment it spotted her. It reared back and opened its mandibles wide. Nestra stepped back into cover.

    A long, slimy string of transparent liquid sshed on the wall in front of her, as well as the ground, and pretty much everything in sight. The stench was atrocious.

    The spray weakened quickly. She jumped over a puddle and out of cover and charged ahead.

    Thankfully, the acid ant was alone. Her first strike was stopped by a limb, which was fine. She used her sword¡¯s battery again and the creature jumped back, twitching. She pursued, attacking with narrow, fast swings. It was taller than her. She blocked quick strikes from its upper limbs. The strength pushed her back despite her effort. Meanwhile, the creature¡¯s throat pumped noisily. She had a limited amount of time.

    It was too strong for her, and just fast enough to fend her off. Nestra pulled more mana and shoved it into the de. With a desperate cry, she pulled back and struck with a powerful overhand strike.

    The sword cut through a limb and almost severed another. It finished lodged in the creature¡¯s shoulder, digging a deep furrow. It screamed. Acid spilled from the open mouth, sshing over the ant. A few dropletsnded on Nestra¡¯s armor. The beast convulsed and dislodged Nestra¡¯s grip.

    The acid ant fell, crashing heavily. The two middle limbs managed to grab her boots. Nestra was disarmed. Out of options, she pped her hand against the creature¡¯s face then pushed all the mana she could.

    Gray, crackling energy coursed through the ant¡¯s skull. An eye popped. The limbs retracted and she was free. She crawled away, exhausted.

    She felt the ant die. It still twitched a few times but she knew it was gone. A deep feeling of satisfaction filled her body like a warm embrace. Things were not quite right but they were certainly better. It felt fulfilling, like a cold void fading away. Nestra let out a deep sigh.

    Then she hurried to recover her sword and washed it. The ant was melting under the influence of its own acid and she didn¡¯t want her precious sword to suffer the same fate. Thankfully, the de was intact. She wiped it just in case.

    Behind her, a portal opened.

    ¡°Right. Okay. Good.¡±

    Things were good.

    She¡¯d cleared a world.

    Nestra stood up, satisfied for now. The acid nds could probably be sold for something but she had no tools to harvest them and, if she had to be honest, no buyer. The sales of portal prizes was as heavily regted as portal ownership. No drab like herself could just show up and offer monster parts without some serious questioning. Not unless she found a ck market. Hmm. There was an idea.

    More importantly, she¡¯d cleared a portal world.

    Like users did.

    Ok so she wasn¡¯t a gleam, clearly. They were sucked in by portals while she pushed through. They got stronger by slowly absorbing mana, including the mana of creatures who died around them while, as far as she understood, she stole power from the entities she killed. And there was the whole demon thing. Nevertheless! Nevertheless, she was kind of like a user. No, users could manipte mana. She was more than that. She was a raider like her parents and Aunt ire and her brother Ulysses and some of the asshats who thought she was out of line for breathing in their general direction. That changed¡­ everything.

    All of those years, she¡¯d been a victim defending her dignity and her little strip of self-esteem with the knowledge that it was the best she could ever achieve. That was over. Provided she could progress like raiders did, the heights of power were no longer closed off to her. She could be strong, as strong as her family. Maybe as strong as Shinran, given time.

    Maybe as strong as Riel.

    All that it would take would be to follow the crumbs left by the one who sent her message. Do that, and she could progress. Nestra didn''t forget that power was only a means to an end, and fortunately, she had an easy end in sight.

    The fuckers who¡¯d almost killed her and gotten her allies killed so callously, the guys who thought themselves out of reach, having spent pawns to take other pawns so their n could move forward, they were at the top of her shit list. Oh, she wouldn¡¯t fix Threshold and certainly not mankind in general, but those assholes? She would get them. They would pay for the rest. And who knows, with enough time, she could spread that lesson around.

    She smiled.

    Yes, that sounded like a good prospect. Get stronger for the sake of her growth and for the sake of justice.

    Ok, enough distractions. Nestra moved to the exit portal. The shaky nature of this exit portal proved that this was a temporary world that would break away soon after she removed the final treasure, here a simple mana crystal of the lowest grade waiting on the ground. She picked it up. The blue light of the portals gave it a strange tone and if she looked closely, ephemeral rainbows danced over its surface. For a moment, Nestra enjoyed the pleasurable sensation of basking in the portal¡¯s radiance, then it was time to leave.

    No one was really sure what happened when a portal world untethered, or what happened to the unfortunate people left behind. She wasn¡¯t eager to find out so she pressed her hand against the membrane and pushed. It offered little resistance.

    And she was back on earth.

 2.3

    2.3

    ¡°Shit.¡±

    The portal winked out behind Nestra as she took her de out. Someone had been there. She looked around the empty factory. No one in sight. No sounds. Only her panicked breaths.

    Near her bag, someone had ced a small chair with a rudimentary screen. A camera aimed at the portal entrance now only showed her. She approached the screen, curious.

    The screen was glitching hard. It only showed panicked lozenges and streams of light where she was supposed to be, as if her very existence could not be captured. For a moment. she watched the kaleidoscope of strange shapes before cing her mask back on. As expected, her human face showed normally.

    That could be useful.

    There was another envelope on the chair. She opened it.

    <em>¡°Well done! Quest reward: grew a little stronger. </em>

    <em>Next quest: grow even stronger!</em>

    <em>Bring your gun.¡±</em>Another set of coordinates followed. Nestra could guess where this was going and she didn¡¯t mind, although she hoped she would get more answers. The little game was getting tiring. She wasn¡¯t six.

    ¡°Hey, any chance you could show up?¡±

    No response.

    ¡°Come on. I know you¡¯re out there somewhere. Can we just have a chat like responsible adults? I¡­ I want to know what I am. And you must know what I am. Please? I want to know if I¡¯m not alone.¡±

    Silence.

    ¡°No? Ugh. Nevermind then.¡±

    Nestra sighed and packed up. Her suit of armor was a little damaged and would need patching up where the acid had touched the outeryers. Otherwise, everything seemed fine. She had a look at the two mana stones. It was a good haul for a first assault. The worst ones went for six hundred credits and the other was D-ss so probably around two grands depending on supply and demand. That was the lowest end for D-ss portals. Most made ten to fifteen but she wouldn''tin. Now, she only needed to find a way to sell them as she had no use for them herself, at least not now. Mana stones were a fantastically efficient source of clean energy, not to mention only they could charge up advanced mana tools. It would be of no use to her so long as she couldn¡¯t afford even the most basic of items.

    Nestra considered taking the screen with her but she reasoned that the person helping her probably wanted it back. With her mask in ce, she just walked back to her car, fully aware that the bag felt just a little lighter on her shoulders.

    Nestra checked her phone before she drove away. There was a message from Mazingwe of all people.

    <em>¡°Nestra. It pains me that you would note to see me before leaving. I acknowledge that the circumstances were difficult, however I believe we need not part on such a tragic note. In fact, we need not part at all if you need a GP. Come and see me sometimes. On another note, I received an unofficial answer as to why your request to be near portals was consistently refused. Although they do produce mana, portals also emit powerful radiation of an unknown nature called, forck of a better word, zeta radiation. Prolonged exposure kills baselines more surely than gamma rays do. Even users are advised not to linger. I would rmend pursuing alternate ways of satisfying your mana cravings.</em><em></em>

    <em></em>

    <em>Yours in friendship.</em>

    <em>Dr Mazingwe.¡±</em>

    ¡°Huh.¡±

    ***

    Nestra was dreaming.

    The core chamber stood as empty as before but she knew there were two spots to check. Her steps first led her to the rotatingoid room, the small spheres hovering over the deep blue puddle. Two others had activated though they remained fairly weak. The first tasted of strength, of domination. It was the push of a hand, the grab of a cor, breaking free, crushing. The second was taste, smell, a movement at the edge of one¡¯s vision. It spoke of attention and careful listening. It spoke of vignce. She liked both but they were still budding. Weak.

    Her steps next led her to the armor corridor. A new shield had activated, this one made of ss covered in a translucent substance she recognized as acid. It had the right smell.

    She closed her eyes, satisfied with her progress.

    ***

    Electricity arced between Nestra¡¯s fingers. It was gray and ominous, seemingly absorbing the surrounding light. Then, she put on her mask and tried again. She could feel the mana react and pushed harder, getting a single arc that tickled her index. She waved her hand around out of habit.

    Needed to try something else.

    She wasn¡¯t stupid enough to test what she guessed was poison resistance. There was, however, the armor, and she knew what it implied.

    Nestra moved downstairs to a kitchen to grab the chef knife. It was a nice knife. It was alsopletely unneeded since she had a cooking robot like most people but she still did like to try new recipes on her own. It was sharp. Very sharp. She ced the tip against the skin of her arm and pushed gently. Pearling blood stopped her. It¡­ didn¡¯t feel different.

    She tore off her mask and tried again. Her gray skin resisted though there was a little pain. She pushed harder.

    The de bent.

    She stopped immediately. Chef knives were expensive.

    ¡°Ok. Ok. That¡¯s good.¡±

    Her armor protected her for now but natural resilience was definitely what made raiders survive the incredible amounts of punishment monsters could dish out. Interestingly, there was no wound when she put the mask back on. Her scars were still there.

    Idly, Nestra wondered what would happen if she just stayed like that for ten years. Would her human self be increasingly older while the gray version stayed the same? Idle thoughts for now. Maybe her mysterious benefactor would have better answers.

    She was stalling.

    With a sigh, Nestra picked up her visor and found Gorge¡¯s contact information. No matter how she looked at it, he was her best bet.

    The fact he knew her presented a major security risk. Ideally, she would find a buyer anonymously then use a dead drop. The problem was that she didn¡¯t know of a way to find them safely. The was filled with bait websites set up by TPD¡¯s AIs for suckers trying to dodge taxes thinking they were smart. If Nestra got caught trying to sell mana stones, a fine would be the least of her worries.

    Gorge was safer. He was a known entity. He was an absolute rabid asshole but he was an asshole with a code, of that she was sure. It would have to be enough.

    Sighing, she called him. It took maybe four rings for him to pick up.

    ¡°Are you butt dialing me now, Padian?¡±

    This narrative has been uwfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

    ¡°Hope I¡¯m not disturbing your beauty sleep. Look, I got two things to ask. First, can I get bullets for your revolver?¡±

    ¡°Sure. Four hundred a pop.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re fucking joking,¡± she blurted.

    ¡°Nope.¡±

    ¡°The fuck is it made with? Crushed mana stones?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    Nestra swallowed her saliva.

    ¡°You¡¯re not joking.¡±

    ¡°Look, there is a reason I got through corpo-gradebat augs. Those bullets? They¡¯re hand crafted with enchanted material. You want some? You pay the price but I assure you, they¡¯ll pierce through anything.¡±

    ¡°Anything?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t try them on high gleams, you psycho bitch. You won¡¯t even get to pull the trigger. Tell you what, buy the fullplement of four and I¡¯ll shave off a hundred. Fifteen hundred. A bargain.¡±

    ¡°Yeah thanks, that''s just half of my monthly sry.¡±

    ¡°Safety has its price.¡±

    ¡°And uh, another question. Do you¡­ also buy stuff? Like¡­ raw material?¡±

    Nestra could hear Gorge breathing on the other side as she bit her lip. Riel, that was so fucking awkward. She really wasn¡¯t cut for the mafia life.

    ¡°Youing to the service?¡± Gorge finally asked.

    ¡°Yeah.¡±

    ¡°See you there, then.¡±

    Right. That was clear enough. Nestra sighed and went to dress herself. The weather was nice today, with early summer warmth. Meeting Kim meant she had to dress the part. A strategic choice had to be made between a long dark top over jeans which was pretty much the female cop uniform, or a more civilian choice. It was a mask over her mask, which was funny in a weird sort of way. She decided to pick the civilian one because she had a nice dress gifted by Aunt ire, some low gleam designer stuff. That would set her on an equal social footing with Kim while the cop persona ced her in the same hierarchy, though much lower. No matter what, she needed makeup.

    Thus armed, and after taking her funeral suit with her, she was ready to go.

    ***

    Kim was already there when Nestra showed up. The ce she¡¯d selected was a Sichuan food restaurant, a weird one a little off grid and that forwent advertisement. Dark limos dropped suits on and off as she went in, their eyes following her in her light blue dress. A waiter guided her to a decorated private room. Kim stood up when she arrived, an unexpected show of respect. Contrary to Nestra¡¯s expectations, Kim wore an embroidered gold dress and sunsses, looking more like an affluent businesswoman on her day off than a rat squad mook. She even nodded at Nestra¡¯s garments.

    ¡°Good. Your mind is more flexible than I feared. This is a good pick.¡±

    ¡°Good day. So, shall I call you Kim sunbae?¡±

    ¡°And to you too. Just Kim will do when we¡¯re in private. Sunbae is fine in any other setting. I appreciate you making the effort, by the way. Your file let me believe that our current meeting might be more¡­ adversarial. Please,e and sit.¡±

    A robot dropped two bowls of rice and a variety of reddish dishes, including grilled bullfrog legs in pepper that emitted a small trace of mana.

    ¡°Monster meat?¡± Nestra asked.

    ¡°Surprised? This is a government restaurant. Sometimes, we get scraps off of the gleams¡¯ tables. It also gives us some privacy, which we will need. Eat while it¡¯s hot.¡±

    ¡°Right to business?¡±

    Kim didn¡¯t immediately reply. Instead, she picked a small dark square from a fancy handbag, cing it on her napkin. Nestra obliged and tried the monster dish. It tasted¡­ fine. Pretty good. Not exactly filling.

    Her thoughts wandered while Kim¡¯s eyes zed over, a sign she was interfacing with something. Her true teeth were ck and serrated which implied a carnivorous diet¡­ but she¡¯d never eaten something without her mask and didn¡¯t feel particrly hungry. Just, never truly sated. Perhaps she ought to figure out what her diet was.

    Please don¡¯t let it be anthropophagy.

    ¡°Right. We are set. This is a jammer, just as a precaution. I will not use small talk because, let me be frank, your psychological profile shows it would be a waste of time.¡±

    ¡°Well,¡± Nestra replied, somewhat miffed, ¡°I can appreciate it as a show of respect.¡±

    ¡°But you would be wary of me buttering you up.¡±

    Kim sustained Nestra¡¯s re.

    ¡°What did the profile tell you besides that?¡±

    ¡°That you are an opinionated, persistent woman with strong principles and an instinctive distrust of those who have social power over you. That you have low interpersonal rtionship skills due to emotional detachment leading to low cognitive empathy. You are, however, not cruel or mocking and you show respect to others provided they return it. Based off that, I am willing to be perfectly honest with you and I expect the same in return.¡±

    ¡°Most people who say they¡¯re ¡®perfectly frank¡¯ use that cover to justify being assholes.¡±

    ¡°I did not drag you here to be an asshole to you. That would be woefully unproductive.¡±

    ¡°Riel. Thanks. I¡¯m relieved.¡±

    ¡°I dragged you here because someone, or a group of someones, have fucked the TPD and the mayor¡¯s office so incredibly hard the council voted unanimously to go after them. As one of the aforementioned fucked people, you may have an interest in seeing that justice be done.¡±

    ¡°What? Ok, you¡¯re sending conflicting messages here. Someone from your office told me to shut the fuck up in my incident report.¡±

    ¡°The Internal Affairs¡¯ first response has been and will always be to cover their own asses, especially when it exhibits the purple bruise of someone else¡¯s boot. That doesn¡¯t mean that we are happy about the whole situation.¡±

    ¡°Not going to bow to the corpo overlords?¡±

    ¡°Hrious, Miss Padian. Contrary to what you seem to expect, we do our best to live in harmony with the various corporations and the guilds that form symbiotic rtions with them, for the good of all mankind.¡±

    ¡°Uhu?¡±

    Kim smiled in the way a teacher would smile when dealing with a very slow child whose imbecility was slowing down the ss. Not that Nestra was sore or anything.

    ¡°We need to give strong incentives to powerful raiders so they keep clearing portals instead of carving kingdoms like African warlords. That implies a certain amount of leeway, like the ability to carve a corporate kingdom so they can y kings without the city turning into a fucking warzone. Does that make sense, Miss Padian?¡±

    ¡°Consider me schooled. Why are you telling me that?¡±

    ¡°I am telling you this because someone went and kicked the bullet ant hill. Now we have to retaliate or everyone else will get ¡®ideas¡¯ and we don¡¯t want to bother Shinran with disciplining duties.¡±

    Nestra frowned while Kim helped herself to some tea.

    ¡°I thought Shinran was a healer?¡±

    ¡°Shinran is A-ss. It doesn¡¯t matter what he was originally. Any A-ss raider can and will take on a guild single-handedly. And you don¡¯t want to bother him.¡±

    Nestra remembered Shinran the one time they¡¯d met. He was a bald Japanese man with strange, light blue eyes, and a pleasant smile. She didn¡¯t figure him to be a violent person at all. He¡¯d been very calm and empathetic when he¡¯d told Nestra she was just as intended without a core. He was so kind she¡¯d even felt a little better.

    ¡°You. Do. Not. Want. To. Bother. Shinran.¡±

    ¡°Alright. So. Retaliation?¡±

    ¡°You are wondering where youe in.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what I implied, yes.¡±

    ¡°Have some tea. I was getting to it since it also answers one of your previous questions. The initiative to regain control of district fifteen will fall to Gidung and Hong Wang¡¯s guild but while they are suited to fighting gleams and gangers, they are unwilling or unable to police baselines, especially baseline on baseline crime. For this, TPD will send newly formed groups of criminal investigators who will work in pairs. I am formally inviting you in.¡±

    ¡°What? Me?¡±

    ¡°Yes, you. I have a perfect partner in mind for you. Someone with a lot of experience but whose physical abilities have decreased over the years. Obviously, Gidung, sorry, I meant to say, whoever spent over fifty million credits in unmarked augs and weapons will want to control thend and the narrative. Your purpose will be to keep an ear to the ground and get me leads.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Did you say fifty MILLION?¡±

    Kim raised a hand. She took a bite of rice and bullfrog before continuing.

    ¡°Yes and no. Most of the corpo-grade equipment we found was low-end and defective or obsolete in many ways. Set for recement, probably. It was still worth a fair bit. It must also have cost resources to erase all traces of origin, including in the softwares.¡±

    ¡°They were a little sluggish for augs,¡± Nestra agreed.

    ¡°And we are lucky it was the case. I didn¡¯t want to do small talk because I did not wish to build a rapport before giving you the opportunity to fling that offer back into my face.¡±

    ¡°Riel. Is the file that judgemental?¡±

    ¡°No but my professional background leads me to always expect the worst.¡±

    Nestra watched Kim, trying to gauge the woman as she took dainty bites of the dishes around them. Kim was not an enigma. Threshold was like one of the world cities of old, before the integration. It attracted the most talented scions of the fortress cities of the maind like moths to the me. Overachievers flocked to the banner, turning the mightiest raidersmunity in the world into a powerhouse of bureaucratic efficacy. There was a reason Nestra could live alone and safely, getting enough money for a bnced diet, fun, and a retirement n. Threshold was a beacon of civilization in a torn world. The cradle of mankind¡¯s future. Top achievers like Kim were both a dime a dozen and the best possible candidates at the top of the civil hierarchy, at least when it came to the municipality and some corps. Guilds were another can of worms.

    So the conclusion was obvious. Kim was serious in her offer because she believed the cost of helping Nestra was worth the investment. She believed it enough to possibly put her future on the line because this was probably the hottest project of the year and if Kim fucked it up, she would finish her career managing school bus schedules.

    That¡¯s what Nestra got from the situation.

    ¡°What do you expect me to achieve on the ground? I¡¯m not trained as a detective. I¡¯ve never even set foot in district fifteen except for that operation.¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. Just by being present and reporting, you are creating an environment where Gidung doesn¡¯t have full control. You might pick up a thing or two as well while you¡¯re there. Wait, let me rephrase. I expect your partner to pick those details, and I expect you to watch his back while he does so, because let¡¯s face it, you do not have the negotiation skills required for the job.¡±

    ¡°So I¡¯m what, a bodyguard?¡±

    ¡°A partner, please. Shinoda is, well, let¡¯s just say his life expectancy will be fairly short without assistance.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s stopping the hostiles from just putting a high caliber round between my eyes?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯ve already won, Padian. They don¡¯t want to start another game just quite yet. They need to make money from security contracts, and that¡¯s hard to do if you kill your employers¡¯ agents. Of course, they¡¯ll probably try to intimidate you. You¡¯ll probably be attacked by low criminals as well. That¡¯s why you will be cleared for your whole gear, including your sword. Also, we will provide you with a, what was the term?¡±

    ¡°A ¡®oh shit¡¯ button?¡±

    ¡°Precisely. We will have users on standby to assist you. Go there, be visible. That¡¯s all we ask.¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t the ce a death trap?¡±

    ¡°You were not in the hottest zone so it is difficult to express the bloodbath this operation turned into. The gangers were decimated. I am not exaggerating. We estimate that at least two in three died during the battle. The locals will see order return and they will be scared. I expect attempts on your lives but nothing systematic.¡±

    ¡°So it will be dangerous.¡±

    ¡°And that is why I requested you specifically. You have carte nche on what sort of weapons you want to keep you safe. Just watch out for coteral damage.¡±

    ¡°Well¡­¡±

    Nestra considered the question.

    It was a risky job but, to be honest, she needed a cover. If she kept going around at night without an obvious source of ie, maybe that would ce her on a list. If she was a detective, however¡­ They always kept weird hours.

    Not to mention, she could learn a lot about who got her teammates killed. Who bought off Bard.

    ¡°Ok, I¡¯m tempted. When would I start?¡±

    ¡°Next week for training, a bit longer before you actually go to fifteen. You keep the same sry. Consider this¡­ hazard pay.¡±

    ¡°Fair enough.¡±

    ¡°And Padian, don¡¯t tell anyone about this meeting.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, of course.¡±

    It looked like there was another path for justice, one that used the city¡¯s resources. Nestra didn¡¯t mind at all since her demon self had no way to find out exactly who was responsible. Afterward, well, she would see.

 2.4

    2.4

    <em>¡°Libera me domine, de morte aeterna¡­¡±</em>

    There were seven coffins in total, set between the chairs and the pulpit in full view of the bereaved families. Seven officers dead during the attack and who would be mourned together. Bard¡¯s coffin was conspicuously absent, though if anyone else noticed, Nestra didn¡¯t know. She just let herself be carried by the nice music and the solemnity of it all. No one expected anything from her here beyond grim resolve. She was only supposed to be here for the others. It felt right to do so. They had been herrades in arms. This was proper.

    Nestra had never been to a Christian burial service before so she stole a nce at the church¡¯s stained ss windows. They¡¯d gone for sober and pseudo-ancient, understandable considering this sub-continent did not even exist sixty years before. Monotheist faiths had survived the incursion, surfing on a tidal wave of apocalyptic ims. They¡¯d just never really taken root here.

    The song finished and the audience sat down. Camus sighed by her side, then winced. Both he and Gorge sat in wheelchairs, present against every possible doctor rmendation. Nestra expected no less from those hardasses.

    She went with the flow of the ceremony.

    ***

    ¡°Finally done, aye?¡±

    Gorge was waiting by her car in a gravel parking lot off the main road. He had a frowning young man with him. The family resemnce was striking though MacMin junior still had his hair on.

    ¡°What can I say? It was probably important.¡±¡°Probably important?¡± Gorge said, then he shook his head in disapproval.

    ¡°Rufus. Give us a minute, will you?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t take too long, Pa. You know what the doctors said.¡±

    ¡°I know. I know. Please?¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    Junior left them for a nearby van. It was the shittiest vehicle she¡¯did her eyes on. It was so old and rugged, she wouldn¡¯t be surprised if it ran on gas.

    ¡°Nestra, there¡¯s something wrong with you.¡±

    ¡°Look who¡¯s talking.¡±

    ¡°Not a barb. You¡¯re cold. You don¡¯t get loss, you don¡¯t really fit in. Hell, you don¡¯t even try.¡±

    ¡°Are you going to refer me to a therapist?¡±

    ¡°Fuck no. Just wanted to say, you¡¯re a freak but you got a code and you got a spine. So that¡¯s good enough for me to do biz with you. Just don¡¯t make me regret it, alright?¡±

    He seemed nervous, Nestra could tell. Shifty. She wondered¡­

    Nestra¡¯s eyes tracked the van. The van that looked like it could be used to transport things off the radar. The van where his son was.

    A family operation?

    ¡°Don¡¯t go there, Padian. You stay off my biz and I do the same. That way, the first who gets caught can¡¯t say anything about the other except for the fact they do business. That¡¯s the difference between a hefty fine and a long stay in a corpo ck site. Got it?¡±

    ¡°Got it. We don¡¯t know anything about each other.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Let¡¯s keep it this way. Now, what do you got for me?¡±

    Nestra had to walk back to her car where the mana crystals were hidden. Gorge didn¡¯t seem to mind the dy.

    ¡°At least you¡¯re a little cautious. Not that it would have helped. Gleams can smell those things like fucking blood hounds. Anyways.¡±

    He picked the two crystals, inspecting them solemnly. Nestra got the distinct impression this wasn¡¯t his first stint.

    ¡°Four hundred for the cracked one. One point five for the full one.¡±

    ¡°What the fuck? D-ss crystals go for two grand at any auctioneer!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s before the tax so really they go for one point six. There¡¯s also our cut. So no, I¡¯m not shafting you. And I¡¯m giving you a great price on the cracked one.¡±

    ¡°Fuck.¡±

    There went her dreams of an early retirement.

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    ¡°You want bullets?¡±

    ¡°Yes, four.¡±

    ¡°What else do you need?¡±

    ¡°I need a way to have my house not record myings and goings. I also need a device that warns me of the presence of cameras, a vehicle without a GPS tracker, a harvesting kit, a price list for monster parts, portal world MREs, and possibly armor recement parts.¡±

    Gorge¡¯s expression fell off the longer she talked.

    ¡°Holy shit, Padian. I. Wow. You don¡¯t do things halfway, I¡¯ll just say that. Ok, look. For your house, just change your security console¡¯s privacy settings. Wellington will delete the footage within the hour and it can¡¯t be retrieved.¡±

    ¡°You sure?¡±

    ¡°They were subpoenaed for records and gave a nk page so yeah, I¡¯m sure. For the MREs, don¡¯t bother. Normal bars do fine until B-ss worlds. I don¡¯t suppose you or, hypothetically, any gleam you might be working with would be working at this level. Don¡¯tment on that. I¡¯ll have the price list, harvesting kit, and the sniffer ready before tonight. The wheels will take longer. Oh, and that¡¯s seven grand for those. The list is free, obviously.¡±

    Nestra sighed. She had twenty-five in the bank for a rainy day so she could afford it, thanks to not having to pay a real rent. Still stung a little.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be like that. We¡¯re all getting a nice bonus for being, ya know, left to die.¡±

    ¡°Easy to say when it¡¯s not your money. Fine. Transfer?¡±

    ¡°Fuck no, you leave the credits in a chit. Five point one if you leave the crystals with me. I¡¯ll collect the chit during delivery. For the armor, it¡¯s better if you just leave it with me and I¡¯ll return it patched up, charge you ording to the damage.¡±

    ¡°Fine.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re ying a dangerous game, Padian.¡±

    ¡°So are you.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, because I¡¯m helping you. Alright. Got to go. I¡¯ll get you a burner so we can continue our discussions, free of charge.¡±

    Nestra dropped the two crystals in Gorge¡¯s extended palm. He pocketed them with haste, then he was off to his weird van.

    Nestra really, really hoped she wasn¡¯t making a mistake. Maybe her mysterious benefactor had ns for her loot and she could just stockpile it but she had no way to know so¡­ might as well just get resources now before the portals increased in difficulty, as she was pretty sure they would.

    This was the path of a raider.

    Kill, get stronger, train, get better, pige, get richer. The riches were reinvested in better equipment in a never-ending race to a summit that never got closer. Perhaps she wasn¡¯t a user but she was, most definitely, a raider.

    That was probably her best option.

    Nestra drove home and crashed down during nightfall, waking up again fresh and restored around midnight.

    ¡°I suppose this is my new sleeping schedule then.¡±

    It was a matter of minutes to find the specific setting that wouldn¡¯t save the recording of her home. She was warned several times that it would invalidate her insurance in case of burry but she reasoned that, if anyone found the footage, the glitched image of her moving around would probably lead to more questions. After a few moments, she found a way to do the same with her car provided she didn¡¯t use the integrated map. A ring at the door distracted her just as she was getting ready to leave. It was a delivery drone. Gorge hade through.

    Nestra opened the delivery box inside of her home. The first find was a leather bag rolled on itself. Opened, it unfolded to show a nightmarish collection of silvery tools. There were cutting implements, breaking implements, skinning implements, stic bags, vials¡­ It was the harvesting kit she¡¯d requested. It looked like the cheapest entry-level set and that was sufficient for her needs. She didn¡¯t expect to face anything more than dokaebi-ss monsters with the asional low D-ss monster like the acid ant for now. No need for more.

    There were also four bullets in a neat casing.

    The next find was a data chit she slotted in her visor with some apprehension. Slotting data chits of unknown origin was the best way to find one¡¯s bank ounts suddenly drained. Fortunately, nothing happened. It contained a single file named ¡®Monster price list v5.3¡¯. She opened it.

    ¡°Property of the White Banner guild. Authorized personnel only. If you are not¡ª¡±

    This made Nestra giddy. Her first corpo crime! The first municipal crime had been entering a portal without dering it. How exciting.

    The database was splendidly made. She could search by monster name, by part, by affinity¡­ There were even small tutorials on how to properly harvest the stuff. It was pretty good. On a hunch, she kept it in the visor¡¯s offline storage, then downloaded a database of monsters from the city¡¯s website. Those were free ess to allow civilians to give urate reports in case of portal break provided they survived long enough to make a coherent call.

    The next item was a small ck box with an antenna and a LED. It looked like some retro tech from decades ago, cobbled together from post-incursion salvage.

    Thest item in the box rang soon after. Nestra picked up the burner phone.

    ¡°Yes?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s me,¡± aputer-modified voice said. ¡°Don¡¯t use names.¡±

    ¡°Is my voice modified as well?¡±

    ¡°Yes. One more precaution. Now listen. The device I gave you has two functions. The first will blink if it¡¯s aimed at a camera hooked to the local bluetooth. It won¡¯t work with a wired one.¡±

    ¡°People still use those?¡±

    ¡°Corpos do because they¡¯re harder to mess with. The second button will jam the camera. Very hard on the battery so use sparingly. Any questions?¡±

    ¡°Not at the moment.¡±

    ¡°Then cough up the dough. I¡¯ll call you back when I have a vehicle.¡±

    Nestra sighed and went for a chit containing five thousand one hundred credits, almost two months of sry for her. It was an investment, she had to tell herself. Then, it was time to visit the coordinates.

    Just likest time, she used a manual map but this time, she drove without GPS which was a confusing and slightly moreplicated affair, if only because she¡¯d never done it before. She also set her visor to offline mode. She got lost twice on the way and had to read the street names like she was a twentieth century driver. Ridiculous. Finally, she arrived at a small parking lot in a deserted spot at the back of a warehouse, near a canal.

    Nestra frowned as she parked the car. She could feel it, very faintly. The mana of a portal. It came from the canal itself.

    She changed inside, tore her mask, then skulked out. A quick inspection with her new gizmo revealed cameras aimed at the back doors but nothing surveying the parking itself. Besides a few dumpsters and empty pallets, it was empty anyway. She shouldered her bag and then she was off.

    Canals were rare. Threshold¡¯s water system was fully isted from the outside world for obvious reasons. It took only a small egg floating downstream and three monthster, you had armies of pallid, bloated fishmen stealing poodles off the street. Threshold only employed canals when the underground couldn¡¯t be used for one reason or another, such was the case now. She found arge circr tunnel as expected. It was open, the barred door yawning invitingly.

    For a moment, Nestra took in her surroundings. A deep breath carried the scent of fresh water with a floral undertone. Long stalks decorated the shore in disheveled clumps. A few lilies floated where the solid formed recesses. It was, perhaps, one of the wildest ces in a hyper-controlled environment, a throwback to the days when a lone stroll outside didn¡¯t mean certain death for an unarmed baseline. Nearby lights cast selfish cones in the darkness that appeared as sshes of color to her night sight. She looked up, hoping to see stars. The light pollution reminded her of where she was.

    Right.

    Nestra walked to the entrance and peered inside. The ck box remained quiet, the exnation obvious. A mostly dry tunnel continued on for hundreds of meters before angling to the sides. Near the entrance, a maintenance door stood open under a smashed camera, and next to that camera was a portal.

    This one wasrge enough to upy most of the space, though it still wasn¡¯t much. The unusual sight was that of a sanitation employee in a jumpsuit next to a disabled drone. He sat listless against the wall.

    Nestra hesitated.

    Thew said she had to report the portal. That was fine, she didn¡¯t care anymore. Thew and ethics said she should assist the guy since he was obviously in distress. That woulde with its own list of troubles. She could call the emergency services with her burner; she just knew it was a terrible idea.

    The man blinked.

    Nestra sighed. It was probably ok. Just in case, she checked for a pulse and found a normal one.

    There was a chance he would wake up but¡­

    It felt sacrilegious to decamp now. There was the portal, there, in front of her, inviting her in with the sweet caress of mana, or zeta rays, she supposed. She licked her lips. Had to do it.

    Nestra took her rifle, holstered the revolver, then hid the rest near the entrance. Had to do it now. She ced her hand against the surface and pushed in. Just likest time, the portal bent to her will.

    She was in.

 2.5

    2.5

    As before, mana was stronger inside. What didn¡¯t change was the humidity of the air. Nestra looked around.

    A mangrove biome.

    Under a heavy cobalt sky, the portal world extended in front of her in a dry snake path between mangrove trees. White lightning sometimes shed silently in the distance. She looked up to rolling waves marked by pinpoint dots of light. The forest extended on a kilometers wide strip while to her left, ake extended until it merged and faded with the horizon. A deep fog covered thend to her right, masking it from sight.

    She knew it was much smaller than it appeared on an intellectual level. Walking to the edges of the world, one would soon be stopped by a space anomaly that simply prevented people from advancing, no matter how fast they could fly, and yet the sensation of infinity grasped at Nestra¡¯s mind like a inebriating dream. This was a new world, another bound by different rules. It had long since finished drinking in the mana to trascend itself.

    She frowned. Where did that thoughte from? There were theories but they were just those, theories. No one knew why or how the incursion happened.

    Right, mangroves.

    Unfortunately, she knew what it meant.

    Nestra made absolutely sure her armor set was airtight, double-checking indicators for a third time. She also pulled the monsterpendium to cross reference ¡®mangrove¡¯ and ¡®D-ss¡¯. Sometimes, new creatures made their appearance. It paid to be prepared. Not this time though, and with ast sigh, she set her rifle to burst fire and left.

    Nestra¡¯s boots sunk in the mud. A part of her wanted to remove the armor to feel the wet, warm soil between her toes. Not worth it. Thend around her was mostly quiet except for a distant rush and the calls of unknown creatures. It would notst. Large insects with strange, circr bodies flew in shes of ephemeral lights. The trees themselves were gnarled and bulbous, though not grotesquely so. Their trunk split into many limbs as they touched the water while heavy branches provided a thick cover. Growing fruits hung heavy, their white flesh turning green and red at the tip. It was spring here as well.Soon, the path narrowed as the water on the sides of the path grew more shallow. Green reeds jutted from there in small bouquets. She paid close attention to those though it proved to be redundant. She perceived the ambush long before it could close on her.

    The first hint was a change in the mana, a denser, different tone to the usual background. Reeds on either side of the path were yellow, the top shredded. Her night vision picked up unusual shapes clinging to the trees. She studied them as she slowed down.

    Thick hair covered the creature¡¯s squarish head, dropping down their naked back in thick rows stered with mud and leaves. Short, thick humanoid limbs gripped the wood with great strength. She knew they had two fingers plus a thumb and a remarkable grip power that let them spend their days in trees, jumping from branch to branch without effort. It could also snap the spine of a baseline in an instant. They were manaprimates habilis arboricole, technically called mana monkeys. Another dokkaebi-ss threat. Of course, there were several of them.

    Nestra whipped out her rifle andnded three bullets at the base of a nearby dead reed. The water sshed, carrying dark red ichor. The reed surfaced as it proved to be nothing but a rudimentary snorkel. She shot another burst before the other reeds erupted into more monkeys. Backpedalling, she lined the creatures as they charged her.

    Mana monkeys were ugly as sin. Bulging eyes and a t nose apanied a mouth sorge it split their face in two, revealing misshapen rows of uneven teeth. They charged with shrill screams. They died with shrill screams. Nestra ducked in anticipation of darts but one still stuck her side, failing to prate. A fourth monkey died. Thest one charged her from a farther point atop of a lizard creature with shimmering scales. A party leader. She lined her shot and missed when a dart hit her hand.

    Split second decision moment.

    Nestra swore and grabbed her de. As the lizard jumped, she lunged, coating her de with mana at thest moment. Her horizontal sweep went through the creature from side to side. Its rider jumped on her.

    ¡°Oof!¡±

    They used their momentum to swing on her back but she was ready. Her hand touched the leg on her shoulder just as two hands mped on her neck. She called upon electric mana.

    The monkey spasmed and fell. Nestra turned on herself and, in one smooth motion, cut down with a cry. The powerful strike fell like thunder.

    She missed the head. Her sword cut an arm and part of a leg which was enough to debilitate the monkey. She finished it off a momentter then picked her gun off the ground. The blow dart monkeys had figured out her armor was too thick so they were swimming across the water to get at her.

    For a moment, she watched them cross. The water made the mud slide off their bluish skin. Their faces were turned into rictus of pure hatred, eyes bloodshot and fangs bared. Nestra lined the shot, then reconsidered. It didn¡¯t feel right. She unsheathed her sword again instead.

    nting her feet on the ground, she received the first monkey with a windmill, a two-handed strike that formed a half-circle from behind her knee to the air in front of her. Each windmill caught the monkeys in the chest as they rose from the brackish waters, sending their tiny bodies flying with sprays of blood. As thest one died, she was left alone on the field.

    Another victory.

    First thing first, make sure she was safe. Fortunately, D-ss worlds were fairly straightforward and the enemies, though cunning, would just fight until death. Next was checking for wounds and her gear. She swore when she saw that her rifle was covered in mud. It took her a minute but soon, the firearm was reloaded and the de cleaned of blood.

    The next step would be looting but first, there were the strange gains she got from her victim. This time, the change was more subtle. It took tracking the insects moving around to confirm it.

    She could think faster.

    That was one of the things that stumped biologists the most. Mana could elerate thought. The effect was mild but it was there, and it meant whatever rules defined her progress considered that this was a good battle. The mana monkeys were a new foe so that condition was fulfilled, the question was the use of guns.

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    She¡¯d used guns against gangers back in fifteen and it hadn¡¯t worked. She knew it hadn¡¯t worked, because it was killing the rogue user that had triggered her awakening. Was it because they were augs? Or because they were not users? Maybe¡­ but she didn¡¯t think so. Shooting them felt wrong at that time. Impersonal. It was not a battle she chose and the same was true for them because, even more than her, they¡¯d been victims of a power y. Shooting the mana monkeys here was a true contest. One she¡¯d picked. It was her battle, after all.

    Nestra dropped her backpack and reached for the skinning tool.

    Of course, those were all conjectures based on her feelings. What mattered was that she was now getting stronger.

    Mana monkeys held no valuable parts, or rather, they had been thoroughly researched over the years and now held little interest. The lizard skin was used in some midrange gleam clothes and bags though even Nestra thought it was tacky. She removed it, damaging the limbs a little despite the guide. She¡¯d need some practice. The skin went into a special pouch while she kept the tail meat in another since, apparently, it was considered a delicacy. It did smell tempting which was a little concerning on its own. A pleasant scent emanated from the raw, juicy piece of meat over the muddy background of the bog. She knew it would taste amazing once properly prepared.

    Once she was done, it was time to move.

    The next ambush happened ten minutester. It was patheticpared to the first with only five monkeys, two of which died before the rest realized she had spotted them underwater. She benefitted again from an improvement but, clearly, the benefits were diminishing. She needed fresh prey. A third ambush went very much like the other two.

    Slowly, the path became muddier and more difficult to traverse in her heavy suit of armor. Trails in the water hinted at the presence of some fauna, though they didn¡¯t engage. The path eventually led to a clearing surrounded on all sides by mangrove trees. A single altar rested in the middle, its nks slimy with marshy growths. A pair of mana crystals rested there.

    Nestra made her way to the suspicious tree standing next to the altar, one that emitted a little mana. Her hand rested on the handle of Gorge¡¯s revolver, its weight clear even through her glove.

    No, that wouldn¡¯t be right.

    But this would be.

    Nestra lifted her rifle, flicked the indicator to full auto and emptied the entire magazine into the trunk in a thunderous disy. The gun bucked in her hands, her improved strength the only reason she could keep control. She smiled as the creature moved towards her. Manacanthecae Enttus Minor. A mangrove ent, named after some old legend. A branch whipped and she unsheathed her de, cutting as the limb whistled over her head.

    The power behind the strike was enormous. The de was almost torn from her hand but she managed to regain control at thest moment. Cursing, she jumped over another strike. Slowly, the creature was making its way towards her. A multitude of leg-like roots crawled over the ground.

    Nestra wished she was a firespark. A firespark would have roasted the creature in two minutes. Instead, she cut with power as the next, predictable strike aimed at her midriff. It cut the branch neatly.

    The cut part still mmed into her chest, making her lose her bnce. She jumped over another strike. The next one fell short now that one of the two branches was damaged. In answer, a bulbous extension rotated on the trunk with a sickly groan and a new branch appeared from the back, ready to strike. This one went up, then down.

    Nestra easily sidestepped, then she ran to the back of the tree. The water barely slowed her down. She felt too giddy. Another strike aimed at her midriff but it came from the shortened branch. She stopped behind the main trunk while all three branches were on the opposite side. The legs were still a concern so she lunged and nted the de deep into the tree¡¯s bark.

    Nothing much happened beyond some more groaning.

    She pressed the button. There was some steam, some more groaning, and nothing else. Hard to say if she was actually doing something. Just then, the branches traveled over the surface of the trunk towards her.

    Sticking close, Nestra smirked as she ran around her slow opponent. The ent was strong and against a formation, they could be a problem but she was alone and quick on her feet. Even a sudden gap in the clearing¡¯s mud failed to make her fall. It was, she realized, where the tree had been nted.

    She circled the ent and hacked at each branch in turn until they were nothing but kindling. A gap in the trunk where the bullets hadnded bled sap, so she stabbed there and waited.

    The heavy, glistening liquid fell in great goops until, finally, the ent copsed.

    Nestra felt it die. Shortly after, she felt¡­ more solid somehow while a portal opened near the altar. She saluted the fallen and immediately felt silly about it. That wiped the smile off her face. Right. This was a low D-ss monster and it was not sentient. She would save the theatrics forrger targets.

    She collected as much of the sap as she could in vials, then hacked for fifteen minutes to reveal the ent¡¯s heart wood. Heart wood was a single, pale, pear-shaped mass at the center of an ent. Intact, it could be used to make mana instruments. This one would be a low end tool but that meant there would be buyers. She managed to cut a piece of the trunk that definitely contained what she wanted and left it at that, unwilling to endanger her prize.

    A good haul.

    Nestra passed through the opening, walking over the supine form of the sanitation staff who was now sleeping on his side, head resting over a folded jumpsuit. He was snoring softly. A box waited by his side with ¡®For little Nezhra¡¯ written on it in that sharp, weird script. She opened it. The box contained a message and a book, and by book, she was being generous.

    <em>¡°Little Nezhra!</em>

    <em>I hope you are having fun. Congrattions on getting stronger! As a reward, I have remembered something that will be of use to you: the first movement of the Stalk of the Scornful Crescent! Enjoy. Next coordinates below, tomorrow. Make sure you keep your mana close and coated.</em>

    <em>Until next time!¡±</em>

    So¡­ infuriating! Whoever wrote that treated her like she was a little girl, not an adult in her twenties. Well, it was fun and they were helping but still! She wanted more, like knowing what the fuck she was and possibly also finding out if she had people like her, someone who could rte? Anyone?

    ¡°I wish you¡¯d juste out and talk it out!¡±

    No reply.

    ¡°I know you¡¯re here somewhere!¡±

    Still no reply.

    ¡°I¡­ I just want someone to tell me what I am. I don¡¯t want to be alone anymore. It¡¯s so tiring,¡± she continued, voice lowering to a whisper.

    ¡°Just someone to show me where I belong. It¡¯s fine if it¡¯s just one person. Like you, whoever you are. That would be fine. Just one person exining to me what the fuck is going on. It¡¯s not much, is it?¡±

    The sanitation employee started to snore. There would be no answer here, at least not tonight. And no kero nuts to dull the pain. Nestra grumbled and checked the book since it was supposed to be some prize.

    It was clearly not a real book. It was a notebook bought from vintage paper millpany, she even recognized the logo from a past fad when it had be fashionable to send letters again. It did look well handled, its back a little wrinkled. Come to think of it, all her prizes were wrinkled.

    She opened the first page.

    A demon woman, advancing under a storm over a basaltndscape pitted by impacts. Great stone shapes animated by blue energy reached for her but she cut them away with contempt. Her movements were slowpared to the haphazard assault of the stone beings. She cut them down with efficient, merciless strikes. Each of her cuts was perfection given form, just enough damage to take down the creature at just the right depth with just enough strength before she struck again, not a single instant wasted. Every attack was countered as it wound up. She was overwhelming them with a fraction of the movements they performed without really trying. Nestra knew the woman could go faster. She just elected not to.

    There was no need.

    The demon woman continued into the storm at a sedate pace until the torrential rains obscured her shape, leaving behind shattered remains. She¡ª

    Nestra mmed the book close.

    Holy Riel that was some strong stuff. Her memory searched the image of the de master and found diagrams, examples, exercises. It was the beginning of a book. Interestingly, most techniques integrated what she already knew, what her father had taught her on the fencing piste back when she¡¯d still hoped¡­

    Nestra¡¯s mood plummeted. Whatever. She grabbed the book and made for her car with the heavy bag on her back reminding her that her little excursion ended with a sess. The trip home was annoying but, eventually, she made it back safely.

    She decided to have the lizard right away because hunger gnawed at her. She prepared it herself with a guide she found on the, all of the tail which was in theory enough to feed six. Despite that, she still felt like it wasn¡¯t¡­ the best food despite the pleasant taste and the rejuvenating feeling it left on her after she was done. Not what her teeth were meant to bite. She really hoped it wouldn¡¯t be people. Riel, she really did.

    She eyed her fork.

    She bit her fork.

    Note to self, forks do not taste good. At least it was another item off the list of the things her teeth were designed to eat.

    At around 5 AM, she crashed hard and went to sleep.

    ***

    A new sphere was active when Nestra entered the next grotto. This one spoke of games of wit, of fast memory. Cards and tricks. A stranger removing something from a holster. A door opening onto the maw of a gun. It returned to rotate among the others when she released it. She felt there was more to it but she was still weak, extremely weak. She would have to wait.

    The armor and shield room was clearly a resistance room. She was sure of it now. Next to the armor, a new form was now active. It looked a bit like a metal skeleton and represented her internal fortitude. Or at least she thought so. It was hard to tell without punching herself in the gut.

    So now she could, apparently, resist physical attacks, acid, and electricity better. For the electricity, her resistance to her own spells was proof of that. For the others, she couldn¡¯t bepletely sure.

    She wondered what would happen next.

 2.6

    2.6

    Nestra had the rest of the tail for breakfast ¡ª it was pretty good! The teeth experiment made her want to test exactly how much she could bite so, still in her pajamas, she searched her garage for an errant piece of metal. There was a shelf part she couldn¡¯t use so she grabbed it then bit it.

    Her teeth sank in the metal with ease. At least the first centimeter.

    ¡°Mffrngl!¡±

    She was stuck.

    ¡°Pfffuck.¡±

    It took a little bit of shaking but eventually, she was free. The shelf part still bore an imprint, each tooth leaving a neat furrow.

    ¡°Ok, note to self, sharp teeth does not equate jaw strength.¡±

    Thus chastened, she finished her routine, then she realized she had little left to do until Officer Kim contacted her to start her new job. There was always the book of the Scornful Crescent she wanted to try and, after stretching, she read more. There was some meditation involved as well as slow motions to start off, which was all good, but then training asked for footwork and she realized she just didn¡¯t have enough space. A quick showerter and she made a decision.

    It was time to build air. A sort of airlock between mundane everyday Nestra and the toothy one. Her own personal Nestracave where she could also train and receive suspicious packages without nosy neighbors wondering why those were unmarked. Biting the bullet, she spent an hour applying for and being approved for a storage space. She picked one in district thirteen which had the benefit of being between her dorm district, twenty-three, and fifteen where she would apparently be working. It was really cheap at six hundred a month for a respectable warehouse, unsurprisingly, since thirteen was kind of a dump. The only caveat was that she could not conduct a business out of it.That was fine by her.

    Nestra drove to her new possession, using a security chit delivered by drone to ess an old automated facility. The only person she came across was a bored security vigil ying games on his visor. The warehouse was over a hundred and fifty square meters on the first floor and there was an elevator to carry heavy stuff. It suited her needs perfectly.

    Next, she called Gorge.

    ¡°What do you got for me?¡± the modified voice said.

    ¡°Two D-ss crystals, a damaged iridescent monitor skin, and a grove ent heart wood.¡±

    ¡°Hmmmm.¡±

    Nestra waited while Gorge conversed with someone. She couldn¡¯t pick up what was said despite her slightly increased senses because the phone just didn¡¯t pick it up correctly. A shame. She was feeling curious.

    ¡°Send me a picture of the heart wood. And the skin.¡±

    Nestra did so quickly.

    ¡°Alright. Looks like you went the smart way. I¡¯ll give you four point five for the heart and three for the crystals. The skin I don¡¯t know. I can probably sell it as scraps to gleam art students. Care to leave it with me?¡±

    ¡°Guess I¡¯ll trust you. I also need my armor set repaired.¡±

    ¡°Show the damage.¡±

    Another set of pictures followed. Mostly, it was acid ant spit and a few shes.

    ¡°Listen to me. Look. Okay, first things first, I got a question.¡±

    Something in Gorge¡¯s tone set rm bells in Nestra¡¯s mind.

    ¡°It¡¯s you getting those materials. Thought you were working with a gleam but it¡¯s you. And an ent is serious business. Tell me it¡¯s recent. Tell me you couldn¡¯t save my men.¡±

    So that was what it was all about.

    ¡°I swear on Riel¡¯s name, I did the best I could. I didn¡¯t hold back.¡±

    ¡°Ok. Alright. I believe you, you cold bitch.¡±

    ¡°Stop that. Stop throwing it in my face every time you get mad.¡±

    ¡°Alright. Fine. My bad, didn¡¯t mean it that way. Fine. Looks like an easy patch up job. On the house. As an apology for¡­ ya know.¡±

    ¡°You being you.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t push it.¡±

    ¡°Wait, there is something else. I need the goods delivered to a new address. Here it is.¡±

    ¡°Fine then. I¡¯ll do it. Oh, and I found you wheels that let you go to wherever you go with some room for loot. Real cheap too. Eight grand, second hand but cleaned up and all good.¡±

    ¡°Ug. Fine.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll have it delivered to you soon as well as the five hundred I owe you. For the monitor skin, payment when I find buyers. Now fuck off and get me more goodies.¡±

    ¡°Yeah yeah.¡±

    Nestra hung up. She ordered training equipment online, as well as a freezer just in case. On a hunch, she got a couch and a few other items to make herirfortable. The TPD settlement money had arrived. Gorge¡¯s delivery arrived shortly after in the form of his son dumping her stuff from the back of his small van. He took the armor set from her unresponsive hands as she watched in horror the ¡®wheels¡¯ Gorge had gotten her.

    It was a cruiser motorcycle with arge storage space at the back. Without an integrated GPS, it could not drive itself nor legally climb the ramp to the outer circle highway. Only a specific part of Threshold¡¯s poption used those and the Filipino diaspora had lovingly coined them putasiklos.

    Whore bikes.

    It was both genius on Gorge¡¯s part and such a Gorge thing to do. The perfect cover for a fit woman to drive around at night without question. If she got pulled over by colleagues, they would immediately assume she was out to meet a ¡®customer¡¯ unless they checked her ID, then they would assume she was a vice nt, having recently be ced ¡®on leave¡¯. She fit the profile too.

    ¡°That malignant son of a gravid trash spider. I¡¯ll¡­. UGH.¡±

    She had to admit it was perfect.

    Escort business was tolerated in Threshold, the bordellos heavily regted to prevent pimps from abusing mainders who wanted to move to the city. But the ¡®frencers¡¯ were mostly left to their own devices. Sighing, Nestra moved everything in.

    ¡°We¡¯ll get you the armor sent back drone. Here?¡±

    ¡°Here, before tonight.¡±

    ¡°Can do.¡±

    Nestra checked her visor when a priority ping told her she¡¯d received a message she¡¯d been waiting for. It was just an address and an hour but she already knew she would be there without fail.

    ***

    The Secret Door was a peculiarity in Threshold¡¯s culinary scene. Owned by a gleam, it was one of the only ces where a baseline could sit down and order without getting thrown out on their asses, in theory. In reality, the mall it hosted had security at the door and the auged bouncers would throw anyone who didn¡¯t fit out on their asses. Thankfully, Nestra wore her best designer gleam dress which ced her at the top of the drab hierarchy. They let her through without problems. She soon sat at ire¡¯s favorite spot, on the side and next to a small aquarium.

    The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    By her side, a small garden flourished under an enchanted skylight. A red-eyed gleam saw then dismissed her in the same nce. She was fashion-coded to fit in, after all. That didn¡¯t stop a younger gleam from observing her curiously from a few tables away.

    As the minutes went by, her tension mounted.

    Her instincts finally cried in rm. She looked right, towards the garden. It was of course at the same moment that a hand gripped her left shoulder.

    ¡°Nyarg!¡±

    ¡°ACAB!¡± a voice roared, ¡°ACAAAAAAB. Hahahaha.¡±

    ¡°Riel dammit Aunt ire. Really? Every time?¡±

    ¡°Well you could quit being a pig.¡±

    ¡°Ugh.¡±

    Despite her words, Aunt ire squeezed Nestra¡¯s hand in a way that conveyed love and care without words. Nestra¡¯s aunt looked the same age as her, a perk of being a powerful B-ss raider, some of Threshold¡¯s best. Motes of light danced in her amber eyes while her light brown hair escaped messily from arge-brim hat. She wore a sleeveless sundress that revealed bandages running all over right arm as well as a significant amount of scars on every patch of bare skin. There were ways to remove those and Aunt ire could definitely afford them. She just didn¡¯t give a shit.

    ¡°Damn, did you shake hands with a woodchipper?¡±

    ¡°Ha ha. Nah. me breath from some wyrm thing. Damn creature could cover their own neck, if you can believe it. Anyways! We did it. We cleared the portal.¡±

    ¡°Was Ulysses with you?¡±

    ¡°Nah, only the old guard, top tier Bs and the likes. Too risky otherwise. We worked with the Century guild. It was your father¡¯s decision.¡±

    ire frowned. Nestra knew the two of them only tolerated each other because of Nestra¡¯s mother. Hector Padian was a man who believed in a well-ordered world while ire screamed all cops are bastards in nice restaurants and had a criminal record as long as her leg, mostly for beating the shit out of people. The two mixed like gasoline and an open me.

    ¡°I¡¯m just d you¡¯re alright. Wanna talk about it?¡±

    ¡°Nah it¡¯s all good. It worked surprisingly well, actually. Barring the minor burns. I got a better question. How are you doing? I heard about the, well, the District Fifteen fiasco. You seem to be holding up but¡­¡±

    ¡°Yeah¡­¡±

    That was a good moment to rant.

    Over the next twenty minutes, Nestra recounted all that happened except for the demon part. ire followed along with a focused, passionate expression. The table shook a little when Nestra ryed that some spooks had advised her to keep her mouth shut.

    ¡°Those fuckers.¡±

    ¡°Hold on. I¡¯m not done.¡±

    Nestra finished with Kim¡¯s proposal. So far, Aunt ire had shown nothing but concern and sympathy. This all changed when Nestra admitted she would ept the offer.

    Silence grew between them, a loaded one filled with churning words. Nestra could tell her loving, ever-supporting aunt had major qualms and was currently in the process of articting them in a way that wouldn¡¯t hurt her. Dread rose in Nestra¡¯s chest though it was tempered by the certainty that ire loved her, and she was building up to a nice rebuttal because she cared not just about Nestra¡¯s decisions but her feelings as well. ire was nice, like that.

    ¡°Look. You know I always scream ACAB as a joke when we meet and I¡¯ll be the first to admit that some pieces of shit need the hand of justice. How that hand works and when it works is where I¡¯ve got a problem. I¡¯ve never had issues with you being part of MaxSec. You guys aren¡¯t sent, well, weren¡¯t sent against protesters or pickpockets, you know? You were sent to take down dangerous folks and dokkaebis so¡­ that¡¯s fine by me. But now you¡¯re going to be sent as a, what, enhanced beat cop?¡±

    ¡°Not clear yet but yes, we¡¯re supposed to investigate crimes.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re going to strut around a region that¡¯s been outside of the protection of thew for weeks, months maybe. The city wasn¡¯t there when the civvies needed it. Fuck, sometimes I wish I could clone myself. Anyway, you¡¯re going to be moving around traumatized, betrayed people in a state of deep poverty. All while corpo cunts fly around the block as their new overlords. You¡¯re gonna need a skill you weren¡¯t trained to use and that skill is de-esction.¡±

    ¡°I can do diplomacy.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not what de-esction is. I¡¯m talking about a specific set of techniques used to calm things down before a situation leads to violence. You. Are. Not. Trained. And you¡¯ll be deployed without being trained. I¡¯m sorry Nestra. You¡¯re apetent soldier who¡¯s faced life and death situations on many, many asions. You¡¯re still alive because you were faster. Sadly, faster will get people killed. If you¡¯re with civvies, that¡¯s a bad thing.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll be paired up with an experienced officer.¡±

    ¡°Will you only ever shoot if he tells you to?¡± ire challenged.

    Nestra only saw patient concern in the woman¡¯s expression. And sadness.

    ¡°Ok. How about¡­ I get non-lethal weapons?¡±

    ¡°Those are often less lethal weapons.¡±

    Nestra nodded.

    ¡°I think I can find a way. I¡¯ll apply for online training and let my new partner do the talking. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not here to purge the district, alright?¡±

    ¡°Yes, of course. I know. Look, this won¡¯t be a powder keg. It will be a hundred powder kegs, several per day. You won¡¯t have the emotional stamina to handle them.¡±

    ¡°I told you, I¡¯ll let the other guy do the talking. His name is Shinoda. He¡¯s supposed to be an experienced guy at the end of his career.¡±

    ¡°Alright, alright. Your mind is set, and I can tell you¡¯re taking this seriously. That¡¯s okay. Just¡­ I don¡¯t want you to get the wrong expectations. Fuck, wish I could keep an eye on you for a while but the guild won¡¯t allow it.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. As you say, I need to prepare more seriously.¡±

    ¡°Good. That¡¯s all I can ask. Oh, and by the way, how are the mana cravings?¡±

    That was it.

    Nestra¡¯s tension spiked and ire blinked because of course she would pick up on it. It said a lot about the older woman that she patiently waited for Nestra to talk instead of pressing her.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t wanna discuss¡­¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s not that. The cravings are, well, they¡¯re mostly gone.¡±

    Nestra scrutinized Aunt ire with all the fibers of her human self. That was it, the moment of truth. The opening that could lead to revtions if Aunt ire knew something.

    And there was nothing. Mostly, the woman frowned.

    ¡°Huh. Well then yes that¡¯s, uh, great news, I think? You don¡¯t seem too happy.¡±

    ¡°It strikes me as rather sudden.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I see what you mean. Did you talk to Mazingwe?¡±

    ¡°No, not yet.¡±

    ¡°You really really should. Just keep in mind, it could be just fine. Us gleams are not as perfect and monolithic as we appear, except me of course. Sorry, poor timing for a joke. What I mean is, some people arete bloomers. They need something to click. Happens all the time, especially around your age. Well-trained raiders linger at the bottom of D-ss and then suddenly they unlock their affinities and skyrocket through the ranks. Just don¡¯t worry about it too much.¡±

    ¡°Still haven¡¯t got a core though.¡±

    ¡°Sorry dearie, I can¡¯t help with that.¡±

    ¡°I know.¡±

    ¡°Hey at least you have a heart. And me. You have me.¡±

    ¡°I know. Thank you.¡±

    ¡°Can you call me Clecle like when you were all small and cute?¡±

    ¡°No.¡±

    Nestra finally focused on the food in front of her, served at some point during her retelling of the ambush. It was a nice sd with some enve vegetables which she ravenously finished, hungering for more.

    ¡°Your appetite isn¡¯t gone at least.¡±

    ¡°Yes. Been feeling peckishtely.¡±

    Nestra waited to see if Aunt ire would react, say something. Anything. Even though she knew ire was a high B-ss, one who defied the rules of reality. If there was something her aunt truly meant to hide from her, Nestra would never learn of it.

    That¡¯s just how it was.

    ¡°Well that¡¯s a really good sign. Maybe you¡¯ll get taller than me! Until I finish infusing my body, that is. Then I¡¯ll make sure I¡¯m slightly taller than your dad just because.¡±

    ¡°When will you stop pissing each other off?¡±

    ¡°When he removes the titanium bar stuck up his ass.¡±

    They kept going at it for a while. Aunt ire had news about everyone, as usual. Nestra¡¯s mom was training to start raiding again though she and Nestra¡¯s dad disagreed on whether she should do it or not. Her brother Ulysses was doing amazingly well with a blossoming metal affinity while young Helena was being an absolute hellion, almost getting expelled from prep school due to disciplinary issues. Even ire showed concern about her restraint which was saying a lot.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know about her. I was angry against patriarchy when I was her age but she¡¯s just angry about everything, including herself. Just a little ball of nerves. And her affinity¡­¡±

    ¡°What about it?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ well it¡¯s still being discovered but it appears to be extremely rare¡­ and rather destructive. Can you talk to her at some point? Please?¡±

    ¡°ire, she was seven when I left. Now I¡¯m a self-exiled loser with no friends and no hobbies. Why the fuck would she want to talk to me?¡±

    ¡°She thinks we¡¯ve abandoned you.¡±

    Nestra waited to see if ire would exin herself because she was lost.

    ¡°Ok, the family did when they let you go and cut ties, kind of. She also thinks you¡¯ve abandoned her. She¡­ really looked up to you, you know?¡±

    ¡°Yeah and then I went on and became the single biggest failure in the history of gleams by essentially failing to be one.¡±

    ¡°Nestra¡­¡±

    ¡°Look, I admit I¡¯m still sore about it but that¡¯s not the point here. The point is she¡¯s sixteen and when I was her age, let¡¯s just say who you hang out with and how cool you can get was¡­ rather important. I¡¯m not saying she¡¯s exactly the same. I¡¯m saying that trying to get the rebellious teen to get closer to the living reminder that gleams might not be better from birth after all might not be the best solution.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not like that. She¡¯s not like that. Look, she needs help and we¡¯re all burnt in her eyes. She barely trusts me because I sided with her mom once. Debbie is¡­ well, you know your mother. She¡¯s trying. It would just be nice if you tried as well. We¡¯ll have a party at the manor to celebrate our recent victories as well as Ulysses¡¯ ascension to B-rank. Could you please attend?¡±

    For the first time in forever, Nestra look into ire¡¯s congenial face and felt annoyed.

    ¡°You want to get me toe during a party? Are you insane?¡±

    ¡°It will be symbolic. Helena always says that we¡¯re hiding you, which pisses her off the most. I know your parents will want that. And Ulysses will have his friends. He won¡¯t care. Please?¡±

    ¡°This is a recipe for disaster.¡±

    ¡°I just want us to be a family,¡± ire said in a clipped, slightly vulnerable tone. ¡°We gleams are spending more and more time in portal worlds for¡­ reasons. Maybe it¡¯s, well, maybe we won¡¯t have that many chances to spend time together as time goes on. Helena is growing fast, Nestra. And not in the right direction. Please? For me?¡±

    Nestra considered the question for a moment.

    The problem was that she couldn¡¯t refuse Aunt ire. Not the way she looked, all hopeful and candid despite the fact she was much older than she looked and should know fucking better. Not after everything ire had done for her. Nestra had to say yes. She wouldn¡¯t be able to face herself otherwise.

    ¡°Ok fine. It¡¯s your funeral if things go to shit.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, dear. By the way, you polished that sd well. Do you need something more?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d love what the people behind us is having.¡±

    ¡°The terrine? Of course.¡±

    Nestra demolished another te and the dessert as well since Aunt ire was picking the bill. The raider watched Nestra eat with a smirk before announcing that she had ater appointment with a certain gentleman at the Tree of Seasons.

    ¡°You¡¯re going to a hotel?¡±

    ¡°What can I say, I was invited to a nice setting.¡±

    ¡°You would rather engage in lewd activities than spend more time with your niece?¡± Nestra mockined.

    ¡°Without a single second of hesitation.¡±

    Nestra left soon afterward. On her way back, she couldn¡¯t help but think back on one of the things she¡¯d said. It came out naturally, but she had never really thought about it before.

    She had no friends and no hobbies.

    She looked outside of her car. Before her change, all her free time had been spent on training, sleeping, and distracting herself on popr shows. If she had to be honest, she¡¯d been waiting to die. Now though, things were different. Maybe she should try living again.

    First order of business, she sent a message to Stib from her seat as her car sped up behind some corpo convoy. Second, she ordered some stuff for delivery.

    If there was one hobby that was worth investing in right now, that was home cooking given how much food she was eating, Probably a perk of her weird constitution. She was salivating at the thought.

 2.7

    2.7

    Later that night, she used her new system to drive to the announced location without a hitch. This time, the portal was hidden in a public park in district twenty-two, closed at night. Nestra had to infiltrate the ce via the expedient means of climbing over a fence. The camera detector proved useful by identifying the only camera around which pointed at the entrance, a fortunate side effect of being at the periphery. A sensation of relief announced the presence of a portal, then she followed her instincts until she found the familiar blue radiance tucked inside what looked like an abandoned enclosure. It was closed to the public, possibly why it was still undetected.

    Or was it?

    Whoever directed her to these portals probably had a way to disable humans peacefully, like the janitor had been, but there were also no government employees around and those were the first toe once a portal had been dered. That meant that they were able to find portals that were hidden, matched the difficulty she could handle, and were dozens of kilometers apart from each other. That would require an ability to perceive portals that no humans could possess, at least to her knowledge. Between this and the book, it indicated what she¡¯d suspected.

    She wasn¡¯t alone. There were others like her. At least one.

    ¡°You sure you don¡¯t want to show up?¡± she asked the empty concrete. ¡°I know you¡¯re watching me.¡±

    Silence was the only answer.

    ¡°Oh fine.¡±

    Nestra pushed her way through the portal.

    ***Another cavern. Scintiting blue light shone from crystals dotting the ceiling, giving enough light that she could see the soft silvery note of the sheer rock. This ce was deep, wet, and pure with a pleasant smell thatplimented the richer mana. The only sound was the chime of falling condensation. Nestra readjusted her armor which felt a little tight.

    ¡°Hmmm.¡±

    This biome was not immediately familiar. She pulled the database and found some references. Possibly stone creatures or mushrooms. Wasn¡¯t she still a little bit green for that? Obviously the portals were gaining in strength though they were still at the lower end of the D-ss. Whatever. Her benefactor wouldn¡¯t send her here to die. Probably.

    She set out, quickly arriving in arge cavern. Rather well lit. Stctites hung from a high ceiling, and an instantter she found out where all that light wasing from: jellyfishes. Child-sized jellyfishes floating in the air with four tendrils dancing under a bulbous head. The first one drifted in her direction. An azure streak of lightning danced between its tentacles as they seemed to taste the air. She unsheathed her de and waited.

    This was a perfect opportunity to test the Stalk of the Scornful Crescent the book contained. There was something in the style that resonated with Nestra, not a series of movements but a philosophy ofbat she thought might suit her. The issue was that it required experience and she didn¡¯t have much against monsters so¡­ this was a good opportunity to start.

    The jellyfish seemed to blur as it was only a dozen paces away. Nestra darted to the side as it was moving, dodging a grasping tendril. Her counter batted the limb away but failed to cut. Her target was simply too resilient and the limb, too light. She was not coating it in mana either as the effort was still too tiring. That was fine. Move in reaction. Never stand and wait. Always counter, always dominate and never give your opponent a moment of peace. That was the goal of the Scornful Crescent. For that, she needed to improve.

    The jellyfish struck forward with two tendrils. She dodged left, then right under a back swing. She could see the tentacles, the way they wound up, the way the suckers at the end contracted ever so slightly before each strike. The jellyfish pushed her back and she let it. She felt for the flow. It was a slow, uplicated dance and she was learning quickly. She started batting the tentacles aside as the fight progressed and she moved back towards the cave¡¯s entrance. More jellyfishes were approaching, however. She didn¡¯t want to be overwhelmed.

    The creature facing her blurred again. She copsed on herself, seeing an actininic cloud pass overhead. Nestra stood and struck at the same time.

    Her de caught the tender, vulnerable bulb and sliced it in half. Strange organs and transparent blood fell and the jellyfish slowly copsed on itself, the lights fading in dying embers. The next two jellyfishes were in range so they performed their little charge. Nestra dodged the first then hid behind it to stop the second. She kept her footwork tight and efficient. Dodge, block, deflect attacks. Electricity shone on the de but it absorbed everything and even if it didn¡¯t, the armor would.

    A feeling of exhration slowly filled Nestra. This was it, the Scornful path. She could feel the meaning behind it albeit faintly. The benefactor was right. It really suited her. As a new jellyfish joined the fray, she stepped out of range of the second and closed on the first. It turned on itself, sending its tentacle in a side whip attack just as she knew it would. She blocked the first and ducked under the second.

    nt foot. Twist.

    ¡°Yaaar.¡±

    A powerful upward swing, perfectly timed. The blow sttered the jellyfish¡¯s innards over that of the neer and she felt its power fill her soul. A blur at her back and she dodged the first one. It stood in front of her, recovering. A thrust. Her de easily found the tender flesh. A down strike. The jellyfish was gutted. Three opponents dead. Damn armor was stifling her though. Too tight. Blocked her sensation.

    ¡°Come on then.¡±

    She kind of wanted to bite them but¡­ maybe poisonous.

    With three opponents, the dance grew more frantic but now she had all the cavern for herself as those were thest foes. Dancing on the rock, she kept one always at a distance. The jellyfishes smelled strangely of brine. Their attacks were familiar to her now and she fell into a rhythm. Dodging and blocking became a patient exercise until she was sure she had them, understood them. Then, it was time to strike.

    With a vicious smile, she sidestepped a lunge and charged. Her blow devastated the first enemy then she batted the next tentacle into the head of the third jellyfish.

    Electricity coursed down the limb as it connected. She saw it as a blue fluorescence along the extended limb.

    The head exploded.

    It did so with a loud pop but the innards spraying her armor caught Nestra off guard and she jumped back in surprise. That was all it took.

    Three tentaclestched on her arm and twisted. She heard the nylon give, and the te underneath was peeled off like a torn tin can. A stinging jolt made her swear.

    Urgency.

    Nestra brought her sword close and sliced, imbuing the edge with mana. She cut through all three tentacles. The pressure decreased while the head now shone with frantic lights. With a roar, she stepped forward and ravaged it with a furious downward strike. The beast was dead before it hit the ground.

    ¡°Shit shit shit.¡±

    Colorful creatures were always either venomous or poisonous or both. A brief study of her arm in the faded light showed dark dots over the gray skin of her biceps. Some blood had pooled. Thest of the crimson color turned gray as it formed scabs. That was¡­ fast. Very fast. No D-ss people matched this speed of regeneration. She waited anxiously for tingles, or signs or poison. Nothing so far, which was good because she had no appropriate antivenoms and general purpose antidotes were really, really expensive.

    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

    Calming down, she pulled her database. Jellyfishes, jellyfishes, jellyfishes, ah. Match. Rhopilemana Azuridae Aeris. Cave Jennies. The database said a contact with unprotected skin sent enough electricity to stun a D-ss raider and they mangle a limb in a second. Those were real D-ss monsters because of their dash, though on the lowest end. She was getting stronger! More importantly, they were edible. Wait no, bad Nestra. Money first.

    Their cephalic serum can be harvested and used in high-end anti-aging beauty products. They could be sold at seven hundred credits a vial! Nestra looked at the liquid hopelessly sttered across the ground. She should have found the entry before deciding to go full destroyer. Gah. Oh, but their tentacles could be cooked at low temperatures and eaten as a sd! That was great. She cut half a dozen of them ¡ª all her backpack could contain ¡ª then looked around.

    There were mushrooms on the wall.

    ¡°Jackpot.¡±

    And they were edible too. Low level mana mushrooms ording to the database. Nestra happily harvested several handfuls with images of garlic and parsley in her head. Once done, she looked around to make sure there wasn¡¯t anything she¡¯d forgotten.

    There was also the question of her armor set.

    Mundane armor helped against monsters. There was no denying it. The actual question was, how much. The set strained against her skin and hampered her movements to a degree. Soon, it would be more trouble than it was worth. Perhaps even now. She had to rece it and soon but how? Material harvested in portals were considered ¡®exotic¡¯ because they broke thews of physics. Raider gear used exotic material almost exclusively, which implied costly sourcing and handmade gleam craft. A new armor set would be stupidly expensive even before going to the ck market. Getting high tech gear that could still hold its own meant getting jailbroken corpo stuff. That was one of the fastest way to get mysteriously ¡®disappeared¡¯.

    Fuck, maybe Gorge had a way to help but that would cost a load of credits, one she didn¡¯t have. Well, that was forter.

    After some hesitation, Nestra decided to keep the armor on. For now.

    A narrow alley continued, eventually leading to a smaller cavern containing three jellyfishes. This time, she cut their limbs at the base which made them slowly fall. That brought ten vials of brain juice she could sell. The third cavern posed as much of a challenge, but soon she approached the end of the portal world. This time, she had a good look around and found¡­ nothing.

    The cavern wasrge,rger even than the first. Small crystalline structures provided perfect visibility, even for human eyes. The blue radiance bounced on the walls to provide a diffuse background to a central boulder. A small altar at the back announced that this was the end of this portal world. Nestra could guess what this was about and it would not be easy. This time, she would be using her gun. One bullet should be enough.

    She stepped towards the boulder and stopped when it shifted. With a rumble, cracks appeared on the ck surface. Rocky limbs randomly detached from a massive torso, its surface cracked and pitted. The creature finished deploying itself with a low, rumbling growl. This one had three legs, a chest and two arms leading to a cone that it would probably use as a hammer. After all, it was not technically alive.

    Animana Lapis Unus. A monocore stone golem. A real D-ss threat.

    That was it, the true test of mettle. Golems like this one came in many shapes, hence why she had waited to engage rather than catching a surprise attack from a mystery limb.

    When she was young, her father had trained her to fight against those threats. Golems struck in wide, powerful swings that raiders could not easily block. Without a defense specialist, they could not block it at all. That was why golems made every fight harder. One could not stand their ground against this force of nature.

    The creature turned to Nestra then moved forward ponderously. It was slightly slower than a running human. Not that it mattered. In a cavern, there was nowhere to hide, and a golem never tired.

    Nestra faced the creature. It was as tall as her but much, much wider. As it approached, it raised one of its massive arms. There was no hand, only pure, solid stone.

    Nestra felt very alive.

    Walking into the attack, she struck at the exposed chest with a mana-infused de. It was so thick. Like hitting a wall. She stepped to the side and shed at a leg then dodged under a return swing, then she jumped over the next and sidestepped around another leg. The three legs made the golem rather quick but it had trouble rotating. Her next lunge bit into its powerful torso then she jumped back, avoiding a headbutt. As it passed by, she struck where the neck would be. She was already tiring from the constant drain of coating her de, but that should be enough.

    The cuts on the legs and arms were slowly healing but the one on its front torso was already closed, a darker shade of stone the only hint the creature had been damaged. That meant the core was there. The closer to the core, the faster the regeneration. She didn¡¯t dare make some distance. It would be useless. Had to finish fast. Already, her heart drummed against her chest and her breath grew morebored. She needed a coated de.

    Jumping over a low strike, Nestra thrusted into the center of the chest. The golem shuddered and took a step back.

    She could see it, a small bulge where the liver would be. Just at the right spot.

    Nestra drew her gun and shot.

    The thunderous blow almost deafened her. The revolver kicked like a mule on steroid, forcing her back even with her enhanced strength. Her forearm and elbow stung. A momentter, shards showered her.

    A cerulean radiance emerged from the shattered stone in the form of a dripping, thick liquid. The core.

    The golem shook from the damage. Weakness. An opening. A grin erupted on her lips. This was so great.

    A perfect lunge.

    The tip of the sword crashed into the core, breaking it with a ghastly crack. The golem stopped moving. It didn¡¯t fall or copse. No longer a foe, for the enemy was now a statue.

    Victory once again.

    ¡°Hell yes. I¡¯m the best!¡±

    Nestra felt like whooping. She¡¯d done it! A serious foe defeated by herself! That was well done, if she dared say so herself. The Stalk of the Scorn Crescent really helped her guide her style. And it was versatile too!

    Nestra picked up golem crystal shards. The intact core could fetch a great price since they could be used to animate guardian constructs for wealthy houses. Sadly, the cores were excessively hard to harvest since, quite obviously, the golem objected. The shards would still fetch a decent price as a crafting material for heavy armor. Nestra hummed under her breath. Three mana crystals this time! She was rich. Well, not yet. But surely soon!

    The portal back was uneventful and there was another package with a letter waiting for her by the primate enclosure entrance.

    Nestra sighed and read.

    <em>¡°Little Nezhra!</em><em></em>

    <em></em>

    <em>You have done very well but you need to eat more! I have found this for you. Here are the coordinates of yourst ying ground before we start on the real fun! </em>

    <em>Quest: grow strong enough to use spells.</em>

    <em>Reward: skin!¡±</em>

    ¡°What the fuck?¡±

    Her prize this time was a basket of fruits. And some nuts. But that wasn¡¯t the weird part. The weird part was that those were clearly outside world fruits. Wild ones. They were ripe too. Some of the nuts were still partially wrapped in damaged green pods. Mana fruits were considered particrly nourishing and those found in the wilds, even more so. They also helped with growth, at least for humans. And they were delicious.

    Nevertheless, Nestra felt treated like a child. Seriously, the benefactor was like a grandma. So far she¡¯d seen them as a mysterious and powerful entity and clearly they were but¡­ were they not also a little bit dumb? And since when were fruits an eptable payment?

    There were some tiny fruits that looked like tiger bananas with ck spots. She picked one.

    It was amazing.

    ¡°Mff!¡±

    Had to have more. No, wait, she had to leave first. This ce wasn¡¯t secure.

    Nestra changed in record time then left the park at a brisk pace, carrying her ¡®liberated¡¯ new possessions like some sort of loot goblin. She drooled all the way back to her secretir then had the AI drive her home so she could sample the fruits. They were really amazing. She only refrained from finishing everything because she had the jellyfish as well. Once home, she saw Stib had left her a message asking to meet and apologizing for going off grid. She would reply the next day. First, food!

    It took a long time for the jellyfish to be ready. She used her cooking robot to shred it and cook it at low temperature, but when it was done, she had it in sesame and soy sauce. It was crunchy and delicious. She cooked the mushrooms herself as a fricassee and felt very proud of herself. It was absolutely scrumptious. Her great mood was interrupted when her fangs found a mushroom of a slightly different consistency. A bit more spongy. As she bit down, a strange, leathery taste filled her pte. She immediately spat out her mouthful.

    ¡°What?¡±

    One of the mushrooms was different. It looked like a morel. She hadn¡¯t noticed.

    ¡°I hope aaaawawa. Wa?¡±

    Nestra was super sleepy. Also, the room was now a bright yellow and the walls were leaking mustard. Her fork extended into infinity while the mushrooms danced themselves into an intricate, fractal pattern.

    ¡°Guh?¡±

    Nestra¡¯s mouth felt weird, paralyzed. A shape drifted down from the ceiling wearing a bathrobe. It was, she realized, a kangaroo.

    ¡°Hey what''s cookin¡¯?¡± the marsupial asked in a husky voice.

    ¡°Moh!¡±

    Then, he pulled boxing gloves from a waist pocket, which was silly because they definitely couldn¡¯t fit.

    ¡°I want you to know that I take no pleasure in this,¡± the kangaroo said.

    Nestra¡¯s bowl grew in size until it covered the whole of creation. There were stars in there, an abyss that watched back with bloodshot eyes and asked her if she would make a run for tacos. She said hell no andid down on the ground to contemte the nature of her existence.

    ***

    Nestra¡¯s mind pce looked like someone had used a shotgun on paint canisters.

    ¡°Fuck.¡±

    The walls twisted a little as she went by, checking the changes. There were no new resistances, however the storm core was just a little thicker and the interesting change came from the room.

    As Nestra entered, she felt a potential in the slowly rotating spheres, but the newest change was from the puddle over which the sphere rotated. It felt deeper, not by much, but enough that the ground underneath wasn¡¯t so clear anymore. She dipped a finger in and felt the caress of quiescent potential. The color of the puddle was gray, just like her spells.

    ¡°That¡¯s my mana.¡±

    Good to know that, just like every ability, it could be improved by killing things.

    Approaching the cores, she tried something new. The strength core had grown again. She felt that it was strong enough to¡­ attach, somehow? Link. It was strong enough to link. There was only one other core that was developed enough to matter, the one that dealt with speed and precision.

    Nestra wasn¡¯t sure how she knew what to do, possibly inborn instinct. Those two could be joined, allowing for a new concept to travel between them. She wove that tether with hesitant fingers. The gestures were instinctive, yet also unfamiliar. She really wished the benefactor would just stop for a one hour discussion instead of ying hide and seek and letting her flounder like an idiot, but apparently they shared her social grace. By that point, Nestra was cursing under her non-existent breath. The work was difficult but as she progressed, she understood what was implied.

    The power core was strength, the ability to push, to press, to beat, to pressure. The speed core was the ability to move and react, to be precise. Together, they became strength in motion. The tether was¡­ she almost had it.

    It was momentum.

    With ast mental click, the tendril locked in ce and thes escaped, now rotating in harmony with each other. It didn¡¯t change anything for the others but they felt more¡­ ordered, somehow. As if something had beenpleted and the chaos was lessened. It felt great.

    And then Nestra woke up.

 2.8

    2.8

    The first thing Nestra did when she woke up was remove a piece of mushroom from her nostril. The second was to realize she had a terrible migraine.

    ¡°Ow ow ow.¡±

    So damn stupid. She should have paid more attention to her prize instead of just plopping them on a pan and assume they were all the same species because they mostly looked the same. She¡¯d been sloppy. She could have died! The anger at her own foolishness needled her as she stood in the living room to hunt the nearest ss of water. As she did so, she felt something new, something hard to describe.

    Nestra knew how to use mana, though not well. Rich families like her own often let their children draw power from low quality mana stones just so that they could get used to manipting it before they awakened. The Padians were no exception. Coating her de was the most effective use of her weak reserves for now, but in essence, it implied sending mana through her conduits and into a suitable de, though stronger users could just use anything. The new ability she felt was different. It felt linked to her physical body, like the ability to know where her hands were at all times. Hesitantly, she called upon it before her dehydrated brain could catch up to her.

    She was propelled forward at great speed. The sudden jump took herpletely off guard and she smacked head first into her kitchen door before she could recover.

    ***

    Nestra walked in and breathed the sweet, nice scent of freshly baked pastry. It was warm and buttery and really, really inviting. Seth was behind the counter, tapping on a datasheet. He seemed old fashioned like that. Most coffee shops relied on drones but the man baked everything on site and he manned the counter himself. Nestra expected his unorthodox approach to spook off those who wanted to be left alone but, to her surprise, the ce was packed on a weekday. Not just that. Delivery drones waited outside by the window.

    The tall, gangly man smiled when he saw her. It lit up his whole face from thoughtful to genuinely happy. The unfettered emotion made Nestra¡¯s head spin.

    ¡°Hello hello! You are Nestra, I remember. My dessert pleased you enough to return, I see.¡±¡°You remember me?¡±

    ¡°Of course. I have a great memory for faces. Names, not so much. Ah, but what can I do for you today?¡±

    ¡°I was supposed to meet a friend¡­¡±

    An old couple left hand in hand, freeing a spot near the back.

    ¡°Looks like you¡¯re in luck,¡± Seth said. ¡°t White?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°I suggest my cardamom roll. There¡¯s a fresh batching up soon.¡±

    ¡°Is this why the delivery drones are waiting?¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Seth replied with naked pride. ¡°My creations are having a ton of sess! The baking robots really make it easy to experiment with various ingredients, you know? I could spend HOURS in the kitchen just trying stuff.¡±

    ¡°Nestra!¡± a voice said from behind.

    She turned to see Stib walking in with a wan smile. The shorter girl had lost some weight and there were shadows under her eyes like fresh bruises, a weight on her shoulders that made her stoop a bit though the smile seemed genuine. Nestra returned it.

    And then she faced Seth again.

    It was like someone had opened the blinds and now she knew for sure that, the first time they¡¯d met, Seth had not been flirting. It was like looking at the sun. Seth was transformed. He was sublimed. He was a romantic figure of a genius artist lounging casually against the counter, velvety brown eyes burning from an inner passion. He put the datasheet down and caressed his chin with an elegant finger. Stib blinked and her eyes followed the flexing muscles of his forearm. He caught her staring. She blushed.

    ¡°Why hello there, and wee to the Sunflour. What can I do for you today?¡±

    ¡°Oh, uh, ah, I¡¯m¡­¡±

    ¡°Should I leave you two alone?¡± Nestra asked half seriously.

    ¡°Oh no no no no sorry,¡± Stib protested.

    Seth chuckled knowingly. Seth took their orders under Nestra¡¯s vignt re, staying tame the whole time. The pair sat down in the recently freed spot to talk while they waited for their coffees.

    ¡°So¡­ how have you been doing?¡± Stib awkwardly asked while Nestra was still considering her approach.

    ¡°Well enough. Been busy with training.¡±

    ¡°Oh? Really? Ah, hm, I wanted to apologize for cutting contact. I told you you should be more active and here I am, closing myself.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± Nestra dismissed with a wave of her hand. ¡°Look, we both know I have trouble rting to people. It¡¯s a problem when I¡¯m trying to be social but the advantage is that the deaths of our people didn¡¯t hurt me the way it hurt you. So, I get it. Did the Stibbons rally around their wayward daughter?¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Stib chuckled. ¡°They did it. I got a firm offer to work on drone support for the Blue River guild and¡­ I¡¯m gonna take it.¡±

    ¡°Good idea.¡±

    ¡°So¡­ it¡¯s really finished. MaxSec, I mean. Everything¡¯s closed. After so long it feels really weird.¡±

    Nestra shrugged. She was over it. Her main purpose for joining had always been to prove that she was worth it in her eyes, that nature had made a mistake in giving less than it had given her siblings. Now she had cool demon powers and a Nestracave and ess to really delicious sesame jellyfish sd so the world was more in bnce. And money. Of course, part of her serenity was due to ack of interaction with hierarchical superiors and gleams in general but hey, she¡¯d take it.

    ¡°It was just¡­ such a long chapter of my life, you know? And I feel like it was closed without my consent. I wasn¡¯t ready to move on¡­¡± Stib continued.

    Nestra nodded to show her support.

    ¡°Sometimes I envy your mental resilience,¡± Stib finished with a bitter tone, though she dulled the barb with a wink.

    ¡°It¡¯s easy to ept unfairness when you believe life¡¯s been repeatedly unfair,¡± Nestra wisely exined.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure this is a healthy approach.¡±

    ¡°Like for you this is a vition of the reality of your life, all you believed has now copsed and your life is in shambles¡­ but for me that¡¯s just a Monday.¡±

    ¡°Holy shit, Nes.¡±

    ¡°But don¡¯t worry! You can just roll with the punches. Like I was actually mentally readying myself to being crippled for life since, you know, I can¡¯t install augs without going crazy.¡±

    ¡°Nestra¡­¡±

    ¡°Look, I even had a list of handicaps I could ept without killing myself. I was ok with losing a limb but not full paralysis, you see? It¡¯s all about¡­ hmm¡­ epting that you¡¯re not in control and that life might just decide to fuck you over and the only thing you can control is your reactions to it.¡±

    Stib¡¯s face was a mask of mesmerized horror. A student nearby removed his visor.

    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    ¡°Jesus fucking Christ,dy.¡±

    ¡°Not helping?¡± Nestra asked. ¡°Damn, sorry, guess it doesn¡¯t work for everybody?¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t tell if you need a hug, therapy, or all of the above,¡± Stib forced out.

    ¡°Sorry. Anyway.¡±

    Seth took this moment to bring them their order along with a ¡®enjoy¡¯ as sweet as honey. Damn but could that bastard be suave when he wanted. That made Nestra extra suspicious so she red at his back until he parried her silent usation with a disarming shrug. She got the meaning.

    So what?

    ¡°Tsk.¡±

    ¡°This roll is so good!¡±

    ¡°It seems Seth is getting popr.¡±

    ¡°Seth, huh? By the way, what did you decide in the end?¡±

    Nestra exined her unchanged n to assist with fifteen¡¯s resurrection. She still wanted to get at the assholes who had killed part of her team, though she didn¡¯t share this with Stib.

    ¡°No way, that¡¯s too dangerous!¡±

    ¡°It is dangerous,¡± Nestra allowed.

    ¡°Not like that. The weapons and augs that the gangs had, they¡¯re still there. Not all of it was destroyed because it never is. I bet they¡¯ll resurface over theing weeks in, well, hold ups and robberies. You¡¯re going toe in fresh-faced with your light vest and catch depleted uranium.¡±

    ¡°Rx, we¡¯re here to keep an ear to the ground, not to go after hardcore criminals.¡±

    ¡°If youe across an armed robbery, will you cower and wait?¡± Stib asked with a pointed look.

    ¡°You forget, fifteen is a fucking dumpster fire of a ce. The only things worth robbing will be Gidung supply depots and those won¡¯t be my problem. I doubt someone would pull out a walker weapon to steal from a food stand.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m just worried about your safety. In groups of two? Shit I wouldn¡¯t walk in that cesspit in less than a squad of five with gleams on call. I hope you don¡¯t get jumped on.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t let it go, Stib.¡±

    The short drone operator searched her expression. She passed a hand through her red hair and sighed. Nestra noticed that the nails were chewed to the nub. She thought Stib had shaken off the habit. The past week must have been really trying.

    ¡°You mean¡­ their death?¡±

    ¡°Just how callous it all is. I want to know who pulled the trigger on providing the gangs with weapons. Doesn¡¯t matter if I¡¯m not spearheading the investigation because that¡¯s not my skill set anyway. I need to be there.¡±

    ¡°Just watch out for those civvies. You can¡¯t trust them.¡±

    Nestra chuckled.

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°My aunt and you, you¡¯re really on opposite ends of the spectrum. She¡¯s advised me to look into de-esction.¡±

    ¡°Sure. Learn what you can to make sure things go smoothly. Just keep your hand on the handle. You got gear?¡±

    ¡°I made a requisition list and it seems it¡¯s been epted. I¡¯ll have an electric disabler, pepper spray, a sedative needle gun¡­¡±

    ¡°Ok ok you can take down an entire street. What about surveince?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t think there are cameras.¡±

    ¡°You know what I mean. Drones. look, I¡¯ll soup up something for you. You can¡¯t just walk through two alleys and find yourself boxed in. I¡¯ll set up a program so you have your eyes in the sky and it¡¯s easy to operate. I can do it. I¡¯ve had ideas¡­ Not as good as a dedicated operator of course¡­¡±

    ¡°Honestly, Stib, I¡¯ll take what you get me.¡±

    ¡°Alright. Yeah. Ok, so, I have a question.¡±

    ¡°Yes?¡±

    ¡°Do you¡­ think I¡¯m ready to date again? I mean, now?¡±

    Nestra blinked at the non sequitur. Where the hell was thising from?

    ¡°You want me, the aromantic person, to tell you if you should date? Sure as long as you feel good about it? Why?¡±

    ¡°The, hm, Seth, he left me his details.¡±

    Stib waved her napkin, upon which that smarmy flirter had left a number. The rogue stood there selling a Victoria Sponge to a dignified olddy with pointed questions, the very image of innocentpetence.

    ¡°He¡¯s kind of smooth¡­¡± Stib dreamily said.

    ¡°Well go for it, I can promise you I won¡¯tpete.¡±

    ¡°Thanks Nestra, you¡¯re a dear.¡±

    ***

    Nestra was flush. Well not really, but on her way to be. The lizard skin was sold, as were the vials in record time. She was now over twelve thousand credits richer. Twelve. Thousand. Credits. In two nights. And that was just for risking her life doing something she loved anyway. She could buy anything, she thought, munching a piece of fruit marinated in honey. Like cream maybe. But more seriously, she had an issue.

    Her armor no longer fit.

    Her demon self was now taller than her human self by two whole centimeters. The difference shouldn¡¯t have mattered but her armor set was such a tight, custom-made fit that she couldn¡¯t properly operate in them. And that wasn¡¯t the only issue. The demon¡¯s arms were longer and a little thicker. Every piece of gear barely fit and they also limited her range of movement. What she needed was something to wear. Something to protect her. Gorge had an answer for her.

    Entry-level, standard issue armor for teenager D-ss running their first gauntlets: five thousand creds.

    Armor set suited for a woman her size?

    Thirty-nine thousand.

    It didn¡¯t even look good! Not to mention, it was likely she would keep growing for a while so her purchase would only be worth it for a little while. So far, Nestra had only drawn on her reserves once to buy Gorge¡¯s stuff. Right now, she knew she wasn¡¯t raising too many gs with HQ and the AIs they used to track suspicious behavior. Even if they did track her, all they would see would be her going to weird ces on a whore bike in the dead of night, nothing too suspicious. Her Nestracave only had training equipment, some couches to chill and a freezer containing some monster meat. They would assume she was selling herself for money and using it to buy mana food. Her records would show she had a mana addiction of sorts, justifying everything. She hadyers of protection between herself and the truth. Someone who kept digging would find enough to satisfy them at every level.

    This changed if she suddenly withdrew enough cash to buy a second car. There could be questions. She would bet money Kim had her under AI surveince. The woman was far too professional to forget basic precautions, especially when Nestra was supposed to work against Gidung¡¯s interests. Corpos¡¯ influence ran as deep as their pockets.

    She would have to use different defensive measures. She picked her burner.

    ¡°Can you get me potions? The flesh-mending kind.¡±

    ¡°Sure but only D-grade. Five hundred a vial. They¡¯re not great though.¡±

    ¡°Nice to see you care. I¡¯ll take four and five bullets as well. And an antidote if you have any.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll need some time to get a general purpose antidote. Don¡¯t have a price yet either. I¡¯ll take the fee off your bnce. Want the rest on a chit?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Will do. And there was something else. Can I call?¡±

    ¡°Okay?¡±

    Gorge usually disliked calling. For some reason, using voice chat made him less of an asshole because he didn¡¯t get into Nestra¡¯s face that much. He was still a raging bastard though.

    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t what¡¯s up me bitch. I¡¯m your elder.¡±

    ¡°Whatever.¡±

    ¡°You and respect. Fuck, I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m saying this. Look, you¡¯re more or less a gleam, right?¡±

    ¡°Less but I can manage.¡±

    ¡°But can you pass off as one?¡±

    ¡°No. Don¡¯t even got the eyes.¡±

    ¡°More like a unique quirk then? Don¡¯t tell me. Anyway, I don¡¯t know where you¡¯re raiding but if you want more choice and better prices, there is a solution. In fact, it might profit both of us.¡±

    ¡°Do tell?¡±

    ¡°You could go dark horse.¡±

    Nestra slumped into her couch. In demon form, the leather texture felt strange against her skin. Too sticky. Just like Gorge¡¯s proposal. Dark horses, or masked anonymous gleams, were more a thing in spicy fiction but they did exist in real life as well.

    ¡°You¡¯re kidding right? This isn¡¯t a vid.¡±

    ¡°No, I¡¯m serious. This really happens. There are over two hundred masked gleams in Threshold right now.¡±

    ¡°Losers and idiots. There¡¯s no good reason to go dark horse. It¡¯s a shit assignment.¡±

    ¡°There are at least two C-tier masked operatives right now.¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t be serious.¡±

    ¡°I am. You go mask, you can get a license to purchase stuff from Threshold¡¯s armory. You also get to sell your goodies on the open market. Hell, you could even raid legally on top of¡­ what you¡¯ve been doing so far.¡±

    Nestra considered the proposal.

    Masking was a way for individual gleams to register as raiders for the city council without revealing their identities. There were even provisions so that only AIs would know of their civilian identities, and it took extraordinary circumstances forw enforcement to demand to know who they really were. Usually, suspicions of felony. The purpose was to allow corpo gleams to contribute to the city and bepensated for it. Sometimes, individual gleams from rival factions would cooperate using that system to protect themselves from publicity.

    The thing was, it waspletely stupid. Most high-profile gleams could simply not disappear for days on end without their families learning of it. It meant that the only people who did it were idiots no one wanted to bring on a raid or schemers needing ad-hoc coverage for an operation or two. Popr vids dramatized masks to make them seem much cooler than they really were. Like anonymous dark horses stealing the show from powerful guilds. Romance ones were especially fond of the mask plus female protagonist trope. The reality was usually disappointing.

    Gorge¡¯s proposition had merit, however.

    ¡°I don¡¯t have the abilities to pass the exam just yet.¡±

    The truth was that Nestra had, in fact, the abilities to pass a D-ss exam if barely, except for mana reserves. Hers were simply too low for now.

    D-ss ssification was simple enough. One first had to disy superhuman capabilities in terms of speed, reflexes, endurance, and power. Then one had to prove a rudimentary control of mana, which Nestra didn¡¯t have enough juice toplete quite yet. Thest one wasbat. She was rather confident about thatst part.

    D-ss gleams basically used mana to enhance themselves. That was the bare minimum to be a raider. She knew that other paths, like crafters, used different prerequisites. That wasn¡¯t relevant to her.

    A C-ss gleam could use at least one affinity and they formed the beginning of a physical core. Nestra wasn¡¯t too familiar with that since it had been far away when she¡¯d left the gleam ecosystem. B-ss gleams started with aplete core and at least one of their body parts was so infused with mana it became ¡®exotic material¡¯ even at rest.

    Aunt ire said that A-sspletely reforged their bodies when they ¡®ascended¡¯. They were rumored to be immortal. They were a select few so far. Ascensions were still reported in international news.

    That was still very far away for Nestra, assuming she had the potential to grow that much.

    ¡°If you can¡¯t do it at all it¡¯s fine. If you can, though, we may be able to help. See, I¡¯m sure you¡¯re a busy bee, yeah? And maybe not the best negotiator in town. And by that I mean you fucking suck.¡±

    ¡°Look who¡¯s talking.¡±

    ¡°I can be charming when I¡¯m not dealing with a pissant brat. And I do business with my balls and my brains, kid, not my feelings. Anyway, if you can get masked, we can handle business for you at no fee provided you let us buy a thing or two in your name, if you know what I mean.¡±

    ¡°Best way to get gged, asshole.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not talking about recreational drugs. More like antitoxins that work on dregs like yours truly. Lots of kids out there who can¡¯t get them unless they suck up to gleam families. Ya know, the kind of deal that leaves them as retainers for life. There¡¯s profit to be made and we can even be nice about it.¡±

    ¡°Sure. Whatever. That sounds good. I get the final call on what we buy.¡±

    ¡°Of course, we¡¯ll need your ID to validate any deal in any case. Just keep it in mind.¡±

    ¡°Hmm.¡±

    ¡°Think about it. Legal raids. The marketce. You can even attend conventions in a mask and look at those nice gleams frolicking and sucking each other¡¯s dicks for social sess. All good stuff, yeah? Delivery in progress. See ya next time and don¡¯t fucking die on me you rabid golden goose.¡±

    He hung up.

    Was it too risky to go through testing in case they had secret ways to detect anomalies? Or was it too risky to go on without potions, defensive gear, knowledge and other resources? She needed data. More specifically, she needed to know how aware humanity was of her kind if indeed there was a kind. There was a specific way to do it.

    The Pandora database.

    While most guilds had their own knowledge base, including techniques and strategies, mankind had united enough to form a single, unified list of creatures. She knew the genus names of most dokkaebis she was facing because of extracts from Pandora. It was updated and managed by Gestalt, an Austrian A-ss information broker for the good of all mankind.

    It was also rather restricted.

    Fortunately, she knew someone who had ess to it. She had to try, butter. First, there was the question of tonight''s raid. She had food preservation bags, a cooler. She was ready and eager.

 2.9

    2.9

    Nestra looked down from her vantage point at the top of an office building. The nightly wind blew against her sports jacket.

    She wasn¡¯t ready. Not ready at all.

    ¡°That joker sent me to a guild portal?¡± she grumbled under her breath.

    Pop up portals disappeared as soon as they were cleared and empty. Some portals, however, were permanent. They reappeared regrly with minor changes to their setups. Perhaps the trails were not the same but the biome and enemies were. Guilds rented such spaces from the city who officially had the right to every portal on its territory. In theory. In practice, guilds could enjoy their portals in perpetuity unless they failed to contain them or went bankrupt. Those portals were harvested for materials and if there was one thing crafter gleams loved more than exotic material, it was a regr supply of the stuff.

    That meant that gleams protected their permanent portals.

    And that meant that she was going to infiltrate a securedpound.

    Nestra watched the bunker below. It was a squat structure, more a glorified box than anything else. A high wall surrounded it on all sides and on that wall were the telltale signs of cameras and sensors. There was a single door, a reinforced, steel affair that weighed several tons.

    Nestra noticed a logo by the entrance, as well as the name Homeshield Security. She used the burner to ess their website and check their offers, just in case, and her curiosity was rewarded. There was a page on the type of security provided for gates and Nestra got an inkling of what she was dealing with. Homeshield Security was a provider of safe ess to D-ss gates, working with small guilds to protect the most numerous and least valuable type of portal avable around Threshold. Their bunkers were structured simply with a main chamber, and an antechamber manned by two security guards at the end of every cycle right before the portal reopened. The website vaunted top-of-the-line security but Nestra could read between the lines. This was a budget option meant to provide a sort of lock to other gleams who might want to loot the portal under the nose of theirpetitors. It happened sometimes. The issue was, Nestra was not equipped to deal with a fucking locked bunker, even if most of the security features were just a formality.

    She could perhaps slice the bunker gate open if she coated, but even if the cameras glitched in her presence, the security guards wouldn¡¯t. Not to mention, the HQ would get a notification that something had carved through a steel gate and the ce would be covered in raiders in less than five minutes.Perhaps she could lure a guard outside with a malfunction? And then what? The bunker was so small, the other guard would see a demon slip in.

    There had to be another way. Yes, in fact, the benefactor had never sent her somewhere she couldn¡¯t get in. They¡¯d even disabled a janitor to make sure she could raid without problem. Logically, he wouldn¡¯t have sent her somewhere she couldn¡¯t get in without telling her in advance there was something to prepare for.

    Nodding to herself, Nestra decided to ¡®case the joint¡¯ as the criminals put it. Ah, who was she kidding? She was a criminal as well now. Awbreaker. Nyahaha. Aunt ire would be proud.

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s see.¡±

    Nestra jumped down out of sight, then sprinted to the wall, confident the cameras would see her as a glitch. She used a nearby dumpster as a stepping stone for a jump and, at the apex of her trajectory, she triggered momentum.

    The strange power propelled her even higher, and much faster. Shended on the concrete roof of the bunker which was mercifully devoid of captors. Her ck box confirmed the presence of cameras all around. More importantly, she could feel the portal under her feet. It was there, pulsing quietly like a siren song, calling her to feast and pregnant with all things desirable. It was just ripe for the taking if she would just allow herself to be drawn in. The rays of sulent energy warmed and reinvigorated her body like a nice morning shower. It spoke of home, though what home she couldn¡¯t say.

    Yes, the portal was calling and she could feel its fingers questing for someone to release the mana trapped inside, free it onto the world to integrate it more, to awaken it sip by sip. And Nestra was the perfect key for that. She just had to¡­ give in.

    The world blurred. Colors merged into lines then into a gray kaleidoscope that yed with her sense of depth. She was floating in a void without direction and without gravity and that was perfect, just perfect.

    And then she was standing in a clearing in a middle of a pine forest. Gray snow lightly fell upon her hair. Before her stood a fortress made of stone and hardened mud, brown walls covered in drab icicles and bs of dirty ice. The blue light of the entry portal behind her confirmed what she¡¯d suspected, its rays stillforting her.

    A howl came from the fortress. A stocky creature with a long spiky mane and the face like a carnivorous horse stood on top of a battlement, a spear strapped to its back. The creature pointed at her and howled again. Yips answered it.

    Nestra unsheathed her de. Manaprimates Habilis Sonorus. Horlers. That was a rotten day to forfeit her armor.

    Without waiting, Nestra sprinted towards the wall. Her feet beat on the frozen ground as she prepared to jump. Heads popped out from behind the crentions, soon followed by the tip of arrows. She cried and used momentum again. The strange ability propelled her slightly above her target. She needed more practice.

    Inertia carried her against a wood palisade. She bounced off and rammed into a horler with a spear, wounding it. The muscle mass made her attacks weak. Twirling, she cleaved down and carved her victim¡¯s chest before it could recover. More of the creatures appeared from everywhere as she took in her surroundings.

    The fortress was built on a nk of the mountain, merging with it. There were tents of sorts, a couple of openings but most of the structures wereyered walls linked together by stairs that didn¡¯t offer cover. Some of the horlers on the upper levels were already aiming their bows at her. Had to keep moving. She grabbed the dying horler and carried it forward like a shield, her strength barely enough to keep the surprisingly heavy creature up.

    Most of the horlers carried bandoliers and belts over short furs that came in earthy tones, but there were a fewrger specimens with gray hair including the one who¡¯d spotted her. Her mind took in the way the enemy were arranged and then she charged.

    A few of the foes hesitated but most peppered the body she was carrying with short arrows. She threw her improvised barrier at another enemy and sliced low, hamstringing it. Then she was among them.

    Cut.

    Do not.

    sh.

    Get.

    Thrust.

    Swamped.

    Flowing, brutal movements followed each other. Let a shortsword slide on her de, step aside, cut down. Step forward and cut up. An arm flies. A loud howl. Dodge low and let a volley of arrows take the two horlers surrounding her. Their screeches were deafening but she persevered. Some were grouping above her. Dangerous. She beheaded a recoiling spearman then rushed up some stairs, killing a gray fighter with a slice of coated de. Another howl. She used momentum and another volley of arrows clicked on the stone behind her. This time, she¡¯d been a bit short and the pair of horler spearmen blocking her way braced. She tried to use momentum and failed. It was like trying to speak and realizing she was out of breath, not particrly painful but a little annoying.

    Nestra coated her de and sliced. The powerful swing severed both shafts and parts of the shield, leaving the horlers surprised. She kicked the first and only managed to push it back a little. A baseline would have been sent flying.

    This tale has been uwfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

    ¡°Hah!¡±

    An overhead strike split the other spearman¡¯s head in two, then she ducked under a third volley and she was off again.

    Happiness and frustration welled in Nestra¡¯s heart in equal measure. Happiness at the dance. It was a good one. It was what she¡¯d craved for so long. Time could not dull her excitement.

    Frustration that she was such a bad dancer.

    Too many tools, too little time to learn them. The Stalk of the Scornful Crescent was still a whispering voice guiding her but she was awkward and slow. The momentum ability was extremely powerful but she had issues with the distance. She was a baby ying with a sword. Only one thing would fix that.

    Practice.

    Kill more.

    A shrieking squad had gathered around an old horler wearing a headdress with jutting horns, its body thin and corded. The creature¡¯s chest expanded to grotesque proportions. A spellcaster. Sound shaman.

    Run?

    Not run, move in. Continue the dance.

    Nestra used momentum again. She was away from them, then she was among them. Her sword shredded the beast¡¯s lungs so that its mighty cry escaped as a gurgling squawk. She was moving still, with great sweeping attacks. She grabbed a gray horler¡¯s spear and sliced his head off. The others kept fighting in disorder. They tried to pin her down but their bodies blocked their allies and she was still dancing among them with great, carving strikes. The three survivors ran and she charged ahead, towards thestrge group at the top of the fortress. Archers. She ducked under a wall and arrows ttered behind her. She felt something touch her ass and the cold hand of fear grasped at her belly but it was just a rebound. She sprinted again. Another loud howl and she was down. More arrows.

    The leader tsked and gave another order. The archers fired at will but she kept weaving ahead, sprinting with all she had. The dance guided her steps, making her unpredictable. The arrows failed to find her. There was onest set of stairs and then she would be among them.

    No cover.

    The chief horler screeched something and the pack stopped firing. She raced, waiting, staring down the beady eyes of the enemy.

    The creature flinched. For an instant, triumph filled Nestra¡¯s mind in a vicious tide but it was short-lived. The chief screeched and this time, it was different.

    A bait?

    Nestra made a gambit. It was a bait. It would lure her momentum and then strike. She held.

    Half of the formation loosed.

    ¡°Fu¡ª¡±

    Nestra used the skill at thest moment. Terror crawled up her spine. She knew what would happen. As the skill finished, she was mid-air with her curled on herself and waiting for the pain. Another shriek, and it came with the rest of the volley.

    She felt the impact first. The mind-searing sh of agony came immediately after when half a dozen arrows smashed into her. Except it was¡­ not so bad?

    Nestranded in the middle of the befuddled formation. She stood and sliced the nearest archer in a trance, waiting for debilitation. It never came. As she fought, part of her saw the state of her arm. There were cuts bleeding a gray liquid that quickly turned red, and then, the wounds scabbed over.

    Another strike and the realization set in.

    She¡­ was fine?

    She was fine!

    The screeches of the dying horlers hurt her ear, needling her on. Strike and cut as they spread apart to give themselves space to fight. Do not let them corner. Keep moving as they do, attacking with merciless grace. Nestra followed the whispers of the Scornful Crescent as the principles guided her. She was faster and thus, the foes were obstacles to each other instead of help. Bodies blocked the trajectories of arrows. Furry torsos came in the way of sword strikes. The narrow battlements were now an obstacle instead of a help as the horlers bumped into it. Meanwhile, Nestra dove and side-stepped and used the chaos, each step a threat, each move flowing into the next one. Eventually, the chief managed to scream orders and four survivors formed ast barrier in front of him while she cut down thest of the disorganized soldiers.

    The chief removed the spear from its back and Nes realized the de was something close to wrought bronze with a shiny jewel in the middle, in the shape of a slitted eye. The horler¡¯s eyes bulged. Its muscles contracted with grisly cracks, veins visible even through the fur. Saliva foamed in its maw while its guardians stood, shivering in terror.

    That was a portal artifact, a rarity. A mana tool crafted by unknown means. Many were extremely dangerous and, if the horlers were scared of it, that could only mean some sort of self-sacrifice or berserker effect.

    So Nestra took her gun from its sheath and lined up the sights. There was something almostical in the chief¡¯s expression of sheer, hateful shock.

    She pulled the trigger.

    As before, the gun kicked like a mule even with her enhanced strength. The bullet smashed through two horlers before piercing through the chief¡¯s arm, causing the spear to jolt. The strange effect was interrupted.

    Nestra charged forward. Her instincts told her the horlers were going to run until they were overtaken by the same drive that pushed all portal monsters to ceaselessly attack intruders even when defeat was certain. She deflected the spears and cut in the same movement, once, twice, then she coated her de.

    The chief horler charged her.

    Nestra breathed in and out. The creature was maddened but still dangerous. It feinted its first thrust. Nestra stepped back to avoid the next attack, then slid into his guard by deflecting the third but he stepped back. Her overhead strike was stopped by the artifact. The horler used its weapon like a staff. She blocked the next attack at thest moment, her bones shaking from the strength of his blow then she parried the next thrust and countered with a series of fast jabs. The horler struggled to block them. Blood stained his fur.

    He screamed.

    Nestra epted the pain in her ears as she struck, catching the beast off guard. Her attack cleaved it from shoulder to sternum. Just like the shaman, the chief¡¯s roar ended in a pained moan. The coup de grace cut it off and silence, once again returned to the fortress.

    Nestra¡¯s ears whistled painfully. There were barely closed cuts on her arms and legs. She was out of breath and gulping air greedily. Blood covered her tattered clothes from head to toe, and none of this mattered because she was victorious once more. Power rushed into her. She felt her senses grow keener. Her ears popped as they healed and the sounds of the snowy forest returned in all their glory which was, admittedly, not that much. Just the groan of tree trunks.

    ¡°Nice.¡±

    Nestra surveyed the fortress. It was a scene of relentless carnage, just like she liked them. More importantly, there were a few canvas tents disseminated among the wooden stakes and palisades of the battlement. That meant¡­ it was time to loot! But first thing first, she approached a patch of pristine snow and ced her hand against it. Cold. Crunchy. She gathered some of it andpacted it. Water dripped from her fingers. The packed snow now looked like a handle with small crystals attempting to escape from the imposed form. She gathered more of it into a ball. It felt so light, yet quitepact.

    Snow.

    It was the first time she experienced real snow.

    Threshold was situated on a massive ind off the coast of Japan. It was never cold enough for there to be snow, except at the top of Mount Dirge but no one went there. She¡¯d never traveled abroad. Her father considered such trips as wasteful and extravagant frivolities, far from the Padian¡¯s ideal steely resolve. This wasn¡¯t like maind China where one could just travel to the Harbin or Altay enves. Here, one had to take a ship or a ne and those were always expensive and slightly risky propositions. So, yeah.

    Snow.

    Nestra felt giddy for all of two seconds, barely enough time to throw the snowball and watch it stter against the cooling corpse of a horler. Right. Portal world. Had to focus.

    The exit portal shone a little higher, at the top of the fortress but she ignored it for now. Pulling the horler entry, she went through the depressingly low list of prizes. The arrow tips were exotic material which would have gone through her armor but they were also of the lowest craftsmanship, which meant it was cheaper and more efficient just to mine exotic ore and have an apprentice forge some. Much like most dokkaebi, horler physiology was so familiar that specimens held no value. Nestra went through a few bandoliers finding little but teeth, poorly made thread, and small statuettes. All worthless. Sighing, she picked up the artifact.

    Mana caressed her psyche, inviting her to take ownership of the tool. She refused. It was obviously cursed as fuck and not her style anyway.

    Her mood improved though. Artifacts were worth a lot of money to the right buyer, even the bad ones. Many research breakthroughs urred because of enchantments found in those items. Once that was done, she searched the tents and found covers and other useless everyday items. They still carried the stench of their previous owners, though Nestra found herself surprisingly resilient to it. There was, however, a prize. In arge, ruddy bag, she found grains. A lot of grains. A quick search led to a bout of ecstaticughter.

    Dinner was going to be great.

    Pleased with herself, Nestra approached the final portal. The reward this time was a measly two crystals but that was to be expected. Permanent gates were usually less profitable than unique ones. The trees were probably valuable so any guild clearing them could sell exotic wood to gleam crafter guilds that made the kind of bed Aunt ire couldfortably bang on. Ugh. Had to remove that image from her mind. In any case, the artifact alone would be worth a ton if she could sell it. Happy with her loot this time, she crossed the portal.

    She found herself in a dark, empty concrete room with no decoration. A lonely shelf stood against a nearby wall, filled with medical items like gauze and blood clotters. There was a camera in a corner so she was on a timer. More importantly, a single chair waited for her with a box on top of it. Rewards! She approached it and opened it. It contained a letter and as well as a nightmarish wound in the fabric of the universe with red beady eyes and an infinity of ws that writhed into and out of themselves in a mind-rending mangling of depth and the rules of physics. The insanity-inducing vista resolved itself when the fifth dimension millipede bit Nestra¡¯s hand. A ckyer of silk spread over her fingers then her forearm before disappearing under her bloodstained, ravaged sleeves. She felt it spread on her being like a cold wave.

    ¡°AAAAAAAYAYAYAYARGARGETITOFFGETITOFF!¡± Said Nestra.

    In less than a second, the Lovecraftian insect had turned into a sort of thin bodysuit.

    The process had been entirely painless. The only casualties were Nestra¡¯s sanity and her pride.

    The letter fell to the ground, opening as it did.

    ¡°Congrattions on getting your Skin little Nezhra! It feeds off a liiiiittle bit of blood. Don¡¯t worry, they¡¯repletely tame. I have been thinking about what you said. I am sorry. I forgot humans are a very social species, after all. I cannot tell you much now because you are simply too weak to keep a secret if someone were to interrogate you. I also do not have the right to do so. It¡¯splicated. What I can promise you is that we will meet when you reach C-rank and your powers have matured a bit and I will answer, well, not all of your questions, but at least the ones that matter. Grow and you will know and remember, you are not alone. I am watching over you.

    Well, not all the time of course. I¡¯ll be busy for the next three days so find the next coordinates below and then enjoy your time off!¡±

    ¡°Can I just get a Kero nut next time?¡±

    Somehow, a sense of amusement filtered through her mind, then a pang of guilt.

    That made Nestra suspicious.

    ¡°You ate the rest of them didn¡¯t you?¡±

    The guilt turned to stark panic, then she got the sense of someone pointing in a direction then using the old smoke bomb escape trope, only the direction was the gate leading out.

    ¡°Did you hear something?¡± a voice said on the other side.

    Nestra suddenly remembered her situation.

    She was an armed tall demon woman with blood-crusted runners gear carrying pilfered loot next to a clearly deactivated portal world.

    There were no words in English, Korean, or the demon tongue to express just how fucked she was.

 2.10

    2.10

    Nestra used momentum to ram herself against the wall by the gate just as it opened. She instinctively drew in everything she was¡ª though she didn¡¯t reapply her mask, Praying to every god she could think of that they didn¡¯t see her.

    A trio of gleams walked in. There was an archer, a close quarter fighter with a tower shield, and a mage with long staff. The mage¡¯s eyes were a dim orange which spoke of a nascent fire affinity. She directed the pair with a single flick of her hand. Fortunately, their eyes were on the portal, not her.

    ¡°What¡¯s the meaning of this? Was somebody there?¡±

    Nestra ducked and used momentum to propel herself into the other room, an antechamber of sorts. Two guards sat behind a reinforced ss panel, checking screens. There were no hiding spots there, only a concrete square devoid of anything save for the two gates leading to the portal and to the outside, and a door leading to the guard room. Both of thetter were tragically closed. Nestranded squarely below the ss in full view of a camera but hidden from direct line of sight.

    ¡°There¡¯s a letter here, it¡ª ah! Fire! Why is it on fire?¡± a male voice said behind her.

    ¡°Idiot! Don¡¯t touch anything. Guards, you¡¯d better have a good exnation.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re having glitches on our equipment ma¡¯am. Running diagnostics.¡±

    ¡°Who did you let in?¡±

    ¡°Nobody, I swear!¡±¡°Well SOMEONE was here. I have to report this.¡±

    Meanwhile, Nestra¡¯s mind was running three curse words on repeat. Could she take them? Probably not. Would it do anything? Also probably not. She needed out, now. Maybe cut through the gate? A coated de and three slices ought to do it but¡­ she would be noticed.

    ¡°Alright, we¡¯re leaving for now. I want our boss to take a look at this,¡± the mage said. ¡°Open the gate.¡±

    That was it. Nestra was done for. The mage walked in her field of vision just as the other gate opened. Nestra had to make a run for it.

    There was a pressure, like a brief idea brushing her psyche. The mage stopped in her tracks. Her breath hitched. Her face turned despondent. Nestra sprinted outside through the newly opened passage, then jumped over the nearest fence using momentum. She didn¡¯t look behind but all she heard was silence.

    Speed and momentum carried her through the deserted streets lined with locked factories and warehouses. The first rays of dawn barely touched the concrete under her feet. She stopped at her motorcycle and changed at record speed into a leather outfit that would match her ¡®cover¡¯. She was off in under a minute, with her mask on. There were no noises. No signs of pursuit.

    If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the vition.

    The benefactor had intervened, there. She was sure of it. The only question was, if there was an inquiry, would they find her out? An AI with ess to traffic cameras could at least point them in her direction, since traffic at the ass crack of dawn was rather limited. She¡¯d parked far enough but she couldn¡¯t be sure if a small guild wouldn¡¯t have the right to ess traffic cameras.

    In the end, she decided not to worry about it too much. The benefactor¡¯s purpose tonight was clearly to deliver the skin and teach her how to ess portals from afar, not how to escape pursuit or they would have warned her. The situation also led her to wonder if she could, in fact, take raiders down. Not necessarily kill them but at least disable them.

    Portals always led to the same world but at some point, the portal would no longer allow people through if too many were already inside. It was like trying to swim through an ever-increasing current, her father had once said. It meant that a few minutester and the raiders would have arrived at the fort in full view of Nestra. They would have definitely tried to take her down. Even if they miraculously assumed she was using a weird disguise, stealing portal rights carried a heavy sentence in Threshold. The guild would have made an example.

    So how would shepare to them?

    She was confident about being as strong and fast as an average D-ss raider which was pretty good for around a week of activity. Her swordsmanship was also top-notch. The issue was that raiders were a different breed, especially in Threshold where portals were both moremon and more challenging. Raiders risked their lives with every expedition and there were always unlucky moments that carried a cost: an eye shot, an unexpected enemy, fingers slipping on blood. Raiders were wounded, sometimes killed. It took something special to make people raid day after day and that meant a highbat potential.

    But Nestra¡¯s body was different. She clearly had a resilience that went beyond what could be expected at D-rank. Beginner users got stronger by infusing their bodies with mana, directing it to where it mattered. Nestra didn¡¯t have to do that. She just was strong and resilient without trying. At the same time, she barely had any mana to work with.

    Clearly not even remotely human.

    But then why mostly human-shaped?

    It was just weird.

    Nestra¡¯s mood improved after she parked in her secret Nestrair and got the bag of food out. Oh, and the spear. She sent a quick message to Gorge then it was time to go home. Nothing could stop her from humming when she poured the grains into her cooking robot as well as a generous amount of butter and sugar. When the first pops rang in the quiet house, she could no longer contain her enthusiasm.

    This was smuggled good, untaxed, against all of Threshold¡¯s regtions.

    This was food that the corpos wouldn¡¯t get.

    She was finally taking her life back, one meal at a time.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to eat this criminal magical popcorn with butter and nobody can fucking stop me.¡±

    ***

    In the headquarter of the Gray Shield guild, a gleam tapped on his visor with barely contained annoyance.

    ¡°Yes. The chair flickered in at around four AM. The glitches were continuous afterward. Yes. No, nothing that we could see.¡±

    He kept silent when his interlocutor spoke in a sterner tone.

    ¡°Yes, I understand. We will transfer everything. Understood. Thepensation is more than enough for us. Yes, you can count on our discretion. I will make sure my team understands the importance of their silence. We willply, sir. Yes, I consider the matter closed. Thank you for your time.¡±

    The gleam¡¯s annoyance turned to dread as the call ended. He delicately ced the visor on his desk, then massaged the bridge of his nose. When he opened his eyes again, the pulsating silvery radiance betrayed his distress.

    ¡°What the hell was that?¡±

    ***

    In Nestra¡¯s mind pce, another rotating sphere had joined the more ordered dance. The puddle underneath had grown as well, just a little, but it was still barely enough to coat her de a few times. The newly improved sphere was the one that dealt with awareness and keen senses. Nestra had one more bound to y with.

    That meant she had to make a choice. Instinct told her that linking the sphere to strength would help her destabilize foes while linking it to speed would let her perform a very precise strike. The second choice was the more immediately useful, she felt. Maybe she was wrong. It was hard to say without knowing exactly what she would be up against. Once the bond was formed, Nestra returned to sleep while promising herself not to try to throw her chef knife at her cutting board ¡®as an experiment¡¯. She would do things right this time.

 3.1

    3.1

    ¡°Mmmflgr?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s 9AM. Why are you still sleeping?¡± the modified voice asked in the burner.

    Nestra almost asked if it was Gorge before ¡ª miracle of miracles ¡ª her brain caught up with her mouth for once.

    ¡°I was busy. What¡¯s up?¡±

    ¡°What do you mean, what¡¯s up? You asked me to call you.¡±

    ¡°Ah yes. Wasn¡¯t sure if using keywords in a text was a good idea or not.¡±

    ¡°Our conversations are encrypted. Only Central could decode it and then we¡¯d be fucked anyway. What do you have?¡±

    ¡°An artifact.¡±

    Nestra heard a noise, something like a tter. It took two seconds for Gorge to reply.¡°You¡¯re serious?¡±

    ¡°Yes. D-ss, obviously. A spear. Looks cursed.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re absolutely sure?¡±

    ¡°Yes for fuck¡¯s sake I¡¯m absolutely sure.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just¡­ Wow. Look, selling lizard skins to students was a thing but an artifact? This is big league stuff.¡±

    ¡°Is it dangerous?¡±

    ¡°No. I know a guy. And you shouldn¡¯t help. Can¡¯t risk it.¡±

    Nestra sat up on her bed and called to the demon skin. Yesterday, she¡¯d experimented a bit with it. It turned out that the skin was a sort of symbiote who, if she understood it correctly, fed off her body heat and a little bit of blood. It was barely smarter than the average dog and spent most of its time sleeping. She nudged it and received the mental equivalent of an annoyed groan but the symbioteplied. A tough substance covered her arms, looking like a nylon sleeve. She could thicken it a bit but for now, there was simply not enough of the creature to achieve more than a rather skimpy skin suit. The distraction gave her the courage to ask the question burning her mind right now. She wasn¡¯t scared of Gorge. She just wanted to avoid the verbal shitstorm he could unleash if he felt offended.

    ¡°Can I ask you something?¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡±

    ¡°I thought you were kind of, you know,w-abiding¡­¡±

    Nestra struggled to articte her thought,

    ¡°You wanna know why I¡¯m doing illegal shit?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. I mean fencing low grade crystals is a thing. An artifact¡­¡±

    ¡°Look, scale is not the thing here. At least not for me. If you steal an egg or a fucking car, you¡¯re still a thief to me. It¡¯s about who we¡¯re stealing from. And here, we¡¯re stealing from corpos. Did I ever tell you what I thought about corpos?¡±

    ¡°In lengthy, rude detail.¡±

    ¡°Well then I¡¯ll have you know that within limits, I¡¯m happy fucking them over even if it means pairing up with a highborn reject like you. And before you foam at the mouth, you¡¯re not so bad for a silver spoon cunt.¡±

    ¡°Nicepliment. Much obliged.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll take ownership of the goods then.¡±

    The call cut and Nestra used this opportunity to measure herself, which required her some creativity because her measuring apps glitched when looking at her. In the end, she sh ordered some measuring ribbons from a fancy tailor supplier then sent the results to Gorge. Her demon form was now 1.86 meters tall, eight centimeters more than her mortal form. That meant she was still growing quickly! Nestra celebrated by stuffing her face with the remaining popcorn and mana fruits before ordering arge sd. After polishing off enough food for a family of four, she was ready to face the day.

    First, some more training.

    ***

    The first step was to test her new ability. Wielding her sword, she simply called to it. It was just like flexing a muscle she never knew she had. A link formed in her mind between the warehouse¡¯s training dummy and the tip of her sword. A single strike and the two met, her de finding its target with uncanny precision. Even without coating, the dummy was heavily damaged. It was not a magical ma effect so much as her mind working overtime to make sure her muscles would follow. Although dangerous, the ability was physically and mentally tiring. She would have to be careful. Next was another necessary exercise.

    In the past week, Nestra had obtained more abilities and benefits than most raiders did over six months. Her rate of progress was astonishing, a probable sign it wouldn¡¯tst. It also brought with it a series of problems. Mostly, she¡¯d outgrown her technique.

    Nestra had spent over a decade refining her swordsmanship until she was certain she was at the top of the baseline world, but now she was no longer a baseline, and so her new physique made her movements a little more awkward. There were times when she believed she could hit much harder, or faster, than her muscle memory allowed. The most defining issue was movement and positioning.

    While before, she was confident in how long it would take her to reach a point, now between her speed and the traversal ability brought by momentum, her understanding of the battlefield was no longer valid. The first test was to understand exactly how momentum worked. She practiced in her warehouse, simply moving from one side to another. The first discovery should have been obvious, in retrospect. The distance traveled depended on her speed when casting, so the faster she was running, the farther she would go. An hour of practiceter, she was confident she could at leastnd where she meant tond in a straight line.

    As forbining both abilities, her head hurt before she could even start.

    She decided to pause the ability training because she was getting tired. She went through her forms instead and stopped in the early afternoon. There would be another raid tonight. She couldn¡¯t afford to exhaust herself.

    While waiting for her lunch, Nestra checked the news. There were a few promo pieces of Fifteen in Gidung¡¯s media arm, mostly stating that Gidung would live true to itsmitment to be a pir of mankind etc etc with a shining image of the dashing Hong Wang at the forefront. Reading between the lines, they were basically saying they would build new heavy industry assembly lines they couldn¡¯t easily set up inside of their arcology. She suspected pollution, weight, or heat might be a factor. Gidung promised to ¡®develop the district and form its poption¡¯ which probably meant a few hundred town-required ¡®jobs¡¯, mostly janitors and security screen watchers. Space was at a premium in Threshold so all in all, that would be a great operation for the asshole who¡¯de up with the n. Nestra¡¯s jaw clenched when she finished the article. They still didn¡¯t say which specific branch would benefit most from the new territory. Knowing that would help her narrow down who was behind it all. She was about to turn off her visor when a headline caught her attention.

    ¡°Shinran is back in town¡­¡±

    Nestra wasn¡¯t sure where the A-ss healer disappeared off to when he wasn¡¯t healing incurable diseases. Maybe raiding. The interesting point was the timing.

    The raider¡¯s vivid blue eyes seemed to stare at her from the screen with a disturbing intensity. Her benefactor had said they would be busy.

    Could they be Shinran?

    Or were they afraid of that powerful raider?

    There was no real way for her to know, at least not yet. Even her family¡¯s influence wouldn¡¯t be enough to get her close to him right now. He was that famous. And busy. Only the greatest and the neediest could hope to fit in his busy schedule.

    As the afternoon progressed, Nestra decided to take it easy with stretching and online de-esction courses. It was then she received a message. It was from an unknown number.

    ¡°Hello, Miss Padian. I am sorry for bothering you. I am Shinoda Yuuji, your future partner. I was hoping that we could meet before we start working together, if it pleases you. Please let me know if you are avable.¡±

    He was being very polite despite being her elder. Nestra sent back a reply, making sure to use the appropriate honorifics. It was important to give a first great impression so she couldter ruin it with quips and aggressiveebacks and still keep a modicum of goodwill. She called it the Nestra special. Once done, she prepared for the night with her usual twilight nap.

    ***

    This time, the portal was in an actual indoor swimming pool hidden away at the back of a bar closed for renovation. Nestra easily made her way inside by breaking an upper window, dodging a camera as she went. There were a couple of movement detectors but those didn¡¯t seem to pick up her presence. The pool was still full and clear when she arrived, the portal hovering at the back next to a pair of folding chairs. She breathed in the pleasant radiance before setting up. She would only wear the skin this time, no armor. Maybe the sale of the spear would allow her to purchase a shield, at least.

    There was something inherently satisfying about her nightly routine. Explore an exotic location. Encounter new fauna. Kill it, then cook it. Oh, loot and sell some stuff, she guessed. It was simple, it was primal, and it was the sort of no nonsense rhythm she really needed in her life right now. For this reason, she fully expected something to go dokkaebi-shaped in the near future. For now, she would keep enjoying her life for the first time in almost a decade. Live rather than survive. She didn¡¯t need grand ns besides getting stronger and finding out who¡¯d condemned her squad to death. How far she could progress would also dictate what she could eventually do anyway. Nestra was smart enough to realize her limits and her limits were that she wasn¡¯t too smart and she was socially an idiot. That really limited the extent of what she could do.

    So yeah, just go with the flow for now.

    With a happy sigh, she pushed her way through the portal.

    ***

    Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any urrences.

    The sky was low, cloudy, and the acid green of a fresh lime. It smelled strongly of brine and water. A thick mist covered everything, limiting a visibility provided by whatever little light pierced through. Strange pirs as broad as redwood trunks surged from the rocky ground to incredible heights. Mossy growth turned them into the grasping tendrils of some massive being, frozen in time as it reached for the heavens. Some may have found the vista oppressive but Nestra was loving it. This ce was new and fresh and she was getting curious as to how the hell it all worked. The temperature was nice. Her naked feet sank into mud, a feeling that might have scared her normally, but it also felt very nice having the soft sand under her soles. The lukewarm water was just pleasant and without socks to get soaked, it just felt like bathing her feet after a day of walking. She stretched her toes, then arched her back. Falling droplets of water provided a pleasant background chime but otherwise, it was rather quiet here. She also didn¡¯t have to worry about pesky raiders disturbing her rightful enjoyment of their unfairly monopolized portal so she could just take her time.

    Nestra walked around the pirs and basically explored the ce. She was careful not to touch the moss or the strange fluorescent yellow flowers letting out a soft glow, just in case. Eventually, she reached the limits of the portal world when the next passage between two pirs could not be crossed no matter how many steps she took. Some exploration showed it was shaped as a tube, a normal setup for a portal world this size.

    Nestra kept walking until she came across a tree with strange fruits. Portal worlds often had hidden goodies. They were just seldom worth the effort. For example, one might mine an underground portal and find ore but the required efforts meant that it was more profitable finding another one. She took the unknown fruits but didn¡¯t sample them. Couldn¡¯t risk it. Her steps led her back to the main path continuing alongside a deeper stretch of water. She red at the pond. Ponds were never safe.

    ¡°Come on, you might as well ¡ª¡±

    Something surged out of the waters. Nestra dodged to the side, avoiding a blue bubble. It exploded with a loud pop. Manapressed water. Her foe dove back into the water.

    Nestra slowly blinked.

    She had absolutely no idea what that thing was. It looked like a translucent, beagle-sized crustacean with diaphanous wings. A quick search confirmed that the database had nothing simr.

    ¡°I name thee: Shrimpus Floatus Wateribus.¡±

    Another creature ¡ª or perhaps it was the same ¡ª rose from theke, pping about with grace. Multiple ck eyes red at her while Nestra walked to the side. Suddenly, it cast a spell and Nestra was forced to sidestep it.

    The creature floated around while Nestra red. It was a stalemate. Or was it? She moved backward and dodged a third projectile. Those were pretty slow. Nestra backpedalled a little until the creature approached the edge of the pond¡­ and then she used momentum to close the distance and shed.

    The creature dematerialized, teleporting a few paces away. It cast again which forced Nestra to copse on herself. She watched the bubble pass overhead on a background of clouds. When she looked up, the creature was hovering over the pond just out of reach of her sword.

    ¡°Ok you are Shrimpus Floatus Annoyingis.¡±

    The newly dubbed beast dove back into the pond. Nestra jumped to where it was gone, then she ced her de in the water and pushed the button.

    Normally, this was considered a bad move ording to her training but how bad could it get?

    Three of the shrimps rose from the pond, shaking from the jolt they¡¯d received.

    Ok so maybe it wasn¡¯t the best idea, however the Stalk of the Scorn Crescent whispered what to do next. She used momentum to rush to a shrimp before it could recover then sliced using coated mana. The de decapitated the beast which fell at the edge of the water. She dodged two bubbles in quick session as she sprinted towards the next. It teleported to her side as it cast. So Nestra used the precision ability.

    She could see where it would reappear.

    Her muscles screamed as she twisted on herself, catching the beast with the extreme tip of the de. It severed enough back nerves that the beast fell, wings shivering and spell dispersing. Thest creature hovered at the back of the pond with furious motions, sending bubbles as fast at it could. It dove back in and returned to shoot more which led Nestra to think that maybe they had some sort of reserve that refilled when they were immersed. In any case, she wasn¡¯t waddling through all that muck just to get at thest one.

    ¡°You know what? Fuck you.¡±

    Nestra drew her gun and used uracy again. It worked. The beast practically exploded mid-air.

    Power infused her and she felt energy seep into her chest. A sensation like quenched thirst soon made her shiver in pleasure. The shrimps didn¡¯t reinforce any physical attributes. They were feeding her mana, and a lot of it.

    Giddy, Nestra carefully used her sword to drag the two mostly intact shrimp to the edge of the pond. D-ss worlds seldom had intense environmental hazards but she didn¡¯t want to step on an urchin or something like that. Although, urchins were delicious as well. With the two shrimp carcasses firmly secured, she was ready to depart with the secret hope she could rename the creatures Shrimpus Floatus Deliciosa.

    Maybe they were an undiscovered species. The odds were low but¡­ maybe she could get a lot of money selling new specimens. The problem was that this woulde with a lot of questions. No, it was much safer to eat them.

    Nestra wiped the drool off her face. There were definitely simr species she¡¯d have to sample. Garlic and lemon for this one? A gumbo? Teriyaki?

    ¡°Ok, focus.¡±

    Nestra kept going, encountering another smaller pond. When a shrimp appeared, she used momentum to jump over the water, catching it off guard. Sadly, she couldn¡¯t recover that one without going into the water.

    Weaker D-rank worlds were often like that, linear with a first major battle then a few skirmishes until a final conflict. Nestra took her time to explore more and found the first ¡®loot¡¯, red stones that burnt to the touch. Ever-fires. Those were really prized outside the walls as an endless source of heating but inside of the city, they were made redundant by multiple fusion reactors. She still pocketed one forter use.

    The next pond saw another shrimp cut mid-air, but when it fell, the body was swallowed by some sort of smander. The beast refused to resurface, even with electricity, and Nestra couldn¡¯t be arsed trying to lure it out so she let it be.

    Less shrimp for poor Nestra.

    ¡°I don¡¯t deserve this. I killed the shrimp. Why am I being robbed of my justly deserved bounty by some bottom feeder that doesn¡¯t even really need it?¡± she asked the green heavens, but they ignored her. The world was cold and uncaring and shrimpless.

    Fucking thief.

    Maybe the smander could be provoked¡­

    ¡°No, enough time wasted. I have to pick my battles.¡±

    Nestra walked some more, finding onest pond and one more crustacean to add to her growing collection.

    It was clearly a world where range fighters would shine. It would also test their ability to shoot twice in quick session which most raiders were trained to do anyway. Once more, Nestra wondered how she wouldpare with D-ss raiders. She was not eager to try, however. She was still getting used to everything, including her abilities. She was having a good run. She had no reason to rush it right now.

    Nestra stopped, her feet sinking in the muck.

    She was just considering murder for the sake of progress. Well, not really murder. There were plenty of gleams who deserved to die but didn¡¯t because they were covered by their guilds. Immorality and impunity led to some pretty fucked up situations she¡¯d heard of while in the force.

    Maybe¡­

    But no, at least not now. There was a step between selling illegally acquired artifacts and killing for power and she was unwilling to take it. Where would it stop? It¡¯s not because she looked like a demon she had to act like one.

    Nestra shook her head. A portal world was no ce for introspection. Theck of difficulty was making hercent.

    As she went on, the ground grew drier and rose at a gentle slope. The pirs grew wider and sparser. Larger growths formed tufts of dense vegetation between the rocks. The ce was strangely deserted. A part of her felt like there should be life among the tall ferns but portal ecosystems were often stunted. Vines clung to the pirs, producing huge leaves that reduced the avable light. A yellow bolt streaked through the cloud cover, followed by the powerful roar of thunder.

    Something shifted in the distance.

    Nestra frowned. There was a clearing ahead with the usual altar. This was it.

    She looked up again.

    Something was stalking her, she was sure of it. She walked to the center of the open ground with slow steps, making sure to keep her guard up.

    It happened very fast.

    Another bolt shed over her. In that background of light was a dark shape falling towards her. She used momentum to get out of the way and an instantter, her foe dug four talons where she used to be.

    Another sh. Humanoid shape, dark beady eyes. No neck. Long arms ending in twin curved talons. Short white fur. Powerful, lean muscles. It jumped and swung at her as she anticipated. She dove and struck, coated de biting into a biceps. Despite the coating, it failed to sever the arm. The power sent her reeling but the creature¡¯s screeches gave her a moment. Fast, almost too fast for her. Very wide attacks. Lots of power but telegraphed motions. It charged again.

    Nestra moved up then stepped back, avoiding the tip of ws trying to gut her by a few fingers. The next strike came as she predicted. The beast¡¯s attacks were relentless.

    Using precision, she attacked the ws. Her de slid between the talons and hit the bone of its hand, eliciting a crack but the tips still hit her side, the upper rib cage.

    ¡°Oof.¡±

    Winded. Lots of power. Shouldn''t try to block head on. Deflect instead. Dance better.

    The beast screamed again, revealing a wide maw covered inyers of inward-curving fangs. The sound was disturbingly close to human. She used momentum to close in which surprised it. Her de slid against the thick fur of its chest and dug deep, much deeper than the cut on its arm. Red blood flowed and the creature did as expected. It kept swinging.

    Nestra stepped into and under the attack, hitting the knee which cracked ominously. She jumped over the second attack and hit the shoulder, discharging electricity this time. The beast roared and did something she didn¡¯t expect. It grabbed her with its two arms.

    Trapped. Two furry arms around her. No time to dodge. She lifted her de above her head just as the appendages closed around her to crush her spine. She grabbed the de with one hand, the handle with the other.

    Precision guided her strike.

    ¡°Rah!¡±

    Her sword¡¯s edge mmed into the beast¡¯s left eye, then she moved it to the side. The gray, coated surface sliced cleanly. Blood and vitreous spilled over Nestra. The creature dropped her, grabbing its wounded face. Nestranded nimble on her feet and used onest coated attack for an upward strike.

    This one was devastating and she finally understood what was going on. The simian being used mana like humans did, reinforcing its body. It was either running out of it or losing focus. In any case, the beast was wounded and covered in blood. It wailed and jumped away.

    Nestra knew it would attack again because portal monsters only regrouped for long enough to resume their attack. She wasn¡¯t going to give it satisfaction. Using momentum, she jumped after it just as it reached the nearest pir.

    She felt the flesh give in under her. The sword pinned the simian creature against it like a butterfly, de easily stabbing into flesh and the stone beneath it. More blood gushed from every wound. The creature shuddered onest time, then it copsed, only kept upright by the de mmed into its heart.

    Nestra shivered when power rushed into her, confirming her victory. Strength. A lot of it. Maybe something more.

    Good.

    Nestra quickly checked her only wound to find it sealed close. Even her ¡®skin¡¯ looked unharmed though she felt a little tender. It was as if she¡¯d never been hurt.

    Very useful, that.

    It had been a great battle, really fun. And now for the loot. Nestra went over her database and found absolutely nothing, which didn¡¯t mean much. If Gorge gave it to her for free then it was probably kind of shit, so there was still a high chance this type of world was well known and the guild that had produced thependium just never had ess to it.

    Fortunately, there were always safe bets when it came to creatures like that. The first was talons. Those could be used in special gauntlets designed to help subsses of brawlers punch people in the face harder. The second was the skin which she did her best to remove correctly and failed miserably. The third were special organs.

    Nestra basically emptied the creature only to find disappointingly mundane organs. Well, they were different of course but none felt like they were soaked with mana or shining or of a vivid color. It also smelled atrocious even though she was sure she hadn¡¯t pierced an intestine. Vile thing. She still decided to cut a haunch, just in case. Primates were a little¡­ difficult to eat considering they looked a little human but this one was too weird to hurt her sensibilities. Thus loaded with food, Nestra approached the altar. On top of two crystals, she also found a bar of some sort of metal that was dark and cold to the touch. After that, she moved back.

    Threshold¡¯s abandoned swimming pool weed her back. There were no packages this time, just as the benefactor had warned her. It felt a little disappointing but she¡¯d live.

    ***

    Nestra shoved the garlic soy sauce strand of shrimp into her mrs and bit down. Those were not mrs anymore, of course, since all her teeth were serrated. The shrimps had turned out to have a real name and it was much less cool than Shrimpus Floatus Deliciosa so fuck those scientists. She frowned when her phone vibrated. It was Gorge.

    ¡°Sold your spear, your share¡¯s 63k.¡±

    Nestra shuffled in her couch.

    That was an enormous sum for her. It was also pocket change for a good raider.

    ¡°It was worth three times that amount but I had topromise for safety.¡±

    ¡°What did it do?¡± Nestra typed back.

    ¡°Some sort of berzerker effect. Can¡¯t say more than that and can¡¯t tell you who bought it. I¡¯ll buy the crystals at the usual rate and I¡¯ll auction the new goodies. You want the chit?¡±

    Nestra thought about it. Sitting on money could be useful. Spending that money was better. The problem was that she had no idea what she should get in terms of gear. She had potions, a ranged option, and a nice sword. Armor sets would only fit her for a little while. Survival gear wouldn¡¯t be relevant for a while. What should she get?

    Wait, she knew exactly what she could get.

    ¡°Send me 30k in a chit and for the rest, I want food. Specifically, mana food.¡±

    There was a dy in the answer this time.

    ¡°Food? Are you serious?¡±

    ¡°Enve goodies, fishery surplus, corpo special reserves. Whatever.¡±

    There was a longer pause and this time, Nestra enjoyed a small miracle. After almost half a shrimp (and some rice), she had achieved a state of zen contentment.

    She was full.

    ¡°Holy Riel I never thought the day woulde again.¡±

    A quick check revealed she¡¯d grown by another centimeter. It was likely she was heavier as well but her scale had some issue when she stepped on it in demon form. Not that she cared. Just had to make sure her stairs wouldn¡¯t copse by just stepping on them.

    A girl was growing so a girl had to eat.

    ¡°I can get you food but it¡¯s ¡®fallen off the truck¡¯ as one of my cousins used to say. That means they ain¡¯t cheap. I can get you up to four dozen fresh oysters for two hundred credits each, ten mana squid tentacles for a hundred and twenty apiece, wagyu at six hundred a slide¡­¡±

    The list went on.

    Nestra¡¯s smile bloomed. She had the perfect answer.

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Yes to what?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°You want everything?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Spread over the next three days. Do you have any veggies with that?¡±

    ¡°Veggies are cheap and even us dregs can buy them, why do you need me?¡±

    ¡°Because I¡¯m going to order a lot and I¡¯d love a discount.¡±

    ¡°Fine.¡±

    ***

    The puddle was a pond.

    In the dream space, Nestra watched the shimmering surface with exultation. Mana was the power to make reality¡­ flexible. It came with the gates. It infused everything. It changed wildlife and humans alike. It condemned those who could wield it to the crucible and those who could not to a reality of walls and the hanging doom of the hapless prey. Electric mana was better against single targets at lower levels, as well as self-buff. There was plenty for her to learn and now she had the tools to use it. She just needed some practice.

    As expected, the strength sphere had increased in size again, and was for now thergest one around. The simian being had also yielded a bit of physical resistance, not much but enough to make a difference. She was getting stronger. And hungrier. Things were looking up. Satisfied, she returned to sleep.

 3.2

    3.2

    For their first meeting, Shinoda picked a ssical izakaya nestled between two small office buildings deeper in the city. There was no ce to park around so Nestra was forced to walk quite a bit through narrow streets dominated by electric bikes and the asional heavy delivery drone. The Japanese influence in the district bled through the old-school neon signs advertising products from the homnd. The izakaya itself weed her with the smell of grilled meat and warm amber colors reflected in the ubiquitous wooden panels. At that time, the small restaurant was almost deserted, which made spotting Shinoda easy enough. He was currently sitting at the counter facing the kitchen, chopsticks picking at sliced cucumber.

    Shinoda was a baseline, possibly in his fifties, which he was wearing quite well. Graying hair tempered the harsh lines of a face that spoke of an ascetic lifestyle, but there was something wrong with him, a certain gauntness of the cheeks and paleness evoking deeper trouble. He wore an antiquated trench coat over wide shoulders like some archaic movie detective. The stooped posture conflicted with the steely intensity with which he was reading a document on his datasheet. Truly a study in contrasts.

    Nestra came to stand by his side and he turned with the smooth timing of someone who¡¯d seen here in. She bowed very slightly, which he returned. He gave her a weing smile.

    ¡°Ah, you must be Padian-san. Please, sit, sit. Be wee. Have you eaten yet? I rmend the tonkotsu ramen.¡±

    Shinoda¡¯s voice was deep and warm. Caring. A little at odds with his appearance.

    ¡°Yes. I¡¯ll have that and some gizzard.¡±

    Nestra ordered and survived through the obligatory ¡®hajimemashite¡¯ introductions, the small talk, and the careful questions about her qualifications. Shinoda was a soft-spoken man who interjected ¡®ne¡¯ and other Japanese particles in his English. His ent was quite strong, right to stressing thest syble in a sentence.

    ¡°So you were a MaxSec officer. Support?¡±

    ¡°Close Quarter specialist.¡±¡°Hontou desu ka? Really? Ah, forgive me. I did not mean to question your skills.¡±

    ¡°No harm done. Most people are surprised. How about you? Your file was rather light with details.¡±

    ¡°Hah,¡± he replied with a smile. ¡°I started in vice and made it to captain, then I joined the juvenile criminality department in district thirty-eight. I am technically retired but Officer Kim asked me to rejoin. As for why I came, I do not wish to bother you with too many details.¡±

    Polite trantion: yes I admit I have a history. No, I won¡¯t tell you. Mind your own biz. Fine by Nestra.

    ¡°May I ask why you chose to ept this position?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Several MaxSec people died there and I don¡¯t want their sacrifice to be for nothing. If I can help people while I do so, then so much the better.¡±

    Shinoda¡¯s expression was unreadable.

    ¡°Yes. Regarding the people we are meant to protect... I assume you have gone over the preparatory file?¡±

    Nestra blinked.

    ¡°You¡­ have not,¡± Shinoda said in a voice that carried wounded disappointment.

    ¡°I haven¡¯t received anything yet. I¡¯ll ask Kim. Maybe she forgot?¡±

    ¡°Oh? I see, I see. Then have you done any preparations?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve almostpleted the basic online course on de-esction. I¡¯ve also gathered non-lethal armament and some scouting capabilities.¡±

    It was difficult to read Shinoda but Nestra was feeling judged. The fact he was twice her age didn¡¯t help.

    ¡°Yes. The de-esction course is an excellent initiative. Although, your profile is, how to say¡­¡±

    ¡°Not suitable for the mission?¡±

    ¡°Ah, that is not what I mean. My deep apologies, Padian-san. You have clearly prepared.¡±

    ¡°To be honest, Kim said my job was to back you up and keep you alive, nothing more.¡±

    Shinoda sustained her gaze and the facade of pleasant courtesy cracked to reveal the calcting mind underneath.

    ¡°Ah, Kim-san¡­ I suppose it is best said now. I, right now, only retain around 40% of my lung¡¯s capabilities.¡±

    That¡­ wasn¡¯t enough for anything strenuous. Not at all. And yet he was here.

    ¡°Ah, and¡­¡±

    ¡°I cannot afford recement lungs.¡±

    Silence hung between the two of them. Everyone could afford recement lungs provided they agreed to serve their new corpo overlords and someone with Shinoda¡¯s profile would be sought after by any private securitypany that aimed at being more than just hired goons. Someone who¡¯d made captain could probably afford the upkeep off their own pockets as well. Once again, he was omitting quite a lot of stuff and once again, Nestra didn¡¯t push because it would be a terrible faux pas.

    ¡°You will have to be our running legs. As for the ¡®less-lethal¡¯ weapons, I hope we can resolve most issues without them.¡±

    ¡°Sure,¡± Nestra said with a shrug.

    They exchanged a nce which conveyed that Shinoda knew Nestra would draw on a fucker if she thought there would be a problem and that Nestra didn¡¯t believe Shinoda could always calm things down.

    ¡°In any case, our mission is to, ah, the expression would be managing hearts and minds. Yes, that. We are to patrol arge hab block in Fifteen and maintain a presence, as well as assist in counter-insurgency measures.¡±

    ¡°Such as?¡±

    ¡°Gidung will install amenities so water and electricity are provided for free to anyone in the vicinity for a duration of one year, courtesy of the municipality. For supplies, eeeto ne, please look at this.¡±

    Shinoda used his datasheet to show a rotation 3D view of their nned hunting grounds. Nestra followed his exnations while slurping her noodles. Basically, they would patrol and solve disputes over fourrge hab blocks centered around a central za that hosted a sort of low level trading hub, mostly a food market. A few warehouses would be repurposed by Gidung early in the operation.

    The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    ¡°There¡¯s gotta be at least two thousand people living there. No way two of us would be enough.¡±

    ¡°In truth, less than thirteen hundred. Many of the habs are empty or were converted into anything from workshops to greenhouses. Gidung will not interfere with their activities and there will be no taxation for a year. The city hopes to slowly convert the workforce to more legal activities. Also, our primary task is not policing. We are here to be seen and to listen. Additional security will be present when Gidung distributes supplies. A field hospital will also be built. We will have a pair of Gidung users on standby to assist in case of emergencies.¡±

    ¡°So we¡¯re bait.¡±

    ¡°Yes. There is no doubt the local toughs will test us but the real issue is the gangers. Neither Gidung nor the city has the resources to send enough troops to secure more than a few hab blocks.¡±

    That was bullshit. They were not willing to spare those resources. Nestra thought she should consider herself lucky that the entire district wasn¡¯t methodically emptied and its inhabitants dispersed across poor districts. Because the city could do that and no one would stop them, especially with precious gleam time being wasted on low dregs. All those fight-capable gleams flying around were not instead raiding easy portals across the ind for crystals and resources, a terrible cost of opportunity.

    ¡°... so they wish to lure them out of hiding. That is not something we can control, ne? If it happens, it happens. We will do our best to bring normalcy back to Fifteen and make sure no one ¡®redirects¡¯ the city¡¯s efforts.¡±

    ¡°Fine by me. You do the talking.¡±

    ¡°And I am in your care for the running.¡±

    ***

    Officer Kim had not forgotten Nestra¡¯s file. She was merely finishing it by adding additional data. Shinoda could take a look at one report and get the gist of it but Nestra had MaxSec training which meant she knew seven different ways to snap someone¡¯s wrist and couldn¡¯t tell how to secure a crime scene except by the old saying: ¡®don¡¯t touch nuthin¡¯. She was never meant to do field investigations, so Kim had someone create a moreplete image. It was pretty much what Shinoda had exined with more data on where the workshops were, the VIPs, and the troublemakers and so on. The overachieving administrator also included a collection of mugshots to upload to her visor since some of the known gangers had escaped.

    Kim gave her until the end of the week before her starting date which was considered ¡®rushed as hell¡¯ in the industry. Sitting on her couch while munching on a homemade mana banana (or bamana, if you will) sundae, Nestra considered her situation.

    There was nothing she could do that would help with being a better cop, not on that timeline. Much better to follow Shinoda around to learn the ropes. What she could do, however, was prepare for trouble.

    Now, she wasn¡¯t really scared of dying because her mask was just that, a mask. If her human form were to be destroyed, she was pretty sure she would revert back to her true self. Maybe with some damage. Now that was obviously still a huge problem in itself, but fortunately, she had a solution.

    While demon Nestra was growing like mushrooms on a pile of politicians¡¯ promises, human Nestra remained conveniently same-sized. Nestra knew that because she¡¯d checked her human condition with great care in case it degenerated without food or exercise, and it didn¡¯t. That meant that she could invest in gear that would fit her for more than two weeks! And she could even do it legally by drawing from her end-of-contract bonus, which would nicely separate demon ck market Nestra from humanw enforcement Nestra. Perfect.

    ¡°Ok, let me see the best of the best!¡± She announced to herself as she satfortably with her visor, ready to prowl the inte for some juicy stuff.

    ¡°Ok I need to scale down my expectations,¡± she added exactly thirty secondster.

    It took three hours and quite a few cross-checks to find the good offer she wanted. It was fine for Nestra. Like finding a cheap deal on nice shoes. She settled for a small treasure she found on a lost page selling Wellington military surplus to securitypanies. Her perfect find was a scout armor made for baselines to survive in the New Zend wilderness for extended periods of time. Wellington equipped workers and researchers with it and it had quite a few nice features. The armor offered decent ballistic and excellent de protection. It also had a helmet that looked like a cowl on the upper back until activated, then it would snugly cover the head. Even better, the helmet would protect against shbang effects and gas which was what Nestra was most concerned about. Like all Wellington goods, it sported the corp¡¯s signature metal ink EMP shielding and minimum electronics to function. There were a few drawbacks like the weight but the most defining feature was the appearance. The model Nestra ordered just looked like an outdoorsy hiker set which would allow her to fit in more than riot armor. It even had cooling features! Nestra¡¯s only regret was the rtively ugly pair ofbat boots but she guessed it would be okay.

    From Gorge, she ordered a few more gizmos like EMP charges and door breaching explosives she could reasonably exin having, then she was ready.

    Protective gear: set. Drone surveince: delivered by Stib and operational. Non-lethal weapons: holstered and ready. Extra-lethal weapons: hidden around where they would hopefully stay unused. The only things missing were her thermos and snacks which she packed eagerly.

    ***

    Nestra was now ready except for the whole pletely unqualified for the job¡¯ part. She left on Monday at 8:30AM with a fresh, renewed hatred for a schedule that messed with her weird sleep cycle. There was a message on her doorstep with new coordinates written.

    ¡°There better be Kero nuts this damn time!¡± she protested.

    The drive to Fifteen was short and uneventful. She arrived at the newly rebuilt district precinct and passed through several thorough security checks. Shinoda was waiting for her by the coffee machine next to the huge meeting room where the weekly briefings would take ce. Nestra usually enjoyed those because they were rxing. She could drink her java in peace and pretend to pay attention, except the part where whoever spoke reminded everyone to be mindful of the social realities and then red daggers at her specifically. The gathered officers were not what she was used to here. MaxSec had been a gathering of lean, fit men with an attitude, at least at first. Here, the group was eclectic as could be. There were a couple of quirkies and quite a few augs, some old men with wrinkled scowls, some fat men with keen eyes, young women with guarded expressions, and young guys with hungry smiles. There were Mys, Pinays, Viets and Anglos, Koreans, Japanese and Chinese and even a lone ck guy who looked old enough to have been here since the city¡¯s inception.

    Nestra wasn¡¯t sure where the city had found all those people but they were clearly not picked at random, because if there was one thing they all disyed besides covert curiosity, it was distrust. Everyone stuck in pairs and looked around like they were five seconds away from a massive shootout. Paranoia was the name of the game. It was the perfect crowd for this ce and Nestra was now even more convinced Kim knew what she was doing.

    The briefing was given by a primdy in a uniform so wless it looked drawn on. She was pretty much a Kim clone to the point Nestra wondered if they shared the same stic surgeon. There was a mold to upper middle management and she fit to thest sheen of perfectlybed hair, a sign Threshold was sending their best. There were no pieces of information to be gleaned here that weren''t already in her file, so she only listened with one ear. There would be events throughout the weeks, mostly convoys of humanitarian aids and mobile hospitals instations. The rest were reminders to behave and keep their eyes open which no one here really needed. After they were done, her visor pinged to show a message from Aunt ire.

    ¡°Hey there Nes! The celebration is set for Saturday, so make sure youplete your revenge so you can ditch the pigs ande meet the family! ACAB babyyyyyyyy ;P¡±

    Nestra flinched at the various emotes and gifs that followed. Aunt Clecle was just trying to get a rise out of her.

    ¡°Like that¡¯s going to happen,¡± she sent back. ¡°But I¡¯ll be there. It¡¯s my day off.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯d better. If some bureaucrat asshole gives you overtime, I¡¯ll smack them on the way to nab you. And you can quote me on that.¡±

    This was concerning as Aunt ire had at least two separate citations for smacking bureaucrats on her way to do something. That Nestra knew of. That woman was a menace.

    Nestra¡¯s rtively good moodsted right until Shinoda and her reached the motor pool. All bait pairs were assigned a refurbished Touhei cruiser from ten years ago, which was actually a pretty good surprise considering they were some of the best cars ever designed ording to her brother Ulysses. All she knew was that they were good all around as well as extremely reliable, with a grid covering the reinforced ss that could stop heavy machine gun fire. That was where the good news stopped, because leaning on their new rides were a trio of gleams in Gidung uniforms.

    Shinoda stopped and tensed at a short distance which the assholes immediately picked up with knowing sneers. Nestra recognized their types immediately from the erratic mana pulsing through their bodies. Lack of discipline orck of skill, often both, forced some raiders to the bottom of the totem pole. It was not enough to want to hurt and be ready to get hurt to be a good raider. One needed the brains to do so smartly, and the resilience to train every day. The portals didn¡¯t suffer fools dly and those guys had it painted all over their beings from messy hair to stubble to barely lit iris to frumpy uniforms tonguid postures and everything in between. Nestra knew she had to take the initiative with a step forward and a bit of diplomacy.

    ¡°What are you corpo goons doing in our garage? Shouldn¡¯t you be out working instead of ying tourist?¡±

    The demeanor of the trio changed immediately. From mocking, they grew aggressive which would have happened no matter what when their demands would not be met. Now they looked like a pack of wolves and Nestra was a perfectly seared slice of medium-rare rib-eye steak with garlic green beans on the side aaaaaaand she was hungry again. Which made her bare her teeth¡­ which incidentally gave the gleams pause. Now they were curious. One of them, a thick-set south east guy, leaned and whispered excitedly in the middle gleam¡¯s ear, a Korean guy with dark hair and a poorly chosen mustache. Meanwhile, Shinoda had also moved forward to be right by her side and he was doing something with an old-school cellphone he was hiding behind his back in one hand. Nestra picked their words easily with her slightly enhanced senses. They¡¯d recognized her.

    ¡°Well if it¡¯s not the Padian reject. You know, you kind of feel like you¡¯re on the verge of something. If you ask nicely, maybe I could give you some mana so you could experience what it feels to be a quirkie instead of a drab? At least for a little while?¡±

    ¡°But then we¡¯d both be quirkies,¡± Nestra deadpanned.

    Oooh they didn¡¯t like that. Gleams like them knew they were shit gleams but a drab wasn¡¯t supposed to tell them they had so little mana they were on the verge of failing. The third guy, a tall anglo with a weaselly look, even took a step forward but the middle one held him back. There were cameras here, and the other officers were already gathering in quiet, judgmental clumps. They had witnesses. Probably what Shinoda was going for.

    ¡°Oh, feisty. Real shame you can¡¯t y nice since, you know, we¡¯re supposed to be your overwatch.¡±

    Tall anglo guy smirked in a gotcha moment, as if Nestra could count on those clowns to save anything if the situation hit the fan.

    ¡°We just wanted to get acquainted. Much better to know the person as it would¡­ motivate us to perform better and all that.¡±

    So bribes.

    ¡°Oh that¡¯s great, we¡¯ll be sure to tell you if your assistance is required¡­¡± Nestra kept going.

    She knew at this stage that pissing them off no longer served a purpose but she couldn¡¯t resist. Guarding cops in a shit district was as much a punishment detail as it was possible to get for a gleam. Past that was in expulsion which few corpos were willing to risk on gleams. That meant those gleams already knew they were on someone¡¯s shit list and they either didn¡¯t care, or they were not smart enough to realize it. No matter what, they would be a pain.

    ¡°Hope you don¡¯t wait for too long,¡± mustache gleam said, then he signaled and the trio left under the nk attention of almost all of the cops that were in the meeting room.

    The assembled cops waited around like a bunch of gargoyles until they were sure things were settled, then they filed out with quiet nods. They had done their duty. It was time to return to normal paranoia.

 3.3

    3.3

    Shinoda moved into the car without waiting for Nestra, directly in the driver seat. When she climbed in the passenger seat, his seatbelt was already fastened.

    That was a breach of etiquette, and a grievous one at that. Seniority meant he would decide who drives in the pair but they were supposed to agree on it as a form of respect. He¡¯dpletely bypassed that, so Nestra gave him an unimpressed look. He misinterpreted it.

    ¡°You had them handled, Padian-san. I was backing you as a partner.¡±

    ¡°So is the car gene-locked or¡­¡±

    ¡°Sonna¡­ Oh! I apologize. Oh, sorry. Please forgive me for this disy.¡±

    Nestra chuckled at how bashful the grim detective suddenly was, all red and sputtering. It felt so weird it was a little embarrassing.

    It also revealed what sort of partnership he thought they had under the veneer of politeness. That¡­ was actually fair. He was an overqualified person twice her age while she¡­ well, she was doing her best. And he was mostly respectful.

    ¡°It¡¯s ok, haha, it was a distracting experience.¡±

    ¡°Yes. I admit, I have faced users in the past over certain allegations. It has been¡­ difficult. Sometimes. In truth, I am impressed by your handling of the situation. Are you not concerned they will retaliate?¡±¡°Oh, they will. Mostly, they won¡¯te to help us. They might also let it be known. But those are bottom feeders. Scum. You don¡¯t want to get close to them because they stain everything they touch. Give them an inch and they¡¯ll ask for favors, the kind that ends up with them transferred elsewhere and you transferred in front of the rat squad.¡±

    ¡°Is your experience with your family¡­ helping you?¡±

    Nestra shrugged. Of course he knew who she was.

    ¡°Yeah. And my experience as someone who thought I¡¯d be one of them. And it doesn¡¯t hurt that they expect me to be connected. I mean, the Padians don¡¯t officially support me but my parents and my aunt got a reputation. It¡¯s protected me a few times, I suppose. Anyway, enough about them. Gleams are like bad weather. Can¡¯t do anything about them but wait.¡±

    ¡°Sou ka? Very well.¡±

    The cruiser left the brand new garage at good speed under the expert hands of Shinoda who, like quite a few people she knew, never fully trusted the car¡¯s AI. They drove deeper into Fifteen through narrow streets and crowded alleys, most of which had been avenues and wide roads before debris and sometimes even fallen buildings cluttered them into inessibility. The light of early morning exposed the ce mercilessly as the shithole it was. Ugly concrete structures were the best one could hope for in the brutalist cityscape of post-incursion architecture but Fifteen went a step further by being abjectly poor as well. The hab blocs stood yellowed and cracked like old teeth among an ocean of detritus piles. Shinoda expertly wove between the worst trash heaps while figures watched them cautiously, huddled around barrel fires for warmth. The mood was grim. People stepped away warily when they approached, only rxing after they were gone. Nestra spotted at least five different armed guards though they looked more like local security than ganger muscle.

    The cecked the tattooed groups standing with affected confidence or jeering. Most of the gang signs were wiped away while crews, flying drone hives, and huge, automated machines cleared debris and the umted trash. In a way, Fifteen was licking its wounds but the body was far from healthy.

    ¡°We should start showing ourselves at the market and move up from there. Listen to the people,¡± Shinoda said.

    ¡°Hope they talk to us.¡±

    ¡°Some of them will if only to show the others they are not afraid. Over a thousand people. Ronins will be plenty, probably.¡±

    ¡°And they all want to be unequaled under the heavens?¡± Nestra drawled.

    ¡°Hahaha. So kamo ne. I will park over there.¡±

    Shinoda drove under an arch into the integrated parking lot of their assigned hab block. It was arge open space under the main body where the view was only obstructed by support beams. Only carcasses of vehicles remained now, every useful part long since stripped. If people could afford a car, they wouldn¡¯t be living here. Shinoda stopped in a rtively uncluttered space in in view, within a short distance of the market just in case they had to leg it. Nestra hoped they wouldn¡¯t because Shinoda couldn¡¯t leg anything for very long. And the cruiser wasn¡¯t very safe.

    Actually, that wasn¡¯t entirely true. The cruiser was pretty good, hermetically sealed and it would probably be cleaned every night at the pool. She still fully anticipated everyst wheel to smell like teenager piss by early afternoon. Those who tried to break stuff with stones would waste their time and those trying to trash it or steal stuff would get a very bad experience. Nestra came out cautiously, made sure she had everything strapped and released her small flock of drones made by Stib with the convenient activation of the visormand ¡®Nestraguard.exe¡¯. A really simple prompt allowed her to assign a camera to the car, just in case someone tried to open a window with a walker warhead.

    Stepping out of the shaded lot in the open was like ying a scene from an old western. The two vaqueros strode in the open air saloon while over a hundred and fifty people looked up from whatever the fuck they were doing. Nestra only hoped it wouldn¡¯t end in ¡®exit scene, pursued by lynching mob¡¯.

    The open market wasrge and obviously also a social hub. The scent of spices and grilling meat covered the unpleasant background stench of neglect pretty well. In fact, the market area was rather clean. Food stands were old and settled with tarps and antique folding chairs, the paint peeling off in ces. Other stands sold off-brand clothes made in fabricators using custom models. Some of them showed a unique style that spoke of true effort. As for the people, they were both widely different and yet simr in some ways.

    Some of the older workers wore stained coveralls as they ate ate breakfast. Some felt more like drifters, others like artists, others were broken people hard on their luck with dejected expressions. A certain equilibrium kept the groups bnced between each other, and with an idle herd of young adults with ridiculous baggy clothes. Nestra¡¯s instinct recognized them as a threat immediately. She would bet a Kero nut against a pistachio that they were packing heat. It was the only exnation as to why they would be caught outside wearing that.

    Stolen from its rightful ce, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    ¡°What are you pigs doing here?¡± a short-haired dark guy asked from a stall selling tech stuff. He wore a pretty distinctive acid green ensemble that made him noticeable. Nestra recognized him from the file. He was also known for repairing and repurposing equipment.

    Fate hung in the bnce etc, so Nestra let Shinoda handle it. Standing here with confidence in his old-fashioned clothes, the mature detective carried a disarming, fatherly aura. Nestra wondered what wisdom he would share.

    ¡°Pig stuff, of course,¡± he genially replied.

    A few people shook their heads, others returned to eating or grilling. There were a few low chuckles but though no rousing endorsement, it was enough for their purposes. Shinoda was in and the youth was dewed, though he didn¡¯t realize it yet.

    ¡°Where were you fuckers a month ago,¡± he grumbled.

    There were still a dozen people watching. Weirdly, Nestra felt like being the one to answer.

    ¡°Uh, we didn¡¯t want to get pasted,¡± she helpfully replied.

    Thest of the tension bled out. Overhead, a squad of drones made a flyby to spew Gidung propaganda. No one gave a shit.

    Shinoda walked to the nearest food stand and Nestra followed until a quick check revealed half of her drones were down. Their cameras were gray and an error message returned ¡®connection jammed¡¯. She turned to see the sneering heckler, now waving a sort of remote control with an arguably deserved shit-eating grin.

    ¡°Lost something, angmoh bitch?¡±

    Her visor returned ¡®white person¡¯ for angmoh. Hokkien, so maybe originally from Singapore. She anticipated needing the onboard dictionary quite a bit.

    Shinoda spotted the problem and he went back, which got a few res. Nestra knew it would be easier to just let it go but her life might depend on those drones and besides, they were Stib¡¯s gifts. And that guy was being a prick. She approached his stall while Shinoda engaged with a nice, calming sentence. The ce was filled with cobbled together stuff with wires exposed. There were drones, appliances, and quite a few things that looked like defensive systems missing just the weapon. A couple of them rose when she approached and she realized they had flechette guns on them. Enough to draw blood though they wouldn¡¯t pierce her armor.

    ¡°Nuh uh, angmoh. You don¡¯t want to hurt your pretty lips, uh?¡± the seller said with a smile, then he mimicked a blowjob.

    He was getting a very small crowd but most people seemed not to care much for his bullshit overall which implied they were used to it. So Nestra turned to the side and revealed a small sphere which she rotated. There was a click and a countdown appeared on the sphere¡¯s surface.

    10 9 8

    The seller didn¡¯t fail to recognize a nice standard issue police EMP charge, the kind used to wipe out drones during operations. This would destroy Nestra¡¯s visors, her remaining drones, and that guy¡¯s entire livelihood.

    ¡°Yo bitch, what do you think you¡¯re doing?¡±

    ¡°Nice stall.¡±

    7 6 5

    ¡°Would be a real shame.¡±

    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t dare you siao girl.¡±

    4 3 2

    Nestra shrugged.

    She would most definitely dare.

    ¡°Ok, stop.¡±

    She pressed the button, leaving a red blinking 1 hanging between them.

    ¡°My partner would just like her belongings back,¡± Shinoda said.

    ¡°They were made by a good friend so I don¡¯t get jumped,¡± Nestra agreed. ¡°So return them or I¡¯m wiping us both. You got three seconds.¡±

    It took less than one to have her drones return to her control and for the seller to spread his arms around with a radiant smile.

    ¡°Heyyyyy no need to get angryh, just ying around a little? Little hazing for you neers. So, we good anot?¡±

    Nestra deactivated the charge.

    ¡°I still owe you for that dick joke.¡±

    ¡°Heeyyyyye on angmoh, give sh a break. Wo, you guys are sooo tense.¡±

    ¡°Please do not mind sh, boss,¡± the food stand guy behind them said. ¡°He¡¯s just an idiot. Good guy though. Don¡¯t buy his rice cookers.¡±

    ¡°It was just one time!¡±

    With the crisis averted, Shinoda was left talking to sh which left Nestra with a choice. She could y second fiddle in an exchange with someone who¡¯d tried to nab her stuff. Or! She could ¡®interrogate¡¯ the other guy who happened to sell skewers of grilled meat and shiitake mushrooms drenched in chili oil with, if her nose was right, some cumin.

    Obviously, they could split to cover more ground if they were just a few meters apart. The food seller was a short guy wearing an actual apron and a white hat. His nose red, smelling a good deal with the same uracy Nestra smelled diced garlic.

    ¡°Lay ho! Hello! Wee to my stand. I am old Lin. Meat? My best stuff. Try one!¡±

    Nestra grabbed the thin wood piece and chomped on the offered piece of meat. It was pork, very tender, unnaturally so. No mana but enough calories to achieve happiness.

    ¡°You like? Is my juiciest rat,¡± the guy said with a nice, wide, gotcha smirk.

    ¡°Oh good. And here I was afraid it might be vat-grown pig.¡±

    ¡°Hah! You have good tastebuds. Skewers? Four creds for meat. Two for mushrooms and one for momo bread. Crispy and nice.¡±

    Nestra ended up with a nice spread for twenty creds, reduced from twenty-two because she was such a pretty gweilo (another term for white people, there were quite a few of those) and also because she made sh shut up. That was apparently worth something here.

    ¡°So, why you are here Leng Lui? Racket? Please say no.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re just supposed to show ourselves and help when needed.¡±

    ¡°You and what army?¡± her cook replied with naked disbelief.

    ¡°No army unless we get jumped. I¡¯ll let you on a secret,¡± she said, leaning forward.

    ¡°Really?¡±

    ¡°We don¡¯t actually expect a lot of people to ask for our help.¡±

    ¡°Ooooh, very smart, very smart. Yes. Because you cops are useless?¡±

    ¡°I mean, we got to build some trust first. Anyway, I should leave. Nice food.¡±

    Shinoda was done telling sh he was impressive for breaking decent encryption that fast. The young asshole was positively preening. The two strangers in a semi-hostilend regrouped and moved on.

    The trip through the market remained uneventful. Most people were not quite as weing as old Lin had been but they provided service, most of the time.

    ¡°That smells quite nice,¡± Nestra told ady selling naan she stuck to the inside of a bell-shaped oven.

    ¡°Yeah but smelling is all you¡¯ll do. I don¡¯t do business with pigs,¡± thedy replied with a calm expression that said the only way Nestra would taste it would be theft and battery. Nestra shrugged. Not a surprise.

    Except for that one incident, they were mostly just tolerated as they moved through a crowd that gave them a wide berth. Only the most confident people asked them questions.

    ¡°So you guys think you¡¯re here to stay?¡±

    ¡°Are you going to try and tax us?¡±

    ¡°What are you going to do about trash collection?¡±

    ¡°When¡¯s the hospitaling? We were told there would be one?¡±

    Obviously no one trusted them farther than they believed they could throw them but at least there were no overt shows of hostility, and they reached the end unmolested. Shinoda pointed to a set of wide stairs and the long trek up began. Long, because Shinoda was taking his time since he could not afford to run out of breath. And also because the ce was a maze.

    What reports failed to say was that many of the hab blocks¡¯ corridors were obstructed by very deliberate blockades, not piles of trash but welded bars, corrugated steel amalgams and, in one case, an actual wall made of concrete blocks cemented in ce with surprising professionalism. Some of the passages ended with locked doors and others with concerned guards who were more than eager to point the way up.

    ¡°There are elevators but they are limited to the manufacturing levels. They have jury-rigged security ess. We will not take this path very often,¡± Shinoda exined as a way of apology though Nestra didn¡¯t care.

    The ce was messy and fascinating and also some of the graffitis were frankly impressive. The ones without dicks, that is.

    ¡°They¡¯ll let us use them?¡±

    ¡°I will ask politely. Please do not override anything unless there is an emergency.¡±

    ¡°Sure,¡± Nestra replied. ¡°Not that I¡¯d know how to do it. That¡¯s Stibs¡¯ domain.¡±

    ¡°The friend who gave you the drones?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Her setup is very impressive. We are lucky she refused to join a corporation. Are they deployed now?¡±

    ¡°All the time, yeah.¡±

    They reached a long corridor overlooking the central courtyard. Some of the railing was missing. Shinoda slowed down.

    ¡°So, are they telling you what I suspect?¡± the detective asked.

    ¡°Five of them. One¡¯s running ahead to corner us.¡±

    ¡°The baggy clothes groups that followed us at the market?¡±

    ¡°Yes. I¡¯m seeing weapons.¡±

    ¡°I wish to talk to them.¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡±

 3.4

    3.4

    Shinoda resolutely walked to the end of the path, stopping right at the corner. He looked at Nestra who gave him a countdown. At zero, a tall guy turned around, almost into Shinoda. He swung without thinking.

    Nestra¡¯s senses were a little enhanced in human form, which gave her all the time to appreciate the old detective¡¯s flowing motion as he grabbed the extended arm with his own, twisted on himself, heaved the unbnced ganger over his shoulder and sent him bodily crashing against the balustrade, which cracked ominously and then, broke.

    Nestra grabbed the guy¡¯s arm before he could plummet down on a hat-seller stand. He red at her with venomous intensity as if Nestra was enjoying herself pulling that sack of muscles up. The fall wouldn''t kill him. She was half-tempted to pull the good old Mufasa.

    ¡°Give me your hand!¡± Shinoda yelped by her side.

    His genuine concern shocked Nestra, and the ganger as well. He still hesitated halfway because apparently, his pride had short-circuited his higher brain functions.

    ¡°Kusogaki. Hand. Give. Now.¡±

    The two finally hoisted the idiot back up just as the rest of the group arrived behind them. Without hesitation, Shinoda released the idiot so he could join his friends with bashful resentment. Nestra took position behind Shinoda while the two sides made their stand.

    The local thugs were a sorry lot.

    It was not just the cheap baggy clothes that only hid weapons from naive eyes and protected absolutely nothing. It was also the generalck of edge they were disying, defiance without the training and mentality Nestra had seen in her colleagues over the years. Riel, even Pudding would have demolished these guys for breakfast and he used to eat three of them. And they were young. They were so damn young. The oldest thug was the leader, and he was younger than Nestra. Neen or twenty. South East Asian. He was the only one who¡¯d sessfully grown facial hair and though he did have a certain maism, Nestra could see the tension in his shoulders. Interestingly, the security file didn¡¯t mention them.¡°Guess the little piggies have eyes.¡±

    ¡°It won¡¯t go like you think it will go,¡± Shinoda stated.

    ¡°Hah,¡± the leader scoffed.

    He sounded more bitter than angry. Nestra noticed he kept his hand rxed by his side, near the pocket of his baggy trousers. Probably had a piece there though she didn¡¯t know why he hadn¡¯t already drawn it like most of his friends. As for the other guys, their irons were fabricator-made junk made from blueprints designed to go around hard-coded safeties against gun proliferation. Basically, they¡¯d manufactured each piece of the gun independently then assembled them. The results were boxy, unwieldy things that made even her antique service rifle look like shiny corp gear. The only people those fuckers could threaten were groups as pathetic as themselves. It was a little sad but she kept the observation to herself because Shinoda was taking them seriously. To be fair, even a garbo gun could still kill.

    ¡°You¡¯re gonna give me the speech about how if I off you, a hundred will rece you? Or some shit like that?¡± the leader continued.

    ¡°That won¡¯t happen.¡±

    The leader¡¯s smirk gained a steel edge.

    ¡°You knew I wasing but that does not mean you can stop me.¡±

    ¡°Not this. We will not be reced. Should you kill us, it will be over. But it will not serve your purpose.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t know what my purpose is.¡±

    ¡°Then tell me,¡± Shinoda said with kindness and patience.

    Nestra got a feeling the leader had just gotten trapped and he knew it as well. For a moment, she thought he was going to opt out and just get back to violence, but the rest of his squad was looking at him with curiosity. Maybe they also knew cops were bad but they¡¯d not articted exactly why. Riel, they really were so fucking young.

    ¡°I want to stop what¡¯s going to happen here. Seen it before. First you can¡¯t move around, then you can¡¯t have a gun. Can¡¯t sell food without a corpo permit. Can¡¯t sell local stuff cause it¡¯s not licensed. Drones everywhere. Just wait a bit and the entire kib is just a slum around abini and a pawn shop. And we¡¯re all on the fucking dole waiting for corpo nutrient bars.¡±

    The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

    He pulled a stick from a pocket and lit it, sending a puff of smoke traveling towards Nestra withzy defiance. It smelled like weed.

    ¡°So gonna make it costly. Maybe too costly. We won¡¯t kill you. Rough you up a bit. Won¡¯t even ask a little knob slob from the sow. But we¡¯ll send the message. And hey, maybe we get the fucking borgs dropped on us but at least we¡¯ll have fought back, yeah?¡±

    ¡°I see. You are protecting your¡­ kib, was it?¡±

    The thugs chuckled. They really thought it was funny watching the old timers use the local ng.

    ¡°We are not here for that. We are, ah, the canaries. In a mine. Do you understand?¡±

    ¡°Is this some old guy shit I¡¯m supposed to get?¡±

    ¡°Old, yes. Pre-incursion. A long time ago, canaries were kept in mines to see if the air would go sour. Do you know how you can tell if the mine air is sour?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the canaries?¡±

    ¡°Yes. They are dead.¡±

    The toughs were now listening to Shinoda with grisly fascination, certain that they had the upper hand anyway so indulging in a little banter couldn¡¯t hurt. Shinoda grabbed that attention like a gleam on a dance floor.

    ¡°There are only two of us. We cannot be thew in this ¡®kib¡¯. Our role is to tell the town where to go with the help, and the hospitals, and the supplies. If the canaries die then the ce is not a good ce to help. It is simple. And there is something else.¡±

    The youth waited.

    ¡°We are Threshold officers. We are not corporate private security. We are not even well paid.¡±

    Nestra nodded before she could think, which made a few of the thugs shift with amusement. Her instincts kept telling her they were no danger and the Scornful Crescent whispered in her ear that she could take them all out and solve the situation immediately. Make them afraid of her. Gain dominance. But that wasn¡¯t what she wanted.

    ¡°This is your one andst chance to get a better life, because the city will try a little and then it will give up and leave the district to Gidung. The truth is, no one believes in you. The city will offer training. It will give you ess to healthcare and assistance for those who need it to get better. It will not close the fabricators or the vat farms. But most people do not expect much from it because they believe you are a lost cause. You can choose to stay here if you wish and perhaps Gidung will win. Or you can grab that chance and turn your luck around.¡±

    Shinoda shrugged.

    ¡°You can change and make progress. I can even help you. It will not be easy because no one wants to make it easy for you, but it is possible. Or you can do the same thing you have always done and let the world crush you. It will take a while and maybe you will feel like you¡¯re fighting a noble cause but in the end, it will not matter. You are warriors with homemade guns. They have power walkers and bored users. It is not a war you can win by fighting with the weapons you have now.¡±

    ¡°Sure, ok. Why would you even care?¡±

    ¡°I was part of the crushing force, a long time ago. Luck offered me a mark as a reminder.¡±

    Slowly, the detective opened his vest and unbuttoned the shirt underneath. From her position at his back, Nestra couldn¡¯t see what he showed but the way the thugs flinched told her enough. He had to be sporting the mother of all scars.

    ¡°I have carried this mark everywhere I go. I will no longer be part of those who crush, but I cannot escape the trap for you. Only you can do it. As I said, I can help you. I can show you the tools. You will see that I tell the truth. If at any point, you believe I lie¡­¡±

    He approached the nearest ganger. With two delicate fingers, he picked the barrel of the homemade gun then slowly lifted it until the muzzle rested between his eyes.

    ¡°If that happens, you can kill me. I will not try to stop you.¡±

    So that was why Kim had told Nestra to keep an eye on that fucker because, as far as Nestra could tell with her sharp senses, Shinoda was unafraid. His heartbeat was steady. There was no sweat on his skin. He was¡­ truly indifferent to dying.

    That felt wrong to Nestra until she realized that until two weeks ago, she¡¯d shared the exact same mindset. But now life tasted sweet and she no longer wanted to let it go. It was a strange feeling realizing how much she wanted to keep existing now.

    The thug pulled his gun away from Shinoda¡¯s forehead, breaking the spell. The dynamic of the situation had changed and the promise of violence was now a distant thing, faded into the background. Thatsted until the leader realized there was a foreign piece inserted in this perfect scene like the ck queen on the white side of a chessboard. Someone who was sticking out. Someone who didn¡¯t fit.

    Nestra.

    ¡°How about you, pig girl? Why are you here?¡±

    Shinoda stepped to the side and gave her a warm smile. That gesture was aimed at the others, to show them she had his blessing and trust rather than speaking over her to smooth things over. Fortunately, Nestra had actually given it some thought.

    ¡°I almost died fighting the gangers during the purge. They had corpo gear, unmarked, and I think we both know how they got it. I¡¯m just here to make sure Gidung doesn¡¯t get free rein over the district.¡±

    ¡°You think you grunts can do anything?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I do. So long as we¡¯re around, no one can just wipe the ce and me it on ¡®terrorist action¡¯. I¡¯m not joking by the way.¡±

    ¡°Oh so now you¡¯re our shield against the corpo, eh?¡±

    ¡°Yeah because so long as we¡¯re here, they have to pretend to care.¡±

    Nestra knew she wasn¡¯t as convincing as Shinoda. The gang seemed divided over her statement. She knew she was making sense but it was clear she didn¡¯t really give a shit about them and the fact she was armed and on guard reflected that. They felt it too.

    ¡°Nice de by the way. Can I see it?¡± the leader asked.

    ¡°That¡¯s a family gift, so no. But for the rest, feast your eyes.¡±

    Nestra pulled her vest open, revealing the Wellington body armor along with some of her gadgets and the hand cannon resting against her hip. A few loud whistles weed the reveal.

    ¡°Nice. Is that an EMP charge?¡± the leader asked, pointing at the gadget she¡¯d used against sh.

    Nestra knew where this was going. She grabbed the grenade and threw it. The leader caught it in the air with ease. A sleight of hand and it was gone. A toll. A symbol. Nestra could live with that.

    ¡°Ok. We¡¯ll see if you mean it or you¡¯re just talk, piggies. See youter.¡±

    The thugs left in good order, leaving thew in control of the corridor and the situation. No bloodbath! They were off to such a good start.

    ¡°That went as well as I¡¯d hoped,¡± Nestra said.

    ¡°It is so, ne? Let¡¯s hope thissts.¡±

 3.5

    3.5

    ¡°Wow.¡±

    Nestra had to admit, she was impressed. The hab housed an actual meat vat farm with bs of cloned meat bobbing peacefully in nutrient juices. Helpers moved around the vats, checking indicators and adding powders to the mix. Much of the supplies were piled haphazardly across the room in piles. There was even mold in the corner. To Nestra¡¯s left, an open door led to some sort of biomass recycling thing if the acidic stench of rot wafting from there was any indication. What didn¡¯t look stolen had to be counterfeited and yet Nestra knew with absolute certainty that they still made it work.

    Mostly because of the skewers she¡¯d had.

    ¡°Wee, wee esteemed customers,¡± an olddy with a turban and a dark gaze said.

    Shinoda greeted thedy with respect, which she returned. The file said she was Miss Yadar, no known first name, and probably the hab block¡¯s richest denizen. The two discussed matters in a low voice while Nestra did her best not to scrunch her nose at the aggressive scents attacking her senses. Eventually, they left, though not before exchanging numbers so Nestra hoped this meant Yadar was taking them as serious potential partners. That or thedy wanted to bang Shinoda. She couldn¡¯t be sure. Seduction ys were hard to read for her, especially when they weren¡¯t aimed at her.

    In any case, they got to visit the hab block¡¯s upper floors.

    It was simply incredible what humanity could achieve with aplete disregard of work safety, intellectual property rights, worker rights, and taxation. Truly inspirational. There were fabricators spitting jailbroken or custom made appliances to be used all around Fifteen! Rice cookers and mixers at prices that defiedmon sense were piled in thin metal boxes, ready to be sent down the stained elevators. At least, this specific part was healthy.

    ¡°No drugbs,¡± Nestra observed.

    Shinoda agreed in silence. There didn¡¯t seem to be many addicts either. It looked like they¡¯d drawn the jackpot for assignments. So, that was nice. ¡°Hey, wait. I got something.¡±

    Nestra opened her feed. One of her drones was keeping an eye on her car. A figure was approaching it. She paid attention this time because the figure didn¡¯t fit. To her surprise, no one had pissed on the door handle, perhaps out of concern of getting their private parts zapped. There were a few young stone throwers but that was about it. The one who appeared was super suspicious. She shared the feed with Shinoda who watched it on his old datasheet.

    ¡°Oh, Padian-san. Our friend seems lost.¡±

    The guy approaching the car had a cap and a face mask for anonymity, but he also wore brand new nondescript cargo pants, sneakers, and a hoodie in brown and blue shades. They looked fresh out of the fabricator. In police pance this was called the ¡®undercover cops summer collection¡¯. For the winter collection, just add a vest. This guy fit in like a zit on a gleam¡¯s ass. He looked left and right, then walked closer, barely pausing near the door. His hand moved with aug speed then he was off.

    ¡°Tracker?¡± Nestra asked.

    ¡°It seems that way. Listener as well, certainly. Our Gidung friends have made their first move. They should have used a drone.¡±

    ¡°Perhaps they¡¯re afraid of sh. He noticed my drones immediately.¡±

    ¡°Hmmmm. Then it is fortunate you two reached an agreement, ne?¡±

    ¡°You could call it that.¡±

    The pair rode the elevator down. It was getting close to 6PM so Nestra dropped her drones in slow mode at specific points across the block to keep an eye on things, expecting nights to be more animated. The pair climbed into their cruiser after unpeeling the tracker. Nestra tossed it at a garbage collector drone on the ride back.

    ¡°Today went very well, I think?¡± Nestra asked.

    She didn¡¯t really have a frame of reference.

    ¡°Yes. We were only¡­ osted once, ne? And no violence. But there were no crimes today. None that we were called to solve. Tomorrow might change that. They will be testing our ability to solve problems without bringing in the hammer. You did well, Padian-san.¡±

    ¡°Not going toment on the EMP threat?¡±

    ¡°Ah, I believe it pays to show a little teeth sometimes, ne? You can be bad cop.¡±

    ¡°Why thank you.¡±

    To celebrate being a bad cop, Nestra ate her prepared snacks (spring rolls) before falling asleep in the car, only waking up long enough to transfer to her own car. She only woke up at midnight. It was time to raid again, and this time, she felt a certain sense of urgency along with the usual excitement.

    It was only a matter of time before she was attacked for real. Every little bit of help would increase her chances of sess. And soon, she would be using her demon form in the real world as well.

    ***

    Tonight¡¯s portal world was inside of a tightly locked warehouse at the edge of the city, where smallerpanies or artisans stored their stuff. Nestra found no way to get in without breaking in so she did the same asst time. She followed the pleasant energy until she was close enough to slip into the portal.

    It was dark in there, and it smelled musty. Bricks spoke of an artificial structure made by tools but not as much as an actual panel with arrows for direction.

    Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any urrences.

    Nestra caressed the rust-colored stone, going over the symbols with mixed feelings of curiosity and regret. Those were not magical inscriptions or anything. Just chiseled, coarse runes designed for functionality with arrows pointing towards empty corridors, and yet they evoked a sense of wonder.

    There were theories.

    In thest days of the incursion, an army spilled from thergest portals and contrary to normal monsters, they were organized. Organized and deadly. Some of the rising hopes of mankind died in the spears of those feathered, bipedal lizards. For a moment, it seemed that all was lost. Mankind saw its doom and simply called them the Shetanis, the devils.

    It was Riel who saved them all. Riel the savior. Riel the messiah. Possibly still the most powerful human to have ever lived even years after the fact. Hell, he might still be alive. No one knew his real name. All humans knew was that he was a space mage of considerable power who used portals to carry his elite force from battlefield to battlefield, defeating the enemy in detail. He¡¯d disappeared in one of his own spells at the paroxysm of the conflict, taking the opposing leadership with him. Some spected he escaped into some other dimension afterward. Nestra thought he was finely minced atoms, but everyone needed their King Arthur ready to return from Avalon to save everyone once more.

    Anyway, the main point was, there was intelligent life out there. Nestra was likely from out there and she was intelligent life as well, pretty sure. There were even theories that the Shetanis were meant to inherit the earth and that the portals they came from didn¡¯t lead to an artificial world but a real one. Nestra believed in it - the ¡®real worlds¡¯ theory, not the inheriting part. All those creatures andndscapes were not taken from the void, They were real ces, out there, being mimicked by whatever it was that did portals.

    And just like this world, sometimes, the life was intelligent.

    Maybe some aliens out there were chucking poison darts at magically cloned retail workers in some fried chicken franchise. Nestra imagined the enraged copies tossing boiling oil at the invaders from behind the fry stand. Glorious. May they spread the fear of mankind to all those species.

    Nestra checked her hand for dust. So, apparently, she still felt somewhat human. Or at least on the human side. Even though she wasn¡¯t one. That was¡­ weird? Or was it? She really needed to get the benefactor to talk to her soonish.

    In any case, she was in a copy of a base inhabited by intelligent life. Intelligent enough to write directions.

    It was unfortunate she had to kill them but the truth was that portal creatures were irredeemably aggressive. Nestra knew there had been attempts tomunicate with them, even including drugs and some ethically questionable and extremely rare gleam powers that made people more¡­ amenable. All those efforts had failed. Now, capturing intelligent creatures was prohibited in Threshold for ethical reasons, which really went to show the unspeakable things humans had done for vengeance or for fun. And that was just here in one of the bastions of civility. In some ces like the Nairobi enve, killing captive intelligent species was a spectator sport because they tended to be¡­ entertainingly resourceful.

    ¡°Right. Enough of this.¡±

    Nestra was on a timer. The portals were growing increasinglyplex which meant they took an increasingly longer time to clear. Maybe soon, they would start eating into her sleep time. Or her snack time. Awful. Better get on the way.

    The portal world was clearly underground, in aplex of dark red, pitted bricks with spaced stones emitting a dull red light. The walls were rather high and the corridors wererge enough for her to wield her swordfortably. The directions on the wall pointed towards several corners. Besides them, there was nothing differentiating one path from the next and the ce had obviously been designed to be confusing to navigate, with no corridor being straight for longer than twenty paces. Of course, that didn¡¯t mean anything for Nestra since she had a visor with her. The onboard software would create a map as she progressed.

    Carefully, Nestra moved out. Corridors only led to more corridors and, sometimes, dead ends. She decided to record the directions on the wall and just follow one for a while. As she nced past an intersection, she heard a dull explosion. The ground shook once under her feet while dust fell from the ceiling.

    This was¡­ a bunker? Interesting. A memory brushed her mind, from an eternity ago. A lesson from her father about the rare worlds and what could be found there. Hmmm. Red stone. Bunkers. Explosions. Could it be¡­ the Infinite War? No, that would be too perfect.

    After one more turn, Nestra finally found her first opponents. The corridor turned right towards arge gate guarded by two bipedal creatures wearing a full body suit of dark material, possibly leather. Cumbersome masks with four bulbous sses for ¡ª she presumed ¡ª the eyes, covered all their features. They were stout and almost round, slightly shorter than human, and wielded pneumatic rifles with a bay fixed under the barrel.

    It <em>was</em> the Infinite War! Amazing!

    Staying low to the ground, she walked out, sticking to the deeper shadows between the light stones. She was only a few steps away when the closest creature let out a grunt of surprise. She used momentum to move forward.

    The creatures were so surprised they fumbled their weapons. Her first cut decapitated the right one, then she thrusted her de into the chest of the second. It dropped its weapon but didn¡¯t die immediately. A coup-de-grace silenced it.

    A rush of power filled her. It spoke of increased resilience, of the ability to endure. Well, not resilient enough to stop her anyway. A quick search revealed nothing specific. The creatures were fleshy but shared more inmon with worms than mammals that she could tell. They were just weird. They didn¡¯t really wear armor but their uniforms were naturally protective. A quick shot with one of the pneumatic rifles sent a cone of steel lodging itself into the wall, not very deep but deep enough to hurt her. They did feel difficult to handle though, despite theck of recoil.

    So it really was Infinite War.

    A rare world, Infinite War provided a bleak outlook of what positional battle could be if left to fester for too long. The creatures living there had dug themselves to standstill, with an unknown number of sides involved, all gathering a collection of creatures. The ce wasn¡¯t well researched since it was so rare anyway, but that didn¡¯t matter. What mattered was the buffet of power provided to her. More diversity of prey meant more power ups since she had diminishing returns on creatures she¡¯d hunted before.

    It was time to hunt.

    Giddy, Nestra found a key to the gate and opened it. Inside, she found¡­ an armory.

    Not a very big one though.

    Much like the rest of theplex, the armory was bare-walled and devoid of any decoration. Crates and shelves lined the space in neat, well-organized stacks. There were cone ammo dumps, rifles, side arms that looked like extinguishers with handles, sabers, bays, helmets of various sizes, muzzles, and one thing that looked a bit like a methrower.

    They were all shit.

    That was the issue with many of the portal worlds, at least at her rank. What the natives were using was systematically inferior to human stuff. Ah, whatever. Going out, she selected another directional keyword and kept walking. Less than two corridorster, a noise alerted her.

    There was a patrol nearby. It consisted of three of the footmen she¡¯d already killed along with a pair of hound things but white and misshapen, and a strange creature that looked like a jellyfish nted on a gori¡¯s body as its head. All of them were short and strong.

    Even though she was in the shadows, the jellyfish turned directly to her. Nestra realized that the entire appendage was covered in eyes.

    It was absolutely disgusting.

    The creature screeched and Nestra charged forward. Momentum brought her among the group. The Scornful Crescent guided her steps when she pushed aside the barrels, when she slew the first two guards. A hound jumped and she stepped back, killing it mid-air. The other stumbled on its in brethren and Nestra struck true. Thest guard missed her with a rifle shot but she still rushed back when the jellyfish lit up like a Christmas tree. An azure shockwave spread through the corridor, banishing the darkness with a fizzle of spent electricity. Nestra was back in again before the rifleman finished reloading. She killed both.

    The jellyfish¡¯s head was super mushy. It pretty much exploded when she sliced it.

    ¡°Ugh.¡±

    Power seeped into Nestra¡¯s essence. Resilience from the guards, awareness from the hound, but from the jellyfish came something new. She felt a font awaken in her, pulsing in rhythm with her breath. It was thest piece of the puzzle, thest element of a core: fast mana generation. It was what allowed casting users to stay in the fight even after they¡¯d depleted their reserves.

    ¡°Oh I¡¯m loving this ce.¡±

    Nestra checked the patrol but found nothing worth taking, only mundane materials used on inferior technology. As for the meat of the hounds and jellyfish thing, it looked and smelled so vile, it might as well have been designed on purpose to induce nausea. That was ok.

    A littleter, Nestra encountered another, simr patrol. This time, she didn¡¯t make the mistake of letting the jellyfish live. Her first slice covered the helmets of two guards in enough gore to blind them, leaving her to dispose of the hounds with ease. It was a ughter and the¡­ sobriety of movement of that hunt sent shivers down her spine. Perhaps it was a little premature to search for perfection in execution when she knew so little about the world, but there was no shame in enjoying a bit of pride when she managed it.

    Nestra¡¯s triumph was short-lived. A grunting call rang from all around as if from loudspeakers. Thenguage was coarse and entirely guttural to the point that even differentiating between each curt, barked syble proved impossible. A whoomp that sounded suspiciously like an rm alternated with short sentences.

    ¡°Ah, oops?¡±

 3.6

    3.6

    This was the second portal since the fort to be reactive as a whole and Nestra believed this was going to be the norm. Her training didn¡¯t cover that.

    It was kind of exciting.

    She kept following the same direction at a good pace until she heard feet stomping around a corner. She stopped. It sounded like more people this time. Reinforced patrols? Nice. As far as she knew, monster numbers were fixed inside of a portal world so that simply meant she would have to fight less encounters. Holding her breath, she waited until they approached. Just there, at the corner.

    The first guards just turned the corner when she used momentum to appear before them. Masks. She couldn¡¯t see their faces. A sideway sh imbued with mana, just to be sure. Gain the advantage. Two dead, cloven in two. Forward. She killed the next pair on two clean strikes while they were raising their rifles. Go with the flow. Every step is part of a whole, a perfection in motion designed to take down the opposition in the most elegant, wless way possible. Art given form. Dive under a jumping hound. Stab another as it rushes her. Crush the jellyfish just as it charges. The timing must be perfect. She smashed through the patrol in a whirlwind of violence before they could recover, before they could bring their numbers to bear.

    Lots of numbers.

    This patrol was more than twice the previous one, with new variants. One of the creatures had four arms, each ending in a de that seems grafted there. It twisted on itself to deliver four blows. Weak, all of them. Nestra took a step back then caught a wrist with a devastating blow, severing it. The dervish creature stumbled. The next blow killed it. Nestra felt power seeping into her again, more speed this time. She¡ª

    Pain.

    A shock, a stumble forward. A spike hit her lower back. The projectile fell, not having prated deep enough to stick. Blood. Hers. She turned and killed a hound but the rifleman took a step back as he reloaded. Use momentum and kill it, then turn and stumble back. A second jellyfish creature unleashed a shockwave of electricity. The beasts near it were unaffected. Two guards raised their pneumatic guns.

    Use momentum to rush forward. Errant indigo bolts danced on her arms, the remnants of the jellyfish spell. They tingled painfully and her arm spasmed but she endured. She brute-force smashed through the second dervish and killed the jellyfish with a single decapitating strike. Only a couple of guards left but she heard it. Rushing feeting from, well.Coming from everywhere.

    The guards were running away, though it felt more like a tactic than real fear. She hesitated and that hesitation cost her. The Stalk of the Scornful Crescent stopped with her doubt. Continue or run in the other direction? To remain untouchable or to crush relentlessly.

    She didn¡¯t know.

    There were just too many parameters she couldn¡¯t understand. Maybe it would be best to continue a running battle. She had mapped enough of the ce to avoid being cornered or escape. She turned, and that was when a sharp painnced through her left arm.

    There was a needle in it. A long, very thin ck needle. Through it. Her panicked eyes found a creature emerging from a puddle of darkness on the nearby wall, torso half exposed to reveal a ck leather coat and a steel mask, bare except for two eye slits. The assassin carried a hand crossbow, now empty though it was already pulling back the string.

    Nestra struck but the creature was already disappearing and the tip of her de only tore pieces of rust-colored gravel. The rm sound redoubled and new eructed words came with increasing urgency.

    ¡°Fuck.¡±

    Nestra ran away. The assassin was a level of magnitude faster than the others. Mid D-ss, she¡¯d say. About as fast as her. That could only mean one thing. Errant boss.

    Sometimes, themander or most dangerous beast of a world didn¡¯t wait at the end but preferred to harass the invaders during the whole trip. That was the case here. She should have ¡ª aaarg. She wasn¡¯t taking this seriously enough! Portal Worlds killed raiders every day all across the and she¡¯d seen it as a distraction because it had been too easy.

    The weird benefactors had sent her here as a lesson.

    Nestra pulled the spike. At least it wasn¡¯t poisoned or she would have felt it now. What a disaster.

    Ok, calm down.

    She would return to the entrance just in case she had to escape, but her goal would also be to take down patrols as fast as possible. The assassin was probably stalking her so she ought to watch out for that. Ahead of her, a spot of deeper darkness spread over a wall, at the exact half distance between two bleary light sources. She could only see it because her dark vision was perfect. It disappeared soon after. The assassin was biding its time but¡­ perhaps she could lure it out. Ignoring the pain in her arm and back, Nestra decided to veer to the side where she heard a patrol, a smaller one this time. Not all of them had had the time to converge, it seemed. She charged forward using momentum to crash against the guards once more, their rifles unable to follow.

    Fighting while keeping an eye out was one of the hardest things she¡¯d ever done. Tensions grasped her heart with its cold touch but she didn¡¯t relent. Open with the guards, kill the hounds next. She was already familiar with the perfect path. It had already be¡­ less exciting. Too predictable. A dot on the wall there.

    Another.

    A part of Nestra¡¯s brain panicked but the rest focused, slicing at the head of the assassin as it appeared. It saw her. It tried to pull back. Nestra felt it strain against the mana, resisting it to hide back into the shadows but it was in vain. The assassin used the darkness as a tool. It didn¡¯t understand it enough to reverse the spell¡¯s course and so darkness pushed it forward just as it was originally meant to do. There was so much powerless rage in the assassin¡¯s gaze as it died that Nestra felt like she was looking at herself. Diving low, she hid behind the jellyfish and thrust up and through its brain just as a long dark spike embedded itself in itsid body. There was now a third pool of darkness emerging from a side wall. Three assassins. And this one would have a perfect vantage.

    Desperate times, desperate measures.

    Nestra called upon precision. The power guided her muscles for a perfect throw. The assassins¡¯ eyes widened in fright behind its mask when it saw her move but it was toote. With unerring uracy, her de flew through the air. Itnded in the assassin¡¯s chest with a ghastly wet sound.

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    This left two guards, the second assassin who now had a clear path towards her, and a Nestra with a wounded left arm, a pistol on her left hip she couldn¡¯t properly reach, and not a shitload of options.

    Had to try it.

    Shecked training but¡­ no choice. Sometimes, one had to use weapons they had not mastered yet.

    She was going to cast a spell.

    Nestra extended her fingers towards the assassin as it aimed, the two guards lifting their rifles to the side as well. She drew mana from her electric core like she did to coat her de but this time, she pulled a lot of it. A lot. Almost half of her reserves were drained in a single instant as an unseen charge of power gathered around her extended digits. When she felt ready, she pushed.

    Nestra knew how lightning worked but the way she perceived it was different. A terrible excess formed on the chest of the assassin, an abundance that warped the world around it while an equally dreadful longing remained at Nestra¡¯s fingertips. It was more than electrons, it was an imbnce in the mana of the world that absolutely must be corrected. At this precise instant, Nestra was no longer in control. The spell was cast. The imbnce was here. Now, it would be corrected, and neither Nestra, nor any creature here, nor perhaps even Shinran could stop it from happening.

    <strong>BOOM.</strong>

    The two points linked and lightning was made. It was ck at its core and gray in the shockwave of superheated air exploding outward. It was loud, deafeningly so, and it was powerful, unexpectedly so.

    The gray spell obliterated the assassin, the guards, the walls, and Nestra¡¯s eardrums. It seared a memory in her cornea she would carry all her life, one of wonder and of vertigo before a force she guided rather than controlled. It also sent her careening against unyielding brick in a shower of debris and body parts.

    ¡°Ow!¡±

    The bells of every church in threshold decided that now was a good time for a concerto. Nestra propped herself up and failed, then she tried again. No time to be distracted. Had made enough mistakes already. Couldn¡¯t let her guard down.

    ¡°Ow. Ok. Not in enclosed space. Noted.¡±

    Stumbling, she raced to grab her sword and a smattering of needles dropped by the dead assassin while she was at it. Had to make some distance. Bleeding now. Couldn¡¯t hear properly either.

    Nestra shook her head and walked at a sedate pace, careful to check all her corners. There were no more pools of darkness which meant that the three assassins were probably it. Most likely. Her hearing returned after a minute or two and the bleeding slowed down as well but she still stopped in a corner to apply some basic potions.

    It was good to be prepared.

    With the bleeding stopped, Nestra took a look at the wounds. Gray skin closed over the vanishing gashes. They were already itching. Only her arm was still painful but it had been run through and a slow move proved it could work without issue. In front of her, stomping noises announced theing of another patrol.

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    Nestra changed tactics. Rather than killing everything methodically, she went through the formation like a hot knife through butter, only reversing at the end for another pass. That way, there was always a guard between herself and other guards. It worked really well. She only wished she could spend more time killing the dervishes so she could study their movements. After that, her path led her to another section of the maze.

    This one was a sort of barracks with narrow cots and lockers. Some rooms looked like charging stations with strange fluids leaking from unraveling cords while others were kennels, some still hosting baying pale hounds she killed anyway. A mess upied the center of the ce with vats of bubbling food sitting against the wall. They smelled vile and didn¡¯t look much better so Nestra regrettably left them alone. The kitchen wasn¡¯t inspiring either. All the ingredients came in discolored bricks with solid parts frozen in them, some looking like maggots.

    Disappointing.

    Nestra hit the jackpot when she found three dervishes in a tiny training room.

    ¡°Aaaah, finally.¡±

    The creatures threw themselves at her, each one hampering the other by being in the way, so Nestra killed two using her superior strength before engaging thest one. She let the survivor charge her in a twisting hurricane of des, pushing it back with measured slices. A momentum back led to the dervish rushing forward, closing the distance and leaving a shallow slice on her leg. She kicked it away and it charged back. Nestra countered with a thrust which the dervish failed to stop.The wound gave it pause, but only for an instant. It simply charged again.

    The pattern repeated a couple of times. Nestra was disappointed to see that her foe was more programmed than trained. She killed it quickly after that. She also checked the des. They looked pretty sharp to be able to cut into her skin so she recovered a few.

    Her exploration continued. The patrols were growing rare now, and the corridors more familiar. Nestra was still careful, just in case there was another surprise, but the worst had passed. The next section opened on arge room with a table at its center. A tall, bipedal creature with arge head stood up from arge chair and shot at her. Momentum let her dive to the side and then she killed him before it could reload. It didn¡¯t offer much resistance but she still got a sizable portion of power from his body. Her mind felt keener, faster.

    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re themander of the base.¡±

    She considered keeping the sidearm and eventually decided to do so as a trophy. Not like this ce had been very fruitful food wise. Errrr, loot wise. She found the exit portal behind that room. It was already opened, with two crystals and some weird stones she recognized as exotic mas. Not useful to her but they would fetch a nice price on the ck market.

    There was one section of the maze she¡¯d not explored yet. She was tempted to do so. Very much tempted.

    Fuck it, it would be lost when the world copsed. Had to see it.

    Nestra retraced her step and found a winding, circr set of stairs going up. It took a few minutes to reach the end, during which the explosions she¡¯d first heard grew louder and more powerful. Finally, she found herself in what had to be an observation post doubling as a bunker.

    It was also the end of the portal world, as told by the waves she felt in the fabric of reality. Come to think of it, they were a little like a portal.

    The air smelled dry and rancid here. A warm wind carried an acidic stench she could not recognize under a roiling sky of sickly yellow clouds. Explosions sent plumes of smoke barely visible above a hazy cloud of dust, but sometimes their lights could be seen as ephemeral shes in the grimy air. Distant shapes rushed away, sometimes small and humanoid and sometimes much, muchrger, titans of flesh carrying weapons on their backs.

    There was an uncountable amount of them. Nestra stayed for five minutes and the tide of flesh never ceased. It was a multitude sent to assault a force beyond what she could see and she knew in her heart this was a real ce. This was really happening.

    cing her hand against the end of the portal world, she peered through the void to spot the opposite side and her fingers, very slowly, sank in.

    She pulled back with a gasp.

    That was how she went through portals. By pushing through. But then¡­ But no, she couldn¡¯t try. What if she got stuck there in that hellscape with no way back? That was far too dangerous.

    A little spooked, Nestra made her way back to the exit portal and back into the real world.

    It was rare when she got to think that Threshold smelled pleasant. The warehouse apparently harbored a collection of antique pieces of furniture, probably pre-incursion. stic sheets wrapped around veneered panels in a protective gaze. The smell of old wood permeated the ce. As usual, there was a letter and this time, it came with a fine prize.

    ¡°A Kero nut!¡±

    Whatever ce this thing came from, the benefactor had clearly decided to return there. That was perhaps why they¡¯d been absent for three days? She munched the treat with great gusto before unpacking the letter. Ah, Kero nuts, a balm to her soul. What made them so tasty anyway?

    <em>¡°Little Nezhra!</em>

    <em>Well done tonight. As you can see, the training wheels are off and the next worlds will be harder first sphere worlds, or D-ss as the humans say. It is necessary to prepare you for the future. You are going to need strength soon.</em>

    <em>Remember, when you reach the second sphere, I will tell you what you want to know. Until then, trust me when I say this is the safest option.</em>

    <em>I am looking forward to seeing you face to face!¡±</em>

    There were two hastily written notes next to the main body that showed that the benefactor was somehow keeping an eye on her. To Nestra, it just reeked of ack of preparation.

    <em>¡°Little Nezhra, it appears I need to talk about ¡®hubris¡¯ now rather thanter. It is the drive to win perfectly. It is what pushes you to give yourself a handicap so you can experience the enemy fully rather than just win. I will not tell you not to explore and fight on your own terms. One cannot defy their nature. Just keep in mind that this is how we die.¡±</em>

    Huh. But it did make sense to fight the dervish one on one to see its limit in case there was something to learn, right? How else was she supposed to make progress?

    That was normal, no?

    Nestra frowned. She had some thinking to do. Thest piece of text had very obviously been added at thest minute.

    <em>¡°Little Nezhra. DO NOT CROSS INTO OTHER WORLDS NOW. DO NOT DO IT. You are not ready at all and I may not be able to follow you.¡±</em>

    Ah.

    So, she could really cross into the other worlds. That brought its own host of questions but like most things, she was too weak for it to matter. The world was vast and Nestra was small. That was how things were, for now, but she would change that. First, going out would be a good idea.

 3.7

    3.7

    Right, so, she was a prisoner here. She could break through but there was one power she knew she needed, had needed, and now there was an opportunity to get it. Nestra sat down on the ground and rested her back against amode as old as her mom. She closed her eyes and focused. It was a familiar exercise, though she¡¯d stopped practicing when it had be clear she didn¡¯t have a core.

    Nestra sunk into herself. Soon, she was in her mind pce. A quick visit showed she¡¯d gained toxin resistance but little else resilience wise. Possibly a secondary gift from the assassins. What interested her were the spheres orbiting over the still shallow pool of mana.

    Power was still her strongest asset, closely followed by speed. She noticed that every sphere pulsed now. They were also slightlyrger and higher in the sky, fed by the death energies of her victims. She counted seven in total. Each represented an attribute: power, celerity, resilience which covered regeneration apparently, awareness, mind speed, and two basic attributes of magic: control and generation. Interestingly, mana reserves were represented by the pool of water under her feet. It was fine, that was just an image in her mind. What interested her was the bond between them and the new one she felt was ready.

    While binding power and celerity had led to momentum and celerity and awareness had led to precision, the ability she needed now the most was¡­ traversal. It was an integral part of how she would survive in this walled city where locks and bars ruled to protect mankind. Or what was left of it. With a smile, Nestra linked her awareness with mana control for what she knew was an inborn gray demon ability.

    Nestra ced her hand against the wall. It was cold and unyielding, a concrete pir holding the structure together. And then, it was not. Or rather, Nestra was no longer so unyielding, but swimming through a different substrate of reality.

    And then she was outside. It was like pushing through a membrane.

    She would call it passe-muraille. The walker-through-walls. Now she could avoid cameras and walls. Demon Nestra was going to get her first outing soon enough. The only thing she needed was a target.

    She put on her mask and walked back to her bike and her burner phone, which had seventeen missed calls. From Gorge. Thetest was from five minutes before.

    He picked up before the phone could ring.¡°Hey!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±

    ¡°Shit, you don¡¯t owe me anything and all but¡­ it¡¯s about the spear you sold.¡±

    ¡°What about it?¡±

    ¡°The¡­ the buyer. They want to talk to you. They have my son.¡±

    ¡°Ooh. Targets.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°When?¡±

    ¡°Right goddamn now. Look, you don¡¯t have toe. But¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ming. But I have conditions.¡±

    ¡°Anything.¡±

    ¡°Ok, here is what I need.¡±

    ***

    Gorge was pale as a ghost. He wasn¡¯t normally half as colorful as hisnguage but this time, the white of his skin betrayed how absolutely terrified he was. His second son sat on the driver¡¯s seat, anxious though he hid it well. The interior of the van smelled of old leather and fresh sweat, the scent tititing human Nestra¡¯s nose in a curious way. A part of her wondered if the benefactor would let her do it. Considering they¡¯d not made their move yet, it seemed she would be allowed to reveal her dual nature to Gorge, at least.

    She wondered what would happen if the benefactor just materialized out of thin air to kill them all but it wasn¡¯t like she could let Gorge¡¯s son die, and that was what was at stake here.

    ¡°Exin,¡± she ordered.

    ¡°Look, the guy who bought the spear, his pit fighter went mad. He knew it might happen. He made a shit ton of money in the arena thanks to that artifact we sold, but he¡¯s also a cunt who always gets his way. So he got my son wanting to talk to you and¡­ I imagine he wantspensation. Look, this guy, he¡¯s mundane like us. Like me, I mean, but he got gleams working for him. And borg muscle.¡±

    ¡°Aug muscle.¡±

    ¡°For fuck¡¯s sake. Fine. Aug muscle if you insist. Look, those guys¡­¡±

    ¡°Take and take. Meet in person with him?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. I¡¯m to bring you.¡±

    ¡°Mind if I, ah, make it clear I¡¯m not to be contacted?¡±

    Gorge gave her a measuring look.

    ¡°As I said, he¡¯s going to have muscle. If you think you can handle them, sure but¡­ it¡¯s gleams, Nestra, and not the nerdy researchers kind, yeah?¡±

    ¡°Got it. Give me the gear.¡±

    ¡°Here it is. Bodysuit as requested. It can expand too. But, ah, one meter ny-five? You sure?¡±

    ¡°Mask?¡±

    ¡°Here. It will meld to your features the first time you wear it. Quite costly.¡±

    ¡°Take it off my tab.¡±

    ¡°Get my son out of this and it¡¯s free. And you¡¯ll have my gratitude as well.¡±

    Gorge turned serious. He was sweating.

    ¡°I¡¯m serious, Padian. I may be an old cunt but I respect the deal. You don¡¯t owe me shit. Save my boy and I¡¯ll be on your side till Riel himself crawls back from hell to finish off the dregs.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll do what I can. Need to get changed.¡±

    ¡°You, uh, change shape or something? Is that your quirk?¡±

    Nestra smirked.

    ¡°The less you know¡­¡±

    ¡°The better. Off you go, we¡¯re on a schedule.¡±

    Nestra left the van, retreating inside of a deserted section of the abandoned parking lot Gorge had selected for the meeting. This was it. She pulled off her Mask. Her true form appeared.

    The skin thing was good but it didn¡¯t cover enough. Yet. Her forearms and calves were exposed, and though her body had proven resilient, her skin was too gray, too strange. Too inhuman. The bodysuit would cover every inch of skin while the mask wouldpletely hide her features save for her eyes and hair. Even the horns would look like part of the design. She put everything on. It felt¡­ stifling. Wrong. But also protective.

    Thus anonymous, she walked back into the van.

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    ¡°Got glitches on the¡ª¡±

    Gorge¡¯s face made an ¡®o¡¯ of surprise. Nestra believed it was the first time she saw the man truly shocked.

    ¡°Padian?¡±

    True Nestra gave him a curt nod, then she sinuously pushed herself into the tiny vehicle. Well, it wasn¡¯t tiny, but it certainly felt cramped now.

    ¡°Go on, start the van,¡± Gorge said without blinking, then after the old thing started moving, he leaned forward.

    ¡°Nestra? That really you?¡±

    Was it? Being here, seeing Gorge looking up to her with terror in his eyes and the acrid stench of his sweat, she felt peculiar. Still Nestra, though, so his question was easy to answer. She nodded in assent.

    ¡°Holy shit, I can tell why you haven¡¯t revealed yourself yet. Don¡¯t think I¡¯ve seen a gleam with ck eyes before. Heard about them though. Shit¡¯s terrifying.¡±

    He breathed out, then had onest look at her. Seeing she hadn¡¯t jumped to tear his throat off, he recovered his focus.

    ¡°Ok, alright. Here¡¯s the thing. The client¡¯s name¡¯s Rangi. Inder type. We gonna meet at his dive, a bar he uses as legit business or whatever. It will be past operating time at least. Security-wise, he got a husher type with minor augs, a borged killer with wired reflexes, and two gleams. Don¡¯t know much about them except one of them¡¯s rumored to be a raider and he uses a wand as a weapon.¡±

    Nestra was familiar with wands. Mana could be channeled through them, sending powerful bolts at the enemy. It was a useful sidearm for caster-types operating on low mana. Not sure how good a hired goon would perform though.

    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t have anything else defense-wise but there will be cameras and everything. I can¡¯t scramble them without him thinking, you know¡­¡±

    Nestra dismissed his concerns with a wave.

    ¡°Ok, so we¡¯ll be brought before him. Act as you see fit. Rangi¡¯s a smart guy, he will probably cut and run if things get too dicey for him. He¡¯s a businessman smelling an affair. Just, need a reminder. Having gleams at his beck and call might have given him delusions of grandeur so he thinks he can push people around. Dumbass is just asking for it.¡±

    Nestra nodded. She agreed. This Rangi guy was pulling at a rope to see what would drop but it was a shit idea because if the rope provided artifacts, then what would drop would most likely be a pissed off gleam. Gleams did plenty of biz on the side and a lot of it was picked up by monitoring AI but no one ever did anything. Smart people knew it wasn¡¯t worth it, not unless it got really bad. Like human trafficking. Even then, you never dealt with the gleam. You dealt with their boss gleam and you hoped they applied discipline with a firm hand. That Rangi guy was, and she was sorry to say that, courting death. If not by her, by someone else.

    It took twenty long minutes for the van to reach its destination. The bar was a nice ce at the edge of a busy entertainment zone in twenty-five, a brick building she would have driven by without a care. The van parked at a good distance and Gorge made sure to deploy drones just in case someone decided to nab his other son. Nestra followed Gorge who nervously looked at her every ten steps. It was annoying. They moved around the corner until the back entrance came into view.

    A colossal inder stood there with a taut suit that had to be a custom job. Tattoos covered his cheeks and chin, but when he spotted the pair, he made the same ¡®o¡¯ as Gorge had done before.

    Nestra was starting to think maybe this was a mistake, that she couldn¡¯t pass for human even without showing anything but her eyes and her hair, but she realized what was wrong when she got closer. Gorge had told her the husher was an aug, more specifically, his eyes were augments. He couldn¡¯t see her well because they were glitching. She heard him bumble something into his ear piece, something about a scrambler.

    Gorge stopped at a distance, waiting for the signal to go on. The bouncer waited for instructions with a confused frown, his optics searching around Nestra¡¯s location. Eventually, the signal to go in was given and Nestra followed Gorge up a flight of narrow stairs. Cameras followed their progress in the cramped back of the drinking hole. Cans of beer and bottles lined the wall but upstairs, the ce was clean and austere. Arge security door stood at the end of a hall. Nestra noticed a maglock, reinforced steel and even a manual slit in case electronics failed. The only thing missing was a gun port. It would be easier to go through the walls and she might just do that.

    The door opened without a prompt. Gorge came first, then he slid to the side to let her through. There were five people waiting for her in a spacious, cozy office and lounge. A wired goon leaned at the back with his auged arms exposed. Nestra recognized a Brightcorp security construct. Man had a gun in there. There were also two gleams on either side of the main desk, one muscle-bound girl with no affinities yet, and the wand wielder sitting in a chair with his arms crossed, actinic blue eyes following her with morbid fascination. The second tost person was Gorge¡¯s son wearing a shock cor around his throat, near the back. Rangi himself sat enthroned behind the magnificent desk like a king holding court. A nice pseudo-cashmere suit clung to his chiseled physique. He exuded a debonair aura thatplimented his cool chin tattoo and the shock cor control resting next to his hand. Very smooth. Nestra immediately hated him.

    Nestra¡¯s looted spear rested on a pedestal at the back of the room. Congealed blood still clung to its surface.

    All five people disyed various degrees of unease, from concern in the gleams¡¯ eyes to stark terror for Gorge¡¯s kid. The boss was the first to react but Nestra barely heard him. She kept walking forward.

    She wasn¡¯t here to negotiate.

    ¡°Ah, here you are. I have called here because of issues with your¡ª¡±

    Nestra kept on. Rangi faltered. The gleams moved first, not least because the aug was clearly running diagnostics.

    Nestra used momentum to appear between the gleams as they were standing. She struck the muscle girl in the face with an open palm. Her nose crunched painfully. She went flying.

    Nestra twisted and kicked the other gleam in the face as he reached for his wand. Electricity coursed through her leg but failed to affect her. He cried in pain and copsed backward, chair and all. Meanwhile, the first gleam collided with the confused aug just as she¡¯d nned. Nestra took no chances. In three steps she was next to the cyborg. She drew and struck with a mana-coated de. His severed arm went flying. She used momentum to return to the table, drew her gun, and gently shoved it against Rangi¡¯s forehead.

    The aug and muscle gleam pair finished copsing. The wand gleamnded on the carpet with a shriek of dismay. Rangi gasped, his hand stopping near the cor¡¯s remote.

    Nestra leaned forward until the darkness of her eyes met Rangi¡¯s own. She was pretty sure the message wasing across loud and clear. He still didn¡¯t talk. A quick tongue wet his lip while he searched for a solution. Slowly, his goons were picking themselves up. The muscle girl red at Nestra but the effect was ruined by her blood-soaked face.

    Perhaps Nestra should say something? Yes, but why was she so reluctant to do so?

    And then it hit her.

    For all her little phrases and exmations of dismay in portal worlds, she¡¯d never really been paying attention to her words. All this time, she hadn¡¯t been speaking English. She¡¯d used that strange tongue the benefactor used to talk to her. And now, she had to use English in her demon form and it felt¡­ wrong. A little demeaning. And besides, her mouth wasrger, and not exactly the same shape, and her teeth were too sharp and her tongue too narrow, and this was just, ugh! Frustrating. Bah, had to force herself.

    What to say?

    Oh, yes.

    Nestra¡¯s voice came out with a much lower pitch yet still feminine. It was hers, but more hissy and a little guttural.

    ¡°No. Refund. Hssss.¡±

    There.

    ¡°I see,¡± Rangi replied.

    He looked around, calcting. Nestra shoved the barrel of her gun a little harder.

    ¡°No need! No need for things to go, ah, out of hand. It appears I have¡­ erred in judgment. Forgive me, miss¡­?¡±

    Nestra declined to introduce herself. She let him know by narrowing her eyes.

    ¡°Right. You have been¡­ most clear, I say. I appreciate the show of restraint, yes. I will now reach for the remote to free your friend, if that is alright?¡±

    Nestra took a step back. Without looking, she pointed her sword at the electric gleam who was slowly reaching for his wand.

    ¡°Now now, Mr Blue, there is no need to rm our guest!¡± Rangi said with a politician¡¯s smile.

    ¡°Let us just¡­ put this whole thing behind us, yes? Good. Theeeeere we go. All free.¡±

    ¡°Come, boy. Come here,¡± Gorge whispered.

    His son didn¡¯t have to be asked twice. They left the room, though Nestra heard whispered words of assurance just behind the door. She knew she could get more money but that felt¡­ like it wouldplicate matters. Better to leave now with the upper hand and her objectives aplished. There was no need for her to utter more threats. Her appearance and manners spoke for themselves.

    Actually, there was onest thing she wanted to try.

    As she stepped back towards the entrance still facing the threat, she pointed two fingers towards her eyes, then two towards Rangi who raised his hands in surrender just as his muscles were picking themselves up.

    ¡°No need, you have been abundantly clear.¡±

    Nestra left. Gorge returned to serious mode all the way out, with the bouncer giving them a wide berth. They didn¡¯t talk when they climbed into the van, nor during the return trip. Gorge only let go of his son to grab a datasheet when they were parked.

    ¡°Right. Tracker check. Covering frequencies now.¡±

    They waited until Gorge was satisfied there were no secret gifts on either them or his kid, then tension left him. He deted, copsing against the side of the van with a loud thump. He picked a sk from a side pocket then reconsidered. Only then did his attention return to Nestra.

    ¡°Hooooly shit Padian. I thought you could, I dunno, clear easy portals with a quirky trick but¡­ Riel, you tossed those gleams like they were children. I¡¯ve never seen anything like it. In real life, I mean.¡±

    Nestra didn¡¯t want to talk in demon form. She pointed at her mask, then outside. Gorge nodded and let her go.

    It was the first time her human form felt better than the demon one. Truly, that bodysuit constrained her too much.

    ¡°Ok, I¡¯m back.¡±

    ¡°You did amazing out there. I owe you. I owe you big time. But I gotta ask. You¡¯re clearly¡­ at gleam level or something. Why? Why not just return to your family and im your legacy?¡±

    Nestra lifted an eyebrow. Like Gorge couldn¡¯t see the problem?

    ¡°No, seriously. You wouldn¡¯t be the only weird gleam in existence. I read just yesterday they¡¯d discovered a sort of void element gleam.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s my sister.¡±

    ¡°But still, I mean, that transformed appearance of yours is scary and no mistake but, you know? You could be who you always wanted to be.¡±

    Nestra had actually not considered this.

    If she were to go public, it would be clear that people would have questions and those questions would turn into invasive procedures whether she wanted to or not. It was also clear that some people would figure out she wasn¡¯t human and that would lead to her premature death, so there had never been a real question abouting out. That would be suicide. But what if it were not? What if she could just go back to her family and be weed as a weird yet powerful gleam, because Gorge was right, she was very powerful. Even if Rangi¡¯s men were garbage, at least one of them had unlocked an affinity and that took some work, and yet she¡¯d broken them like toys. They hadn¡¯t stood a chance.

    What if she could get in the Padian manor through the grand entrance and be weed by her dad? Her mom would hug her and whisper she always believed in her. Ulysses and Helena would exchange barbs over morning bagels. It would be just like old times, before she went to high school, before she was revealed as a cripple. Wouldn¡¯t it be nice to be wee like that?

    No, not really, right? Because it would be tainted by all her memories of being swept under the carpet. Because she would be stopped at every gleam store entrance, red at in every gleam exclusive restaurant. She¡¯d have to justify her existence at every turn. There would be snide remarks and sidewayments. And she knew. She knew what people thought of the baseline her. The new Nestra wasn¡¯t working harder than the old one. In fact, new Nestra was sleeping quite a lot. No, her effort, personality, the skills she¡¯d worked hard to obtain, none of them mattered as much as having shiny eyes. And even if she could reasonably get in, she wouldn¡¯t fit in.

    And that sucked, and the world sucked as well.

    ¡°I¡¯m who I¡¯ve always been. That¡¯s it.¡±

    ¡°Well, not like it¡¯s any of my biz. Ok, Padian. You¡¯re officially my favorite dead fish.¡±

    ¡°Couldn¡¯t hold it back for more than five minutes, huh?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll make it up to you. You¡¯ll see. Anyway, drop you off?¡±

    ¡°Nah, I¡¯ll take the whore bike back. Busy day tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°Let me know if you need more goodies for your crusade against Gidung. We can get real spicy if you want.¡±

    ¡°Oh, I will.¡±

    Nestra wanted to leave the family to themselves and she was getting tired anyway. She drove to the Nestra cave as fast as she could. Only when she was back in her own car with the autopilot on did she rx. Her visor had a few alerts so she went over those, with her priority being Stib¡¯s drones embedded in several strategic ces of District Fifteen¡¯s hab block. They¡¯d detected movement, a lot of it.

    Nestra frowned. It was a hab block. People moved at night, right? It was probably nothing? She selected the first link, the one aiming at the center courtyard and market. There was now a pole sitting in the middle of the deserted ce. On that pole sat the decapitated head of chef Old Lin, and under that was a white board with the words ¡®Friend of pigs¡¯ written in angr letters.

    ¡°Motherfucker.¡±

 3.8

    3.8

    Nestra called it in immediately. Shinoda picked up after two minutes. He sounded exhausted but determined.

    ¡°I will be there in forty minutes, Padian-san. Do you need me to pick you up?¡±

    ¡°Nah, I¡¯m on my way by car. Meet you at the parking lot.¡±

    ¡°Be careful. They might be watching, and if they see you alone¡­¡±

    ¡°I know. Don¡¯t worry.¡±

    There were only two saving graces in this absolute shitshow. One, they¡¯d noticed now instead of showing up fresh-faced at 9AM like a bunch of amateurish nitwits. Two, Nestra had several more drones around, which meant that they could have caught something. She browsed through the recordings while her real car sped on towards Fifteen. It was getting close to 5AM now which meant she was tired, but at least she¡¯d slept some during twilight. Adrenaline and rage made her human heart pulse with a rigid stato.

    What kind of fucking scum of humanity killed a nice street cook to send a message? What manner of skid mark on the nasty knickers of humanity¡¯s most degenerate coulde up with this sort of n and say, yeah, let¡¯s do this? Old Lin was a nice guy, a fucking food provider. An artist!

    She was going to kill them.

    Nay, she was going to make an example out of them just like they¡¯d made an example out of him. It was just a matter of finding them. After a cursory search, she did find shapes moving through a passage near the utility tunnels, a ce she¡¯d not been to yet. There were four of them. Augs, and not the lower shelf civilian ones. She clipped the vid and shared it with Shinoda. He replied with a ¡®seen¡¯ emote. Probably busy. She did get a call on her visor almost immediately after.¡°This is officer Kim,¡± the cold voice said. ¡°I will join you with a team. Only a few people but this is the best I can do.¡±

    ¡°Is it wise for you to show yourself?¡±

    ¡°I have officially been detached to Fifteen as a, ah, coordinator. My cover story will suffice considering we civil servants are always short-staffed. Compared to our workload, that is.¡±

    ¡°Ok. See you there.¡±

    Waiting in the underground parking for ten minutes felt like some of the longest ten minutes of her life and she¡¯d had open fractures. Only when Shinoda roared in with the cruiser did she send her car back home. It might be vandalized if it stayed.

    ¡°Padian-san. We should secure the crime scene.¡±

    ¡°Ok. Give me a moment.¡±

    A quick drone activation revealed a few heat signatures, mostly residents observing them from behind their windows. The hab block was already waking up. Nestra checked and double checked that there were no snipers lying in ambush. After a while, she gave the all-clear. If there was a guy out there with advanced camo and a rifle, they were fucked anyway. The pair of cops walked to the trophy carefully. This time, nothing happened.

    ¡°Lin-ojisan. We failed you,¡± Shinodamented.

    He was apologetic but reverent when he checked for traps, then when he removed the head. Nestra was just keeping an eye out which let her see the very obvious trail of blood leading up the stairs.

    ¡°Follow this?¡±

    ¡°Chotto matte ne? Give me a second, yes?¡±

    Nestra wanted to hunt but Shinoda wanted to follow procedure and she had to admit¡­ he was probably doing a better job. The old detective ced the head in a body bag, then cordoned the area with an ease that spoke of experience. Old Lin¡¯s eyes were closed and the head was covered, which felt a bit like a ritual and made Nestra a little less furious. The ball of anger instead cooled to an arctic bite that gnawed at her, urging her on with controlled rage.

    The pair followed the trail with great care to an apartment with the door ajar. Someone had used a morphpick, a special break-in tool that molded into the shape of the key once inserted into a lock provided the lock wasn¡¯t tooplicated, which it wasn¡¯t. Really expensive shit to kill an old man. Lin¡¯s body was syed on the living room¡¯s floor over a pool of congealed blood. The cut on his neck was really clean, the sort made with an extremely sharp de. At least, he hadn¡¯t suffered. A police hover vannded in the courtyard while they secured the ce.

    A team of specialists came down to secure the ce led by Kim who wore a field vest that made her look cool and professional. She didn¡¯t wait for more than a second before pinging them.

    ¡°Report?¡±

    ¡°He was killed in his home. The perpetrators came from a passage leading to the utility tunnels. Perhaps they can be tracked down? At least, we would know where they came from,¡± Shinoda said.

    ¡°Then I have bad news. The body temperature indicates he died about two hours ago. That¡¯s long enough to cross half the district on foot. The utility tunnels are a warren that expands to every nearby hab block, with multiple shelters in case of emergency. Storage space too. And we have reports that more facilities have been¡­ dug by the gangs. We will likely not find whoever did this.¡±

    ¡°There might be more cameras down there,¡± Nestra mentioned.

    ¡°The local residents do not like cameras very much.¡±

    ¡°Ah, Kim-san. I understand what she means. sh may have installed some security measures. Maybe.¡±

    ¡°We can ask,¡± Nestra said.

    ¡°I have his address,¡± Shinoda said. ¡°Let¡¯s go, Padian-san.¡±

    ***

    Nestra kept drumming on the door for three minutes without tiring. She knew someone was on the other side. Her finer senses had picked up the beeps of some old systems, probably cameras aiming at the door.

    ¡°Open up, I know you¡¯re here,¡± she repeated.

    ¡°Fuck off!¡± a man¡¯s voice finally said.

    It didn¡¯t belong to the man they sought.

    The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

    ¡°We need to talk to sh. It¡¯s important.¡±

    ¡°I said fuck off¡­ or else!¡±

    A thin robotic arm deployed from above the door. Someone had welded a low-intensity stun gun to the extremity, something sh had done before and that Nestra had a strong opinion about.

    ¡°I¡¯ll zap you!¡±

    ¡°Open. The. Damn. DOOR!¡±

    The stun gun fired. Twin fments hit Nestra¡¯s military-grade Wellington insted gear with nothing to show for it.

    ¡°So help me Riel I will tear off this thing and shove it up yourid¡ª¡±

    The door finally opened on a bare-chested youth disying tattoos and abs. His thunderous brow red downward ¡ª fucker was at least demon Nestra-sized.

    ¡°Lady, if you don¡¯t piss off. Gun dan!¡±

    ¡°Old Man Lin is dead,¡± Shinoda said. ¡°He was murdered. Mr sh might be able to help us find who is responsible. I can see that you care for him, sir, but this is a decision he should make for himself,¡± Shinoda said in a soft voice.

    The young man worried his lower lip as he considered the old detective¡¯s request. Nestra took a step back and crossed her arms.

    ¡°Wait here. And you wait! No going in!¡±

    He turned around into a cluttered hallway. A thick curtain blocked the ess to the living room but not the sound, and Nestra picked up a pair ofining female voices. Eventually, sh whispered something. It took another minute for the strange man to approach, wearing his signature neon green suit.

    ¡°What¡¯s that about Old Lin. You¡¯re shitting me?¡±

    ¡°He was murdered as an example,¡± Shinoda said.

    ¡°For talking to us.¡±

    ¡°Shit and youe here in the middle of the night? Wah seh you asshole don¡¯t care I¡¯m a gone-case.¡±

    ¡°You have cameras in the utility tunnels,¡± Nestra said.

    ¡°It would be of great help to us if you could tell us what they saw. Old Lin didn¡¯t deserve this. We have to act now or the hab block will suffer.¡±

    ¡°You mean your face will suffer.¡±

    ¡°This is not about our reputation,¡± Shinoda said sternly.

    At the back, the muscled man returned, bulging arms crossed. He was clearly backing sh up.

    ¡°This is about justice. A man helped us and he was killed for it. He didn¡¯t deserve this and you know it. You also know that it¡¯s an attack on you, and an attack on your block, by someone who wants to prove we are all weak. Now, you must decide if you sulk back in the shadows or if you show us all a straight back. You do not even have to leave your house but you have to help us. Please. Point us in the right direction.¡±

    sh licked his lips, his eyes going from Shinoda to Nestra. He was sweating.

    He turned his attention to her.

    ¡°Old Lin gave me food, good food too. When I get my hand on them they¡¯ll wish they were outside the walls instead,¡± she said.

    ¡°Ok, look. Okay. There are cameras near important ces like the shelter and some storage rooms. I¡¯ll check the footage. Give me your numbers and I¡¯ll send you what I have. I promise.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll head there right away.¡±

    ¡°And uh, can I ask? Please don¡¯t tell people I live in a polycule?¡±

    ¡°Your secret is safe with us,¡± Shinoda assured.

    ¡°As if people didn¡¯t know already,¡± Nestra mocked. ¡°You think you¡¯re being slick? It¡¯s a fucking hab block. Everyone and their grandma knows it already.¡±

    sh wilted under her verbal assault. Even the guy behind him piled on.

    ¡°Told you already.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, and just like me, they possibly couldn¡¯t give less of a shit,¡± Nestra concluded. ¡°Get me those vids. I can¡¯t fucking wait.¡±

    ***

    Threshold was built on a maze of underground facilities. Between government-mandated shelters, arcologies, private storages and subways, there was enough below the surface to start a civilization, at least for a while, but District Fifteen had taken it a step further. Corridors expanded in every direction, some showing sheer rock instead of the ubiquitous concrete. Nestra was pretty sure they weren¡¯t up to safety standards. The only concessions tomon sense was that the support pirs were intact, and theck of roomsrge enough to host a portal, because portals did appear underground, and gangs didn¡¯t have the means to stop a serious break. The result was an expandingbyrinth of small rooms and narrow passages onlyrge enough for a single person at a time. Haphazardly cedmps cast weak lights on rusty, pitted surfaces, those that were still working anyway. It would have been hell to navigate without her suit¡¯s night vision and without a guide. Well, an audio guide.

    ¡°Passage left is a dead end. That ce was dug by the XV gang, named because¡ª¡±

    ¡°Of the roman numerals of Fifteen,¡± Nestra cut.

    She checked the opening. Shinoda was left behind to cover the main corridor. He was still sulking after Nestra made it clear she would go first as the heavy hitter. So was Kim because Nestra had invited a civvie in the group call.

    ¡°Wah seh, you are such a wet nket angmoh girl. You¡¯ll never catch a boyfriend with that attitude.¡±

    ¡°Good.¡±

    Nestra kept going. She didn¡¯t like it. Too many blind angles, too many straight rooms with zero cover. Her onlyforts were her drones and sh acting as Stibs normally would, except his cameras were static and he was a whiny bbermouth. Sometimes, ss crunched under Shinoda¡¯s feet, making her wince.

    ¡°Camera ahead is deactivated,¡± sh warned them.

    Nestra stopped in her tracks. Behind her, Shinoda checked his gun again. It was a nice pistol with a silvery sheen, and she gave it a good fifty fifty chance that the bullets in there could actually stop an aug.

    ¡°What do you mean, deactivated? Since when?¡±

    ¡°Tonight. Checking footage aaaaaaand I don¡¯t see shit. One moment, all good, the next, lights out.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s there?¡±

    ¡°Intersection tunnel to other hab blocks and a side passage to barracks. Gang barracks. They ought to be empty.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡±

    Nestra turned a bend in the passage and her little ck box beeped. It was the one demon Nestra used to detect cameras.

    ¡°You said you have no visuals, right?¡± Nestra asked again.

    ¡°Yeah yeah.¡±

    ¡°Anyone else would have surveince around?¡±

    ¡°No angmoh girl, this is our turf. XV left the barracks during the purge and we, ah, liberated their stuff. Nothing left.¡±

    Nestra finally reached the mentioned intersection. Two tunnels spread out to her left and right for dozens of meters, their surfacepletely clear. Steel tracks met in the middle, the defunct remains of the train system that let emergency services carry goods across the city. What tickled Nestra¡¯s interest was arge archway dug at an angle, a destroyed security door blocking the path half-heartedly. Someone had melted the lock. The sheer rock beyond was even more raw and uneven than before but Nestra spotted support beams and enough cables for a good instation. The lights were live and the air smelled faintly of oil and superheated metal. A recent smell. She suspected Shinoda might not be able to pick it up, but instead, he kneeled by the entrance and pointed at what Nestra thought was dust but turned out to be wet soil.

    ¡°Tracks. Hours old at most. Mud here, still not dried out.¡±

    ¡°Looks like the barracks were revived,¡± Nestra muttered.

    Kim spoke, and this time her voice carried more concern than mild disapproval.

    ¡°Right, there is a decent chance those are our culprits. I¡¯m calling our user squad and putting an end to this operation. The purge left plenty of weapons caches and secondary bases intact, and many gangers escaped the. Although Nestra¡¯s images are not clear, I believe we may be facing heavily augmented opposition and this could be their base. You will stay put until reinforcements arrive.¡±

    Nestra looked up to see a camera near the entrance, a recent one as well. It was a different model than the cheap shit sh used. Just like the morphpick, the augs were using high end stuff typically only afforded to corpo security.

    A part of her knew they were in way over their heads. When Nestra faced the gangs, she¡¯d been with her team, wearing MaxSec armor and fighting from an entrenched position. This was her in discount gear and an aging detective with a solid aim (ording to his file) and no tactical training to speak of. That part was the human side of Nestra understanding her situation from an outside perspective.

    Demon Nestra wanted to get at it. She wanted to jump on the prey and tear them to pieces. Bring their heads back as an example. She would tear the chrome they were so proud off from their limbs and shove it in their tender bellies while their friends watched.

    Thest part of her wondered what the fuck the gangers were thinking. No smart criminal wouldmit a crime so close to their base without covering their tracks better. They¡¯d smashed sh¡¯s camera and thought it was enough? What, they were expecting him to be terrified?

    Actually, that made a lot of sense.

    ¡°Help!¡± a voice said from the entrance. Male. Panicked.

    Nestra and Shinoda exchanged a nce, weapons raised.

    ¡°Heeeelp! Please, help!¡±

    Nestra was pretty sure the opposition knew they were here.

    It was most likely a trap.

    ¡°Don¡¯t go,¡± Kim said. ¡°It¡¯s a ruse. Someone is trying to lure you in.¡±

    ¡°You know I cannot do that,¡± Shinoda said.

    ¡°Yuuji, that¡¯s an order.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Kim-san. You cannot call me Yuuji and pull rank in the same sentence.¡±

    Kim let out a strange, strangled sound that made even a notoriously oblivious Nestra suspect there might be something between the two. Not that it mattered right now. Threshold police officers were sworn to help people in danger. Honor and legal consequences demanded that they intervened.

    ¡°Miss Padian, please share your drone feedback with Mr sh. Mr sh, please kindly provide oversight. You will be rewarded for your time.¡±

    ¡°You two are going in? You siaoh! Crazy! It¡¯s a trap!¡±

    Nestra ignored theints. She allowed sh to take over ¡®Nestraguard.exe¡¯ despite her misgivings. Kim was right. She would need all her attention.

    ¡°Okay, listen up. The corridor turns left ahead and there are two doors. Right leads to storage. Left leads to living quarters and armory. Both doors are closed. Locked tight.¡±

    Nestra moved carefully. The ground was dirty, though not overly cluttered. She winced when Shinoda¡¯s foot hit a stone.

    Something shone in her night vision. She lowered herself to find a proximity device of some sort. Laser-triggered. She pointed it at a paling Shinoda. The corridor ahead led to a wall with a door on either side.

    ¡°Angmoh, you got someone running fast towards you from the back! Shit, he¡¯s sprinting. Oh fuck! I¡­ I think it¡¯s toote to run!¡±

    The handle of the left door turned.

    Trap: sprung.

 3.9

    3.9

    Think fast.

    Nestra grabbed two EMPs from her breast pocket. Using the shortest timer, she threw one at her back, towards the entrance and the second in front of her.

    ¡°Cover me,¡± she told Shinoda.

    She didn¡¯t check. She knew he had her back.

    And she would have the front.

    Nestra¡¯s human mask might be¡­ not the most adequate, but that was fine. Just another challenge, just another hunt. She would win against the augs and she would do it with her barely-above-baseline shell and that would prove she was simply better. Better trained, better prepared, better made. Adrenaline pumped in her veins. Excitement filled her chest. Her legs propelled her forward as the door finished opening. An aug arm wielding a Bright Tech 10mm sweeper with a datalink pointed its muzzle. The aug didn''t have to see her in person. The embedded camera would feed her flushed face directly into his retina and he would merely have to pull the trigger, then Nestra would be Ex-stra.

    Half a second.

    The first EMP detonated. The aug gun shook, resetting. Three seconds to restart, give or take. Nestra sprinted by the door andnded in shooting position. The aug was cursing and tapping his gun. His optics glitched. He was a tall man with messy hair and a stubble under the helmet. She calmly lifted Gorge¡¯s hand cannon and lined it up center mass. A second aug behind the first swore.

    ¡°Move, you¡ª¡±Nestra pulled the trigger. Immense recoil pushed her back, despite her excellent posture. The mana infused bullet carved a hole in the aug¡¯s chest throughyers of ker, and took the shoulder of the man behind him. She was rushing forward while he fell. Another shot took the second man¡¯s head off. Behind him, she saw cots and lockers, half open, and a third man. She picked up details as she moved forward. A sheathed de on his right hip. A shotgun, not linked, in his left hand. Aimed at her.

    The knife was a monode.

    He was the one who¡¯d decapitated Old Lin.

    Nestra sprinted forward again. She picked up the second guy¡¯s falling body just as an impact shook his frame. Heavy. She could carry him for a step at most.

    She let herself fall. Another explosion mangled the body, but she was ready. She shot¡­ and missed. The aug had jumped to the side. Wired reflexes. Fast. There was an issue though, for him. It could only predict what the guy¡¯s optics picked up. As the second body fell on her, she shot through it.

    Herst bullet could not be predicted by the guy¡¯s augments. It shredded the shotgun, the man¡¯s left arm, and parts of the wall behind. Her hand hurt like hell. Pushing the body with her feet, she raced at the survivor just as it unsheathed his de. Her sword met his knife in a sh of steel. She confirmed it was a monowire stiletto. Really, really sharp.

    ¡°Wo cao!¡±

    Fifty thousand volts traveled up her de and down the guy¡¯s imnts. Something fried, but he wasn¡¯t done. She blocked a kick but was sent backward. Meanwhile, the guy was left staring at her mana de.

    ¡°Mono won¡¯t cut that,¡± she mocked. ¡°Try skill.¡±

    He lunged forward, and Nestra was forced back by a lightning-fast jab. She had the reach and the technique, but the aug had pre-recorded movements he could just activate at will. This led to an uneven fight where her foe would in turn stumble like an amateur and strike like a master with superhuman speed. Block left and right, counter. The man jumped back off bnce.

    ¡°Gidung patterns, basic version.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll carve you up, you dog.¡±

    Another pattern she recognized. Step back and sweep a lunge, thrust. The shocks on her de, it was like fighting a machine, and she was holding on. A smile bloomed on her lips.

    The man interrupted the pattern and struck awkwardly. Her counter pierced through his chest armor as his de slid along her forearm, drawing blood. He withdrew with a curse. There was blood on her sword, but also on his de.

    ¡°Got you bitch,¡± the man spat, and Nestra realized he didn¡¯t notice his wound. A discarded inhaler on a nearby table confirmed her suspicions.

    Guy was high as fuck.

    ¡°There is an interesting thing with prerecorded patterns,¡± Nestra teased.

    A few steps forward, fast jabs, the aug retaliated in a simr manner.

    ¡°Can¡¯t handle¡­¡±

    Nestra lunged and then swept hard from right to left.

    The damaged aug¡¯s arm lifted to block while his knife arm pulled back for a devastating gut jab. Nestra¡¯s sword flew through the space where his left hand would have been if he still had one.

    Her sweep caught him in the temple with a ghastly crunch. He stopped moving.

    The monode dropped from his spasming fingers. It dug into the concrete below like the world¡¯s saddest Excalibur.

    ¡°... damage assessment.¡±

    A surge of power, and of triumph, filled her with pleasure. The chaos of dust and the deafening gunshotsing from behind became more muted, or rather, she was able to hear them without them interfering with her hearing. Although, the Wellington helmet helped.

    Wait, gunshots.

    With a swear, Nestra sprinted back into the corridor. She slotted one bullet back in her gun. Shinoda was walking back into the corridor while applying covering fire. Nestra could see the muzzle of a linked gun around the corner leading back into the main path. Shinoda¡¯s steady aim was forcing the person back but he was running out of ammo.

    ¡°DOWN!¡±

    Shinoda did so without question. Nestra lined the shot.

    She wondered if the handgun could shoot through walls.

    Wait no, she wondered how far through the wall it could pierce.

    She pulled the trigger. The damn thing bucked in her hands but it took the gun, parts of the wall, and an auged arm along with it. A female voice cursed in Vietnamese. Nestra reloaded then she approached the corner.

    ¡°She legged it, angmoh girl,¡± sh said.

    ¡°Oh, good.¡±

    ¡°Next time you use EMP, warn a bother hor? Half your drones got fried.¡±

    ¡°Kind of busy down here?¡±

    ¡°"Wa seh, girl you damn good. Want fight underground?".¡±

    Kim¡¯s voice rang in. She was not amused.

    ¡°Mr Xun, you will refrain from suggesting illegal activities to our agents, thank you very much. The footage of this incident is now ssified and you WILL not distribute it or I will personally make sure you are sent to the Red House for the next ten years. Am I making myself perfectly clear?¡±

    ¡°Yeah yeah. Calm down already.¡±

    Nestra still checked the corner. No presence but¡­ there was a tiny trail of blood.

    Nice, an opening¡­ forter.

    Meanwhile Shinoda reloaded. He looked unhurt.

    ¡°You in one piece, oji-san?¡±

    ¡°No need for sass Padian-san. I regret to say that my adversary was too armored for a fair fight. Your EMP helped. It was enough to teach her caution, but not enough to neutralize her.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll get you a better gun,¡± Nestra said, and she meant it.

    ¡°What¡¯s that thing called anyway?¡± sh asked. ¡°Oh, is it the Wallfucker?¡±

    ¡°Why do you breeders always link everything back to sex?¡± Nestra grumbled.

    But she had to admit she liked the wall idea.

    ¡°I¡¯ll call it the Window Maker.¡±

    ¡°We are not done,¡± Shinoda said.

    He was covering the corridor, more specifically the storage room which they had not secured yet. Nestra nodded as she finished reloading. Taking great care not to trigger the trap, they went to thest door. A quick camera check showed the ce wasn¡¯t booby-trapped. It also looked empty. Shinoda picked the lock under Nestra¡¯s befuddled gaze then they got in. The storage space was mostly empty and quite dusty. No one had been there in a week.

    ¡°Clear. No hostage,¡± Nestra said.

    ¡°I had to make sure, although I suspect Kim-san was correct. We were baited by one of the gangers.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    Nestra wondered if she should say something. Shinoda was standing there, waiting for her judgment. The truth was that if it had been any other cop instead of Nestra, this could have turned into a disaster. sh had the right to it. Not everyone could just stop four augs without dying, even bottom of the barrels junkies like those guys. It was clear Kim expected Shinoda to pull some stupid shit like going in for honor in defiance of his screaming brain cells. It was also clear to Nestra that she wasn¡¯t bound by the same suicidal tendencies.

    But she didn¡¯t really mind.

    ¡°Your, ah, Window Maker? It does not look like a regtion gun,¡± Shinoda observed.

    ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°And the grenades?¡±

    ¡°Also no.¡±

    ¡°Hmm. Omoshiroi. Interesting, that is.¡±

    ¡°Neither are the drones or my armor set.¡±

    ¡°Hmm. Your preparedness is impressive. I think I owe you my life, Padian-san.¡±

    ¡°Hey, we are partners, right?¡±

    ¡°Aibo? Yes. You are the best bad cop I have ever worked with.¡±

    Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    ¡°Ok, good, enough of that you¡¯ll give me diabetes. Let¡¯s go.¡±

    But they didn¡¯t go because they had to secure the scene and fill online reports and do a shitload of other procedure things normal cops had to do that MaxSec teams just left to their admins, and in the name of all that was holy did Nestra miss those little scribblers. With the adrenaline leaving her, she was also crashing down hard and on top of that, she was getting hungry. And she was tired. It was getting close to six out there.

    Ten minutes after the pair got in and while Kim¡¯s techs were busy loading the bodies, a trio of gleams finally strutted down the tunnel up in full gear. Compared to augs, gleam armor looked more medieval than modern but they were more resilient anyway. Nestra unfortunately recognized the assholes before they could even speak. Those were the twats who¡¯d met them in the garage.

    ¡°It took you eight minutes to arrive,¡± Kim mentioned in an arctic voice.

    The gangly anglo gleam shrugged, vibrant iris twinkling with amusement.

    ¡°We were on the other side of the area of operation. All records will show that we moved immediately. It¡¯s just that¡­¡±

    ¡°Traffic,¡± the thickset gleam said as he nodded to himself.

    ¡°This ce was hard to find, ajumma,¡± the Korean gleam added with a sly smile. ¡°underground, not on the map. You know how it is.¡±

    Officer Kim went very pale. Nestra wasn¡¯t too familiar with Korean culture but she was definitely sure the gleam had insulted her, somehow. She might be a baseline but she was also a civil servant and the gleam was a low level security personnel. Definitely lower status. They really didn¡¯t give a shit, huh?

    ¡°I see. The city appreciates your¡­ efforts. I am sure you have done to the best of your abilities, although you were¡­ inadequate to the task.¡±

    Tension rose between Kim and the trio to the extent that the techs stopped working to steal a nce. The barest hint of a sneer twisted Kim¡¯s perfectly neutral persona into one of profound disgust. If condescension could be bottled, that woman would be rich.

    ¡°You may leave, since we have seen the limits of your usefulness. Thank you,¡± she dismissed them.

    Rather than facing them off, Kim simply turned around to work on her report. Nestra followed suit, and the three gleams were left standing around with nothing to do. It still took them a few seconds to head off. By then, Kim was back to her business self. At least in appearance. Nestra didn¡¯t miss the tension on her shoulders. For most baselines, there was something unsettling about confronting gleams. Nestra didn¡¯t know if baselines just felt mana in their subconscious or if there was something in the brain that acknowledged that gleams were just that dangerous, even the weaker ones.

    ¡°The bodies are ready for transport,¡± one of the techs said. ¡°Should we move the vehicle to a more secluded area?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± Nestra interrupted. ¡°We carry them back to the marketce. Let people see.¡±

    Kim hesitated until Shinoda intervened.

    ¡°Padian-san is correct. We are working with a tribal structure. Let the people know that what we cannot protect, we can avenge. Those are the murderers of Old Lin. Let them see that¡­ justice was done. Of a sort. This will show our goodwill more than any shipments of supplies ever will.¡±

    ¡°This is a harsh ce,¡± Kim mumbled. ¡°Very well. We will do as you say. There is not much to learn here anyway.¡±

    It was a strange procession that left the utility tunnels, and a stranger one that received them still. Men, women and children of the hab block lined the path to the hover truck in solemn ranks, some dressed in finery and others wearing makeup and, in one instance, face paint. Lin¡¯s body bag was covered in flowers and trinkets and no matter that there were no florists around. Someone had woven a wreath out of colorful ropes and cables and finished the work with carefully applied ss beads. Behind the mass of people, someone sang a mournful dirge.

    An expectant mood moved the crowd while the tech loaded the bodies, and when they moved in themselves. Kim was thest one to climb in. Under the pale light of early dawn, she looked a little rough around the edges. The signs of mental exhaustion were in, not in her wless makeup or the perfect hairdo, but in the pockets under her eyes, the clenched jaw, the details that made her seem more human now, so far out of her element.

    ¡°Are you sure you want to stay? I¡¯m giving you half a day off. By regtion, you should be out for three days at least while Internal Affairs goes over the details of the shooting.¡±

    ¡°We will probably head back early but¡­ we need to hammer the steel while it is hot, ne? Thank you, Kim-san.¡±

    ¡°Please be careful,¡± she replied, then after a blink. ¡°You too, Padian. I¡­ knew I could count on you.¡±

    Nestra nodded. The hover truck left soon after, gliding over the morning air. It started to smell pretty good.

    ¡°We should walk around, Padian-san.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Hey, you! Police girl!¡± a woman said.

    Nestra recognized her as the primdy who¡¯d refused her naan the day before on ount of not doing business with pigs.

    ¡°Come eat my zhou.¡±

    ¡°Oooh I love porridge.¡±

    For the next ten minutes, at least a dozen people brought Nestra food just for the disbelief that came with the realization that she would, in fact, eat it all. Skewers, naan, congee, fried dough, fruits, soup, all disappeared down her gullet. She choked midway through the amazing experience when a voice went through her visor.

    ¡°Ah, angmoh girl, thanks for ASMR but I close the connection now ok? I pick up your dead drones and repair, ok? Half price.¡±

    ¡°Fine, now fuck off.¡±

    She hated being disturbed while she was eating.

    ***

    Detective Shinoda breathed in the market¡¯s stale air. His visor was blinking with a call notification he could not ignore. Officer Kim. He picked it up and prepared for the worst.

    ¡°How are you, Yuuji?¡± the voice said in Japanese. ¡°Really.¡±

    ¡°Soo-Young, you worry too much.¡±

    ¡°I worry because you charge into an obvious trap. You would have died there if not for the girl.¡±

    ¡°Yes. I should not have risked her life, in retrospect. Mymitment would have killed her. I have to ask you, what is she? A quirk?¡±

    ¡°Do not believe I do not see you changing the subject. You could have both died and I would have been sacrificed along with our entire investigation. There is much at stake here. You WILL pay attention and exert caution or Gidung will never be held ountable for what they have done. This is bigger than either of us, Yuuji.¡±

    ¡°Aaah, sorry.¡±

    ¡°You say sorry but you stay the same.¡±

    She tsked.

    ¡°As for Padian, I am not sure why she can perform so well. I only know that my expectations have been surpassed. Her full medical file is sealed by the order of Dr Mazingwe and it would take more than what I can manage to get ess. What I know is that she has made multiple requests to be exposed to mana, so I suspect she was mana-starved until recently.¡±

    ¡°Is this not extremely unpleasant?¡±

    ¡°Yes, to users. She appears to have found a way to bypass that hurdle. I have my suspicions. Now, she is either the strongest quirkie or one of the weakest users on earth, yet she still registers as a baseline which benefits us as her foes tend to underestimate her.¡±

    ¡°This solution she found, does it¡­ involve food?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Mana-rich food, I suspect. How did you know?¡±

    ¡°She, ah. She has eaten over a hundred and forty credits worth of street food over the past two days, as well as two bags of snacks. And she defeated a squad of augmented criminals in under fifteen seconds. Now, she is snoozing in the back of the car during working hours. I am very surprised.¡±

    ¡°I see. It doesn¡¯t matter. I didn¡¯t bring her here as a test subject but as an ally. What matters is results, and that you have each other¡¯s back.¡±

    ¡°I have only one worry. I fear she may enjoy killing, perhaps a little too much. I saw her expression when she pulled the trigger. It was¡­ pride. And hunger.¡±

    ¡°She loves winning. It was in her file.¡±

    ¡°I am concerned about the type of victory she may pursue.¡±

    ¡°Then it will be up to you to guide her, as I mentioned before. We cannot do without a heavy hitter and the city will not spare a user to babysit you.¡±

    ¡°I will do my best, ne? Would you like to meet this weekend?¡±

    ¡°For a debrief?¡±

    ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°Then yes, I would love to.¡±

    ***

    Nestra woke up feeling all fuzzy. This wasn¡¯t her bed. She needed her bed. She also needed a shower but sadly the police cruiser didn¡¯te equipped with one. Those damn budget cuts.

    The first order of business was contacting Shinoda who confirmed he was still just hanging around. The second was to check sh¡¯stest message. Unfortunately, he wasn¡¯t the bearer of good news.

    ¡°I can¡¯t fix your drones. The EMP fried them inside out. I can¡¯t rece them either because they¡¯re an ad hoc construct with custom parts, sorry. You have to contact the original creator. Good news is, half of them are still working fine. I left them in a box by your door.

    PS: you look much nicer when you¡¯re asleep.¡±

    That was only because she couldn¡¯t hear sh talk. Nestra still had around ten drones left from the original swarm. Stib was going to kill her.

    Had to call her though. She just couldn¡¯t do anything without eyes in the skies. Well, nothing to it. Stib picked up on the third ring.

    ¡°Nestra? Aren¡¯t you at work?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, well, we got ambushed and¡­ sorry, I fried half of the drones. With an EMP.¡±

    ¡°Are you hurt?¡± Stib replied.

    She sounded really calm.

    ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°Thought so or you would be grumpy. It¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll rece them, just¡­¡±

    ¡°What, really? I thought you were going to be mad, after all the efforts¡­¡±

    ¡°Look, drones are consumables. They exist so you get hurt less. Did you get hurt less thanks to them?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, we wouldn¡¯t have known we were going to be attacked from behind without them.¡±

    ¡°Then they did what they were meant to do. There is a slight issue with the recement though.¡±

    ¡°Yeah?¡±

    ¡°I used Blue River¡¯s licenses for some parts. One time was fine because I was building their fleet but¡­ if I do it again, I¡¯ll need topensate them. Sorry. I just can¡¯t build more on the guild¡¯s dime. That wouldn¡¯t be correct.¡±

    ¡°But if I pay you for your time?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll need six hundred creds a pop. It¡¯s already over five hundred just for the license and raw materials. Add a little for fabricator use and, yeah. It¡¯s already a friend¡¯s discount.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll pay,¡± Nestra said.

    ¡°Six thousand? Just like that?¡±

    ¡°Remember the check from the city? I¡¯m rich as hell.¡±

    ¡°Not like that, Nestra. You¡¯ve always been concerned about money and now you just burn six grand without batting an eye? You got another source of money. Oh, is it your family?¡±

    ¡°No!¡± Nestra protested.

    ¡°Oh then, hmmm. Ok, we don¡¯t have to talk about it now.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t do anything stupid please. Anyway, I¡¯ll get them delivered to Fifteen¡¯s precinct. Just please watch out for yourself.¡±

    ¡°No promises.¡±

    ¡°Ugh, then at least wait until I get you the recements. You were attacked?¡±

    ¡°Ambushed by remnants of the gang. We¡¯re not sure exactly why they came at us but they had white dream inhalers near their sleeping quarters.¡±

    ¡°Ugh, on the run and stimmed to the gills? Fucking idiots.¡±

    ¡°Yeah well those idiots almost killed me. Maybe they wanted to stick it to the man. It just feels so random¡­¡±

    ¡°There might be more attacks in the future. Lots of gangers died during the purge but many ran away, or managed to hide. They¡¯re not the most stable people around. You know how dodgy augs fuck with people¡¯s minds. Be really careful out there. Nestra, I know it¡¯s not your style but¡­ could you let the gleams handle it? For once?¡±

    ¡°If they bother showing up, sure.¡±

    ¡°Oh, before you go, there was something else. You remember Seth?¡±

    The goofy baker¡¯s smile invaded Nestra¡¯s mind like some persistent weed.

    ¡°Yes? He gave you his num¡ª oh no.¡±

    ¡°Hmm so yeah. We dated. You, ah, don¡¯t have a problem? Right? You just seemed weird about it.¡±

    ¡°Stib, I am thest person who should give you rtionship advice. As long as you¡¯re staying safe.¡±

    ¡°Oh yeah, he¡¯s a real gentleman. And funny too. And a great cook! Anyway, just wanted to let you know in case you went to his shop and he asked questions. It¡¯s picking up, you know? His business. Ok, I should go. Go get them, tiger.¡±

    Shinoda was gesturing so it did seem she was going to go get something.

    Unfortunately that turned out to be human misery.

    ***

    Sometimes, Nestra¡¯s life was exciting and filled with interesting foes and sometimes, it was both tragic and banal. The room up here stank of old socks, piss, and neglect, the kind that built up over months of just giving up. The room¡¯s inhabitant¡¯s sallow skin clung to his bones like old parchment. Discolored patches marked him as a meth user, probably, and the state of his teeth, dirty hair, and bloodshot eyes confirmed he was far gone. And yet there was still a spark of lucidity under that crushed shell of despair. It shone ominously while the man stared listlessly at the body of his wife. She bore the same stigma but what attracted the eye was more the pool of blood and the crushed skull. An old trophyy on its side, still caked in congealed gore. He had made no effort to hide his crime.

    ¡°Dunno what took me,¡± he said.

    Drool fled from his chapped lips.

    ¡°Dunno, dunno. I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    ¡°You cannot stay here, you need toe with us,¡± Shinoda said.

    He remained calm but there was a distance here, a coldness in his voice Nestra had never heard before. It was still the most normal thing in this den of misery. A part of her wondered what would have happened if she¡¯d joined another branch. Or the emergency services. Being submitted to scenes like this one day after day after day¡­ Nestra had issues caring but even that would have ground her mental to a fine dust. Shinoda followed another approach. She wasn¡¯t sure how but it was as if he were wearing a mask and transmuting all that horror into¡­ she didn¡¯t know what. Something else.

    ¡°You need help,¡± Shinoda said.

    ¡°Help, yeah. I don¡¯t think I need help.¡±

    The man reached for his pillow. Shinoda didn¡¯t move beyond taking a few steps forward but Nestra felt something was wrong, so she took out her neutralizer. It was her fastest non-lethal tool. It also looked like a smallpact gun, except it was painted blue so people could tell the difference.

    What was hidden under the pillow was, unsurprisingly, a gun. An old handgun from before the incursion, only meant to stop other humans. The junkie didn¡¯t aim it at anyone. He just cradled it between shaky fingers like a treasure, or a lifeline.

    ¡°I think I need to stop being a fuckup. There¡¯s only one cure.¡±

    ¡°That is the easy way out,¡± Shinoda said.

    The man blinked. He had almost forgotten them.

    ¡°I¡­ I guess it is. I just¡­ I¡¯m so tired.¡±

    ¡°You can rest, get better, then atone. Come on. I¡¯ll see you out.¡±

    ¡°Marge. She doesn¡¯t deserve to be left like that.¡±

    ¡°My friends are on the way. They will take care of her. They are professional and respectful.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s good. She doesn¡¯t deserve it. Being like that. Yeah.¡±

    Broken record.

    The demon part of Nestra shifted. This man was a goner. He smelled like an epted end. There was absolutely nothing left to hunt here, nothing at all.

    Abruptly, the junkie grabbed his gun and pushed it into his mouth, or he tried to. Nestra lifted her neutralizer and pulled the trigger. The shotnded on the man¡¯s naked leg. He spasmed. Shinoda grabbed the gun from his hands just an instantter.

    Oh, he would have gotten it without her help.

    Had she interrupted a touching heart to heart moment?

    ¡°Ooops. Sorry. Bit fast on the trigger there,¡± Nestra said.

    Shinoda didn¡¯t reply. He spent a few seconds taking the gun apart but his expression remained vacant. Nestra let him ce the unconscious man in a safe position before restraining him.

    ¡°No need to apologize, Padian-san. We are new partners, yes? And besides, the culprit is alive and, well, he is alive. That is all we could hope to achieve here.¡±

    ¡°The ambnce is on the way?¡±

    ¡°No ambnces here, however, the city has made hover vehicles avable to us. We merely need to wait for their arrival.¡±

    ¡°Are you¡­. ok?¡±

    Shinoda flinched. For a moment, Nestra believed she¡¯d been too direct, but it was ok to ask people how they were doing, right? It just meant she cared. It felt strange to care about new people.

    ¡°Ah. As fine as I will ever be, Padian-san. Thank you for asking. The fallen, like him, they are like¡­¡±

    He searched for an answer in the ceiling¡¯s discolored tiles.

    ¡°Like leaves through a spider web. The spider web is friends and institutions. When someone falls, the web holds them and sometimes, they pick themselves up. But sometimes, the web tires, or breaks, or it was never strong enough, and the person disappears. The web does not know it failed until¡­¡±

    He gestured at the two wrecks, one dead, one wishing to be so.

    ¡°Until they die and then, they exist again. Briefly and painfully.¡±

    ¡°Are we the web?¡±

    ¡°Yes, for this ce, we are. Sadly, the web is never strong enough. And it always misses people. I know it. I tried. We cannot see how far some have fallen, even when we are so close to them. I still try, Padian-san. Sometimes we even win.¡±

    ¡°Maybe we should get some coffee. And then go home.¡±

    Shinoda chuckled. It was brittle yet genuine.

    ¡°Yes, perhaps we do. It will be up to psychiatrists to pick it up from here, I believe. To care more would leave us¡­ drained. The web is only as strong as the spiders that live on it, ne?¡±

    ¡°I think you are pushing the metaphor a little far.¡±

    ¡°So I am. I shall buy your coffee as an apology. And a donut.¡±

    ¡°Deal!¡±

    ¡°You are a very sunny person, Padian-san. I am d you are here.¡±

    ***

    Sipping on a fresh cup of excellent BaiHua java, Nestra considered her next step. The situation was pretty clear so far. Some time ago, someone in Gidung made a n to turn a profit in District Fifteen. This n included arming gangs with military-grade rejects so as to justify Gidung¡¯s security presence and the juicy contact it would generate. There was undoubtedly more to it but that was the aspect of the n that almost got Nestra killed. Now, Gidung was settling in their new domain while the city¡¯s civil servants sniffed around, looking for proof that they¡¯d been bamboozled. That was the gist of it. There was, however, aplication for Gidung. The city reacted too fast for them to finish their purge as thoroughly as they¡¯d hoped for. Now there were twopeting, overextended groups paralyzed by each other¡¯s presence, and in the gap, gangers had survived. There were no doubts in Nestra¡¯s mind that Gidung had thoroughly erased everything they could get their hands on including most records and witnesses, and it was only a matter of time before the rest was found, but there were bound to be pieces of the puzzle still scattered around the district, and it would be a race to get them before the opposition. Nestra had every intention to assist the city¡¯s inquiry, but there were things her human self could not readily do.

    Her demon self could, however.

    The first order of business would be to find more of those remnants, and she knew exactly where to start. The survivor of the ambush was bleeding, though Shinoda didn¡¯t seem to be aware of it. Nestra could call the techs and then request a team to follow, which could take some time¡­ but there was another option.

    It was time for demon Nestra to follow that dribble of blood back to anotherir after tonight¡¯s portal world. There was a risk she would be tired but if what the benefactor said was right, she needed to be much stronger, much faster, because something wasing.

    ***

 (9) (3.10)

    (9) (3.10)

    It was dark in the Redwood forest. Outside of the main trail, light came from the oddmp post dotting the secondary paths. Benches and pic areas waited for the next day¡¯s visitors. A few cleaning bots picked empty cans, reced trash bags, or otherwise ate the odd leaves fallen on varnished wood. Bio-engineered cicadas filled the night with a pleasant, muted chorus that apanied Nestra with every nervous step. The odd traveler ignored her as she walked past. Most were corpo pawns or gleams on their way to somewhere important.

    Nestra had to give it to them, BaiHua Biotech Solutions had the most pleasant arcologies of them all, both in terms of appearance andfort. A massive greenhouse upied the entire ground level and most of it was opened to visitors so that the masses may wonder at its many creations. It was said BaiHua¡¯spound was entirely self-sufficient. It could survive another apocalypse almost indefinitely. It was also, unfortunately for Nestra, extremely secure. It meant she could reach it with her real identity without much concern, but she wouldn¡¯t have ess to her gear tonight.

    Just her demon self and the skin.

    The benefactor¡¯s precise coordinates were enough to guide Nestra deeper into the forest, by which time she could feel the soothing pulse of power all portals seemed to share. She wondered how the many cleaning drones had not picked it up yet, until she reached arge specimen nestled between two artificial boulders and looked up.

    The portal was in the air, hidden between two branches. Portals were never fully inessible, which meant that she¡¯d have to climb to reach it but it would be fine. The presence of the portal confirmed a few things and Nestra didn¡¯t know what to think about it.

    First, BaiHua didn¡¯t have the technology to detect a portal on its immediate territory. She wasn¡¯t surprised that outer district would rely on cheap cameras to manage the space, but the inside of an arcology was another matter entirely. Maybe detecting the strange radiation she enjoyed so much was moreplicated than she thought.

    Second, the benefactor didn¡¯t give a shit about corpos. They were confident enough to send her here with only a small warning about not bringing weapons. They were sure she would get away with it. That was¡­. terrifying. Corpos paired up with the most powerful guilds. Hell, most of the key actors were high gleams themselves. And the benefactor just didn¡¯t care.

    That or they were aplete moron but somehow, she doubted that. They were only a mild moron, and a well-meaning one as well. Welp, nothing to it. Nestra moved out of the path then waited until she was absolutely sure there were no patrol drones around, then she pulled off her mask.

    Climbing the redwood proved easy. With enhanced strength, she could hold her entire body weight with two fingers and the modified redwoods bore enough crevices on their bark for afortable climb. She felt the delicious power grow as she approached, and soon, a pale blue light shone on the nearby leaves.And then she kept climbing.

    A hissy curse word escaped Nestra¡¯s lips. The portal seemed perfectly positioned for maximum stealth, which was why it wasn¡¯t detected yet. That was how breaks usually urred in Threshold despite the hundreds of thousands of cameras monitored by AIs. She could have slipped through but she wanted to confirm her suspicions first, and soon she had to sit down in annoyance.

    She clicked her tongue to express her frustration. It sounded harsh and alien but she also felt better using it so she did it again. That fucking benefactor was out of his mind or something. There were plenty of portals popping all around Threshold all the time, most of them D-ss. Breaks urred once every two weeks at the very least. That meant there were plenty of portals to find that would match her level. This portal was on the upper middle size as far as D-ss portals went, about four meters across. It was an indication of the opposition. She would mostly face D-ss monsters inside.

    That sucked, especially without her sword. Guess she had to use the Scornful Crescent in a new way. The philosophy still felt weird in her head. It was like a skill she was digesting, something she could control to an extent yet was still foreign to a degree. It felt like learning the sword all over again back when the gestures had not been automatic. And now she would have to get in there and fight with even less tools than normal, on a harder world than she¡¯d ever faced.

    Sucked to be her. Portals of that size usually took a team of four to five D-ss raiders to safely clear. Oh well. She was probably justpletely awesome so a lot was expected of her.

    With onest sigh, Nestra slipped in and found herself on another tree overlooking an infinite sea of fog pierced by colossal trunks reaching so high their branches seemed to meld with the alien stars above. It was night. It was very wet. Screeches and clicks surrounded her in an overwhelming cacophony after the quiet of the arcology. A stifling heat made every surface bear condensation like crystal tiny beads, undisturbed near the portal yet bleeding in a nearby branch around the mark of a wed feet. Nestra looked around and repressed the urge to whistle.

    The titanic trees on the horizon? Yeah, she was on one of them. A secondary canopy extended under her feet at distances that made her question her depth perception. It was like being on a ne and watching cities roll by, except that here it was a single organism.

    A part of her wanted to jump and just¡­ cross that distance. She would survive thending with her resistances. Just let go like that, with the wind in her face, watching the green masses turn into vige-sized hedges. She could just slip by the boundary and live there for a while.

    Nah, definitely not worth it.

    Nestra turned around. The entry portal was lodged against the gnarly trunk, with a branch wrapping around providing a way up. Below her, a distant blur and theck of obvious paths marked the end of the portal world while above, awork of thin branches formed a rudimentary revolving staircase fir for a colossus. That was her destination. Within onest sigh, Nestra took a step forward and something caught her left arm.

    She was yanked to the side. Instincts and urgency made her grab the captive limb before her shoulder could dislocate. She twisted on herself to nt her feet, which slipped on the wet bark underneath.

    She fell into the void. Whatever caught her dragged her forward, towards another branch. There was a long, tubr thing wrapped around her forearm, a tongue. A blurry shape pulled her body towards a gaping maw filled with teeth. Two ck eyes were fixed on her. The blur grew more defined for an instant and she spotted her captor, a creature a little like a toad but also a chameleon.

    Timing would be¡­plicated.

    The tongue finished dragging her towards the branch. Stress and exhration made her sneer at those ck eyes. She put one foot on the branch as the mouth opened wider to chomp.

    Nestra bit down on the tongue.

    Squishy, stic. The blood was tangy and a little fishy but filled with mana. Her teeth sank through it like through butter. There was barely any resistance when she viciously tore off a good chunk of flesh, sending a spray of blood in a crimson wave around her. The toad croaked with enough strength to deafen a baseline but Nestra¡¯s sensory defenses were now slightly higher than this morning and she didn¡¯t flinch. The Scornful Crescent whispered in her mind. It told her to press her advantage, to push her victory. She was in danger. This was the perfect moment. Nestra pushed mana into her fist as inertia carried her the rest of the way towards the screaming toad and punched it. Her first impacted its skull just under the eye in a powerful blow, making it crack. The shock traveled all the way to her torso and she winced.

    Pretty sure the crack wasn¡¯t her knuckles.

    But not certain.

    ¡°Ow!¡±

    Stupid. Should have used the precision ability but it was not an automatism yet, ugh. If only she had her sword! The toad didn¡¯t exactly recover but itshed out anyway. She had to step back or risk being swallowed. Its legs tensed. She fell on her back.

    The toad surged over her in a mighty jump. Disced air cooled her skin. Dangerous. She flipped and used momentum just as itnded farther away on the branch. For a moment, she thought the creature would fall off because it was in such an awkward spot, partly on the side of the branch, but the feettched on like vacuum cups. Her sprint forward finished with a slide under a tongue whip, then she punched the same eye again. Hard. Repeatedly. The creature tried to push her away. It reared up on its hind leg to throw her off, and Nestra let go. Her toes dug into the wet bark, then she front kicked the standing creature in the chest as it was already out of bnce.

    For an instant, the toad teetered over the edge, the mass of its upper chest toorge to allow it to recover immediately. Nestra saw that, spotted the wide opening. She knew what to do. Kneel. See the mottled, shifting skin from close up. Smell the slightly acid scent of the beast. Open her mouth wide and chomp down.

    Her ck teeth shore through skin, muscles, bones, and ligaments with obscene ease. The creature pulled its leg away with a screech that left its entire weight holding on to one foot. Nestra turned, spitting gore. One leg to go. Aaaaaaand the bark gave way.

    The toad fell off the branch to the abyss below and the very, very, very long drop towards the next false canopy. She watched its form cross the threshold, then grow smaller until something with wings detached itself from the trunk and flew on a storm of wind, catching the toad mid-fall.

    A sort of wyvern the size of a decent airliner.

    A secondter, a rush of power filled her and she fell back on her ass with toad blood dripping down her chin. Her awareness increased a little, especially her vision. There was also something else like a cooling sensation flooding her vein, though she couldn¡¯t identify it. All in all, an excellent haul, hehe.

    Ok so jumping would have been a Bad idea, but hey, she thought at the wyvern, thanks for the assist, homie. Nestra smiled to herself. That had been fun as hell. Dangerous, but fun. She was right though. That portal world was really dangerous. That toad had been D-ss and not the weakest either. Got to be careful.

    Nestra frowned. It wasn¡¯t umon for teams to retreat to fight another day. Most guilds actually encouraged it because no one wanted to lose raiders on stupid shit. What about her? Was she supposed to push herself to the brink or was retreat an eptable option? The benefactor had said that hubris killed her kind. Maybe retreating would help her fight off that w. She wasn¡¯t sure.

    She would retreat if she were seriously wounded before facing the portal¡¯s guardian. Nodding to herself, Nestra decided that it was probably the best way to handle hubris. Yep! Now to go up.

    Nestra walked back towards the trunk. There was a sort of path there, or at least enough bulbous growths to make a sort of winding way up. After some experimentation, she realized it was easier to walk from branch to branch as it prevented her from having to crawl. A crawling Nestra was a slow target, and that would be a bad idea. As she slowly made her way up, Nestra used the opportunity to watch the wildlife since she had to look for other toads anyway. A vibrant ecosystem had developed around the titanic tree. There were white mushrooms with a yellow marbling that she surprisingly had a data on despite not knowing about this world. They happened to be edible as well. It would be the heights of carelessness to bring back any sort of loot now so she tried them on the spot. They were nice and gorged with mana so she ate some more,menting her forlorn gear. This would have been amazing grilled in garlic butter! Curse BaiHua and their advanced security detectors.

    Besides the edible ones, there were a couple of poisonous mushrooms that could have been sold on the ck market, as well as colorful birds and small critters who merged into the bark when she looked at them. Strange insects flewzily around the vegetation, the distant sun shining on their shells through heavy clouds. Atst, she spotted strange lianas ending in bright yellow stingers.

    Hmm, that looked a bit like¡ª

    The liana tensed and Nestra dove to the side with a hiss. Yellow darts whistled through the air. Those were not lianas, those were back limbs for a small green creature with root-like feet. Its round form gave it a good ability to hide. The lianas tensed again and she readied herself.

    As soon as the darts were in flight, she sprinted and used momentum tond right next to the creature, which hissed and jumped back.

    The creature was now untethered from the bark, and that was a death sentence. Nestra smirked and used precision. She swung her naked foot and kicked with all the might of a ser manga protagonist. The creature was unceremoniously punted into near orbit. It wailed miserably on its way down.

    Praise Newton, Nestra thought.

    The same wyvern creature grabbed the impromptu second serving. Nestra thought it was a little unfair that IT got to eat all that meat while she had to munch on raw fungus. Disgusting. Still, another victory and one that came from noticing her enemy in advance - granting her a rush of coolness in her veins ¡ª probably toxin tolerance ¡ª and mind speed somehow.. She kept going up at a sedate pace, taking her time to make sure she wouldn¡¯t be caught again. That allowed her to spot the next toad.

    The beast¡¯s camouge was near perfect, but there was one thing it couldn¡¯t do: make water disappear. A puff of wind blew condensation across the branches and gathered around a crouched form like an angelic, ephemeral halo. It was enough for Nestra to spot it. She stopped and considered her options.

    It had probably seen her. She had no real way to hide here, in the camouge-ruled world. She would have to kill it, but to do so, she had options.

    The safest way to kill it would be by using a demon bolt, but the problem was she had only two in the tank before exhaustion set it, and she needed at least one for the guardian. There was also the issue of mana-infused attacks. She only had her fists and without some power behind her strikes, she might as well gently massage the monsters instead. How should she approach it?

    Hmm.

    She knew she could lure the tongue whip out. Monsters of this power were predictable, especially ambush predators. Then what?

    Well, she had a tool.

    If youe across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.

    If a princess kissed a frog in turned it back into a prince. What happened if a demon bit a toad? Would she turn back into a human?

    Nothing to it. She had to try. Nestra walked as casually as she could towards the base of the toad¡¯s branch. A step. Another step. Another one. Come on, lick me.

    A blur.

    Nestra leaned back, watching the powerful muscle extend past her nose, and then, she grabbed it, and then she bit it. Her teeth tore a chunk of flesh half as wide as the tongue itself. Almost immediately, the toad pulled it back with a screech of pain. Blood pulsed out of the wound in great splurts but she wasn¡¯t done yet. The toad, however, was. Despite her best effort, she was pulled forward, her neck jolting painfully.

    ¡°Ugh.¡±

    She rushed forward so as not to be pulled into the air. Her feet mbered on the wet bark as the toad desperately pulled the mangled appendage in. Couldn¡¯t get a grip. Fuck it. She lurched forward, dragged on the tongue and bit again where the wound extended. This time, the muscle spasmed and then, finally, she tore it off. The stump sprayed her with crimson liquid as she fell on the ground. Blinded! She used momentum to step back before realizing it was already over.

    The toad creature screeched loudly as it bled out, which left Nestra wiping blood off her face. The rush of power came soon after ward.

    Her neck still hurt a little.

    So, yeah, had to refine her technique a little but at least she was having fun. Her gaze lingered on the creature¡¯s powerful hindlegs.

    Maybe¡­

    No no no no she could not sneak any meat out. She¡¯d even forfeited getting a bag to mute the temptation. Enough of this, time to go on. She still had to visit Fifteen afterward.

    The climb remained slow and controlled. Nestra dispatched another two vine creatures with ease now that her strategy was perfected, the only difference was that she grabbed one by the liana before tossing it out to its death like a b. The portal was rather small for one of its power, though the creatures were strong and well-adapted to the environment. It made her worried about the guardian. As she approached arge tform with great care, her suspicions were confirmed.

    At first, it looked like a giant green leaf stuck to the bark but careful examination showed that the moss-like surface was, in fact, fur. The four corners of the leaf then revealed themselves to be limbs ending in ws, their white structure digging into the bark. The upper side was triangr and ttened against the tree, possibly the head.

    This was it, the moment of truth. She had two bolts and the creature was lying in ambush. Nestra crouched on her branch, looking up towards her target. Should she aime for the head or center mass? Give how ridiculously potent the bolt was and herck of experience with it, aiming for center mass might be safer. Focusing, Nestra brought¡ª

    Pain.

    Sharp, overwhelmingly sharp pain. Back of her left arm. Somethingtched on it. Teeth raking her bones. She screamed and panicked. There was something there, ck, shaped like a shark. About her size. Head like a catfish and a wolf mashed together, with two ck beady eyes ring at her with rabid fury. Wrong wrong wrong. Not the correct ecosystem. It wasn¡¯t here a moment before! She plunged the thumb of her right arm into the eye with all the strength she could muster, her blow backed by precision while her red blood pooled on the beast¡¯s mouth. Something crunched. The beast let out a muted scream that sounded inside of her damn head, not here, there. What the fuck? She hyperventted. So painful.

    The shark thing flopped away. It was swimming in the air and now Nestra got a better look at its powerful shape as it made to charge her again. It wasn¡¯t here before! She was sure it wasn¡¯t here before! That piece of shit was cheating! What the fuck! And the mana was wrong, not the right taste, not the right ce of existence! It was an intruder!

    Like her.

    ¡°Hssss!¡±

    The shark thing swam around to attack her, its face still wet. Her left arm was a sea of pain. Blood dripped freely on the wet bark. She used momentum to close the distance while it was still winding up to attack. Precision guided her fist into the creature¡¯s bleeding eye socket. There was a crunch. The shark wailed and veered away, directly into the path of the falling guardian.

    A horrified yet determined Nestra pulled the rest of the power towards the guardian, just as the creature¡¯s long arm extended towards her, just as its maw opened to reveal serrated teeth. The beast punted the shark, which blinked out of existence while Nestra extended her arm, furious because the guardian looked like a giant, carnivorous sloth.

    And she was damned if she would let herself get smushed by a fucking sloth. The charge connected. The potential was made.

    The world exploded in front of her.

    With an ear-splitting crack, a ray of dark and gray crossed the distance and the creature¡¯s right chest exploded in a spray of blood and fuming gore. Deep crack splintered the bark and Nestra was left with just enough strength to jump out of the way. The sloth¡¯s severed arm still clipped her.

    Her hand slipped uselessly on slipper wood, then she went over the branch and down.

    ¡°Fu¡ª¡±

    And towards another branch. Her body mmed painfully against the unyielding material, sending droplets all around her. The shock stole her breath and that was nothingpared to her arm. For a moment, all she could do was wail and clutch herself.

    ¡°Ah, hsssss.¡±

    A few hissing swear words escaped her lips. She wasn¡¯t even exactly sure what they mean but they sounded very rude. It took her maybe a minute to move again, but she did. She had to.

    There had been no bursts of energy.

    The guardian was still alive.

    Using the tree as a wall, she climbed to her feet and checked for damage. Her chest felt sore. There was a half-moon of deep teeth mark around her entire right arm, still oozing blood.

    She realized she didn¡¯t have time to handle it. Nestra ran up the branches as fast as she could, confident that at least she¡¯d dealt with the threats on the way. She was leaving this ce as soon as possible. She was also certain the guardian was bleeding out. The exit portal was going to open soon, and she would jump out before that fish thing came back to give her another wedgie. Pain made every movement difficult. The Scornful Crescent was of no use here, only the tolerance for pain she¡¯d built over a decade of merciless training. Almost there. Almost there. Something crashed below her and she peered quickly over the edge. The sloth thing was climbing with one arm. A mossy structure covered the ruin of its chest. It should be dead. It was probably dead. It was not just ready to go alone. She could see it in the rage-filled malice of its beady eyes.

    It was the perfect asion.

    The shark was a stealthy thing but she only had one chance at it. With onest nce around for an anomaly, she cast the lightning spell again. An extended finger pointed at the head of the sloth and the potential stretched the fabric of the portal world thin.

    Another explosion. Around her, shaken condensation formed a cloud of sweltering heat. Nestra didn¡¯t wait to see the beast fall as a potent surge of energy filled her essence. Resilience, mostly. Good. She rushed ahead while looking around and found the altar bearing her rewards, this time crystals and enchanted branches still gushing with life. She ignored them all as she jumped through the exit and crashed on redwood.

    It was much colder here, dryer. Morefortable for her. There was an envelope in front of her, along with a red vial, greenish bandages, and a Kero nut. She reached for the message first because she wanted to know what the fuck happened.

    ¡°Little Nezhra!

    A void shark! It must be lost. It¡¯s got your scent now, so be careful when you go into portals and good luck!

    I am working on a little something for you because you rely on your mana tool too much. In the meanwhile, have those supplies and the nut. It has been a long day!¡±

    Into portals, the message said. She assumed it meant it wouldn¡¯t attack her here. Good. Good. She sat down and applied the potion and bandages to her poor arm, hissing in pain the whole time. The wounds were closing very slowly and they stung something fierce. Even the skin had failed to grow over it to help her heal, something it usually did almost immediately. It was a hard ce to treat as well so it took her two minutes to finish before she could sulkily wipe off her tears and chew on her Kero nut. Peace atst. Since she wasn¡¯t sure what to do with the empty potion bottle, she left it there.

    That was going to leave a mark. Maybe the void shark¡¯s bite had something special going on. Pissed her off though. Next time she¡¯d bite it. On the fin. And make fucking soup with it. Seriously, did other raiders have monsters cross the boundaries of reality to bite them in the ass MID HUNT? What the fuck kind of stupidity was that. Ugh.

    Climbing down the tree wasn¡¯t really pleasant but she managed.

    Nestra pulled her mask on. The pain receded at the back of her mind, reced by a dull ache. She would heal and it would all be fine, but for now, she had to get back to her house and then out to track some wounded aug. Ugh, not looking forward to this after all. She felt exhausted.

    A grumbling Nestra retraced her steps towards the entrance of the arcology. There were trams and other means of transportation across the massive park but none near the edge where she was. That left her trudging along the carefully manicured trails in a foul mood until she caught a sh of mana on the main path, further along.

    That was surprising. She didn¡¯t hear or sense a battle but there was something fundamentally hostile about shing mana, even though that one felt warm and caring. Gleams always kept it under control in public.

    Should she head away?

    No, a baseline like her wouldn¡¯t notice. Better not to attract the attention. Nestra kept a steady pace that led her to the central path, and then the main avenue leading to BaiHua¡¯s lobby. It was mostly deserted past midnight except near the massive security gate leading outside, towards the parking ess. Two gleams argued in slow voices near the long entrance. Nestra caught shes of vivid green eyes she identified as life mana. One of the gleams, a woman, was clearly arguing, the sleeves of her white BaiHua outfit moving wildly like the wings of a silly bird. She was also quite red in the face. She shared her dirty blonde hair and facial features with the other gleam who wore a¡­ armored white police user uniform? Wait, she knew that guy! He healed her the night of her transformation. What was his name again?

    As she stopped, the two gleams somehow sensed her, the woman turning with fury and the man like he was drowning in a storm and she was a fat buoy with self-heating functions.

    ¡°Officer Padian!¡± he yelled. ¡°You, err, you¡¯re finally here!¡±

    Nestra felt caught in a storm as the woman¡¯s furious mana invaded her personal space. A normal baseline would instinctively flinch though they wouldn¡¯t exactly know why. The rude gesture annoyed her enough that she ignored itpletely. Besides, the man had invoked the ancient rites of protection: always back up someone who ims you were going to meet in case they are being stalked.

    ¡°Valerian of¡­ House Nephrite,¡± she greeted. ¡°Am I interrupting something?¡±

    ¡°No no, I was just about to leave!¡±

    ¡°Val, you¡ª AAAH! Hopeless! And you, do you really know him?¡± the woman demanded.

    Interestingly, she wasn¡¯t sneering. It wasn¡¯t a disparaging remark. It was the question of someone fully expecting Valerian to be full of shit, which, arguably, he was.

    So was Nestra.

    ¡°Of course, we met during the purge in Fifteen.¡±

    ¡°When he got his ass handed to him by a ganger instead of saving lives?¡± the woman spat.

    This was getting into dangerous territories. Nestra was too busy to get caught in a gleam argument. Baselines never came up on top.

    ¡°Haha, miss Padian volunteers in Fifteen to rebuild the peace, like I do!¡±

    ¡°Is that so?¡± the woman asked.

    ¡°I work withw enforcement.¡±

    Valerian¡¯s rtive was about to ask more but she shook her head instead.

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter. It¡¯s not over, Val. You know what you have to do for your own sake. Please. And you¡­¡± she said, returning her re towards Nestra. ¡°Don¡¯t encourage him. You¡¯d be making a mistake.¡±

    With thatst threat, she stomped away in a huff. Nestra waited until she was halfway to the lobby before turning to a sheepish Valerian. For a gleam, decorum was clearly not his forte.

    She admitted to being a little curious. She also knew it was a shit idea to express it, so she made to leave.

    ¡°Wait! Ah, sorry, were you leaving?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Let me walk you to your car as an apology. You brought it this time, right?¡±

    Nestra believed the best apology would be to leave her the fuck alone. That said, no one stopped gleams for random inspections so¡­

    And Valerian was kind of a good guy.

    ¡°Sure. Thanks.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re most wee.¡±

    The pair made their way to the security door and the many scanner preventing poor demon girls from smuggling out rightfully hunted frog legs of unusual proportions.

    ¡°So, yeah, sorry about that. It¡¯s¡­ an old argument. My family doesn¡¯t really approve of my choices, you see?¡±

    I don¡¯t care I don¡¯t care I don¡¯t care.

    ¡°Joining the police?¡± Nestra asked to be polite and because Valerian looked like a kicked puppy.

    ¡°No, uh, fighting. For the people, not a guild. Trying at least. Life mana isn¡¯t really good for offense.¡±

    It waspletely useless, yeah.

    ¡°My family¡­ are mostly healers, you see. And biomancers I guess. They would rather have me join them than waste my time on battle.¡±

    ¡°Your family works for BaiHua?¡±

    ¡°The Nephrite are among the founding families, yeah. Grandpa is on the board.¡±

    He blushed.

    ¡°Guess that makes me a child of nepotism trying to escape a life of privilege, ey? A bit stereotypical.¡±

    ¡°Then that makes two of us, only I absconded with a house.¡±

    ¡°Do youe here often, by the way? First time seeing you here. I like visiting at night. I¡¯m also saying this because my cousin might give you issues if she sees you alone, just saying. Maybe. She¡¯s good people, I swear.¡±

    So nervous. By then, Nestra had walked to the elevator and waited for the lift down towards the massive outer parking garage of the arcology.

    She had her cover story ready.

    ¡°No I, errr, today at work was¡­ difficult.¡±

    ¡°The dead augs?¡±

    ¡°You heard?¡± Nestra asked, suddenly interested.

    ¡°Of course! Well done, dispatching them without reinforcements. Wish you didn¡¯t have to do it though.¡±

    He winced.

    ¡°Some of myrades in arms are not exactly the cream of the crop.¡±

    ¡°Understatement of the century. And yes, I always wanted to see the redwoods since they were grown. I guess tonight felt like a really good time.¡±

    ¡°My uncle made them! They¡¯re great, visually. We¡¯re studying their fire resistance.¡±

    They boarded the elevator, alone except for a short baseline woman in a suit who did her best to look inconspicuous. Valerian didn¡¯t even notice her.

    ¡°So yes, anyway, I¡¯m also working around Fifteen. We¡¯ve had to break fights and capture a few augmented gangers causing trouble but otherwise it¡¯s been calm. Yours was thergest group. Be careful, there is no guarantee this was thest of them.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d be surprised as well. Say, do you know if any of the gang gleams escaped?¡±

    ¡°No, they were the priority and there weren¡¯t many of them anyway. I think Hong Wang got them all. He was¡­ thorough.¡±

    Nestra thought back to the Red King and his mes. Yeah that gleam wasn¡¯t exactly subtle.

    ¡°However,¡± Valerian said, leaning conspirationaly towards Nestra in full view of another baseline. ¡°Rumor says many lieutenants made it out. They¡¯re probably far away by now but you never know.¡±

    They left the lift and a traumatized secretary behind. Nestra paid the parking fee with her visor while they walked. Valerian was just so excited to talk to her. It felt weird.

    She wasn¡¯t sure she wanted to add him to the list of people she ought to care about. He was a disaster in waiting.

    ¡°I¡¯ll keep an eye out,¡± she said.

    ¡°You do that. Strong augs will be a danger to you seeing as you¡¯re, you didn¡¯t¡­¡±

    He gestured awkwardly.

    ¡°Riel I¡¯m making a mess of things. You don¡¯t have raiderbat capabilities. There, I said it.¡±

    He winced.

    ¡°To be fair, neither do I.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re just life, right?¡±

    ¡°Strong life. No other affinity though this one would be all I needed. It¡¯s just¡­¡±

    He sighed.

    ¡°It sounds selfish but¡­ I want to fight. I know I¡¯d be more useful as a pure healer and all, just¡­¡±

    ¡°Can life mana really not be turned around? Leeching spell maybe?¡±

    Valerian shook his head.

    ¡°I can buff my allies really well, or I would if they let me. They mostly want me to save mana to heal them if things go south. If only they¡¯d let me prove myself! And, errr, maybe if I did find an aggressive use, it wouldn¡¯t change things. I would just be ¡®perverting¡¯ my gift. Not to mention I¡¯d need three times the effort and twice the mana of a fire spell for half of the result. I fear there is no winning here.¡±

    ¡°Yet you still do it.¡±

    ¡°Yeah. I¡­ look, I want to contribute on the frontline, not in a tent at the back. I don¡¯t want everyone to tell me how to live!¡±

    He bristled.

    ¡°But¡­ I guess they¡¯re right. I¡¯m being selfish. I could save many more lives doing what I was born to do rather than what I want to do.¡±

    Nestra and him shared a tense silence. She¡¯d reached her car by now, and waited by the front. For some reason, it felt wrong to cut the man off.

    She thought she knew why.

    ¡°Am I being an ass?¡± he eventually said.

    ¡°Why do you ask me even though we barely know each other?¡±

    ¡°Because,¡± he replied with conviction, ¡°you know what it¡¯s like to grow up with expectations and not meet them.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t have a choice.¡±

    ¡°Sorry, it¡¯s just¡­¡±

    ¡°Yet I see what you mean. You don¡¯t really need my answer. You know what I¡¯m doing. I could have a cozy office job using mywork or even work for my parents¡¯ guild and yet here I am shooting augs in a concrete jungle. As for doing what you were born to do, nobody decided that.¡±

    ¡°I would help more people if I picked the path of the healer.¡±

    ¡°Fuck them,¡± Nestra suddenly said with feeling. ¡°You may be expected to contribute but those folks sure as fuck don¡¯t get to tell you how. What do you owe them? Or are you expected to spend every waking hours shoving life mana into paper cuts? Nobody¡¯s explored life mana beyond the basics so far. We merely use it as a supplement to technology. Maybe you were born to change that. Who the fuck knows? Not me, and not your cousin. Nobody has the right to tell me to set myself on fire to warm others. Nobody is owed my sacrifice. Same for you.¡±

    ¡°Huh,¡± Valerian said.

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°You were on fire just now, but anyway I think I see your point. And I agree. I¡¯m holding you back. Thanks. For the candid reply. I¡­ think I needed to hear it from someone else. Maybe I¡¯ll be a healer eventually but¡­ you are right. I want to explore what life mana can contribute on the battlefield. Maybe I¡¯ll fail. Maybe not. I just¡­ don¡¯t want to live with regrets.¡±

    ¡°I understand.¡±

    ¡°Ok, then be careful out there ande back for a walk sometimes? I¡¯m actually there almost every evening. Did I say that already? Oh! And, uh, not that it¡¯s my business but¡­ you smell of blood. A little. Do you need any help? I can heal you for free, haha.¡±

    Nestra did her best not to freeze like a deer in the headlights.

    Human Nestra was intact.

    Demon Nestra though¡­

    ¡°I¡¯m fine. Unharmed, actually. Maybe it¡¯s something from the battle?¡±

    ¡°If you are sure,¡± Valerian replied, dripping polite disbelief.

    She climbed in and set up the autopilot. Valerian waved her goodbye and despite her better judgment, she returned it. She was also asleep by the time the car left the district. She only woke up two hourster in her seat and then only because she¡¯d put the rm. A string of slurs followed her return to the waking world.

    ¡°So tired¡­¡±

    But she had to go and track that blood.

    After a snack or two.

    ***

 (10)

    (10)

    It had been a shit idea. The right thing to do would have been to follow the wounded ganger on the spot instead of letting her escape. What if she got into a vehicle?

    No, vehicles were controlled very tightly in Fifteen. Gangers just couldn¡¯t be seen above ground or they would have a fleet of drones on their asses in less time it took to say ¡°Police state¡±.

    Nestra should have still taken the risk and followed, even if that meant losing ess to evidence. She would have had the support of Kim, maybe even the gleams though¡­ ah whatever. It was done.

    The trail of blood was still rtively fresh but Nestra wasn¡¯t. Her arm ached, a sore feeling that persisted long past what she was used to in a society with ready ess to painkillers. Although the wound was almost closed now, it was exhausting. The pain weighed on her overtaxed mind like the constant ng of a bell, stealing her attention away. She grit her teeth and took a deep breath. The tunnel here smelled stale with the coppery scent of the wounded aug¡¯s lifeforce still potent after more than half a day. She followed it. She could see it as well, like a fading arrow. The rust-colored track led deeper into the bowels of District Fifteen past the lit track tunnels and into mazes of maintenance and storage rooms. The tracks didn¡¯t seem to follow any strict direction either. Once, they made a small detour through a pump system hangar. The blood flow also fell into a trickle there, but there was arge, crimson shoulder print against a manual control panel. Nestra¡¯s quarry had made a stop to staunch the bleeding here. Perhaps also to make sure she wasn¡¯t pursued. She was weakening.

    Nestra shook her head then winced. The trail was old. This was not a hunt. She had to calm down. Maybe lie down for a second and¡­ no. No. She had to finish this.

    The wounded aug left the maze almost a kilometer down the line, close to Threshold¡¯s kaiju wall. The purge had hit the ce the hardest here where one of the gangs had made its stronghold. Nestra had to push through debris and copsed rooms to find the surface. Bloody handprints made the task easy. She ended up near a half-destroyed building at the edge of arge crater. The smell of fire still haunted the ce, with molten stic and twisted steel beams hanging over the precipice in a forest of rotting limbs. She would have missed the steel door were it not for yet another bloody spot on the wall nearby. Nestra¡¯s quarry had leaned there, perhaps waiting for someone to open the gate.

    This was it. Her destination.

    Her ck box beeped to warn her about cameras. Better to take a small detour. She moved around the devastated street to avoid being seen. She would not be recognized, of course, but glitchy cameras and guards on alert mixed poorly, especially since the open ground would make her visible for entire seconds. Her path led her around and to the heart of the dead battlefield.

    This part of the city was an absolute wreck. Perhaps it had been a hive of viiny before the purge, but now it was an empty grave. Scorched husks of tents and stalls lined the ravaged streets. Not a single wall stood that didn¡¯t bear bullet impacts and half-erased graffiti, all that remained of a defiant faction¡¯s struggle against Threshold¡¯s all-epassing authority. Casings still littered the asphalt for all the good it had done the gangers. Nestra shook her head. Fucking idiots. Fucking dead idiots now.Well, whatever.

    A small search revealed a water tower ravaged by machine gun spray. Nestra climbed it, then made a short jump to her target¡¯s roof.

    It could have been an administrative building. Or apany office. The roof was empty except for inactive AC units. A door led downstairs, though it was locked and probably secured. Not that Nestra needed a door. A breath, and she slipped through the fabric of the world and through the floor under her feet.

    One moment, she was standing outside, the next, she was falling down a derelict office, her naked feetnding smoothly on a ratty carpet.

    It was dark here and it smelled terrible, musty and rotten with a burnt undertone. Cubicles stood, yellow surfaces eaten by mold. They were gutted and empty with cables snaking out of the desks and leading nowhere. The gangers hadn¡¯t used this specific room at least. Riel, maybe no one had since Thresholdpleted the wall. Nestra carefully moved to the only door leading further inside and listened.

    It was mostly silent, probably because the hour waste. Rather than opening the door, she slid through the wall and into a trash-strewn corridor. Here, the stench was more aggressive but Nestra¡¯s sensory defenses left her unaffected. She carefully made her way through forsaken trash bags, wishing for the day when the skin could cover her feet as well. The symbiotic garment felt her anguish. A few tendrils of darkness creeped down her calves until she stopped it with a thought. There was little point in covering her soles after walking through a kilometer of dusty corridors. Better to focus on the matter at hand.

    She was getting distracted. Nestra massaged her eyes to try and wake up. She was so close to something useful that she couldn¡¯t afford to lose if she wanted to find out the truth.

    It was a matter of minutes to find the stairs down, by which time she realized with some surprise that most of the doors leading to empty offices were trapped with old-fashioned ymore mines. They even used wires. Aggressive. At least, she was in the right spot.

    Carefully, she climbed down while keeping an eye out for cameras. One of them pointed at the stairway and couldn¡¯t be avoided so Nestra slipped down once again,nding into a crouch on the floor below. Probably the third floor. She should have checked before getting in. Amateurish.

    A quick check revealed that the second room was used for storage. There were crates in the empty offices with the marking of emergency rations, probably piged from the shelters under Fifteen. The food in there couldst for centuries so long as the seals held so they made a great prize for people on the run. She also spotted cases of ammunition, a few rifles, and clothes. Lockers presumably held personal effects. She approached the staircase and saw colors for the first time since getting in. There was light, and sounds. Footsteps. Someone was still here.

    Nestra creeped by the corner. The stairs down led to arge open space lit by powerfulmps. From that angle, she could see isting fabric lining the walls and some workstations including a weaponsmith. In one of the corners, monitors disyed camera footage and surveince data watched by a bored aug. A couple more slept in bags along the wall. She couldn¡¯t see more from where she was but there were a lot of crates, most of them packed. Were they on the way out? They could be rotating between safe houses.

    There was probably a ce she could drop in. Just had to make sure she wouldn¡¯t be¡ª

    ¡°Hey!¡± a voice rang from behind.

    Nestra turned, feeling both shocked and very, very stupid. An aug stood behind her, at the end of the corridor. He was holding a half open bottle of something. Dirty clothes. Matted hair. A machine pistol on a holster.

    ¡°Mo¡ª MONST¡ª¡±

    Fuck.

    Nestra used momentum to close the distance, grabbed his machine pistol and emptied half a magazine in his unprotected head. A rush of power marked his death. Screams and gasps of rm rang after the deafening booms. Five of them. Nestra didn¡¯t wait. She dropped through the ceiling on a pair of augs thrashing their way out of sleeping bags. Both had eye imnts judging from how they didn¡¯t seem to know exactly where she was. Two men. She shot the lightly auged one and grabbed his knife, a monode. A horizontal strike guided by precision decapitated the heavier one. She picked his gun and charged forward.

    ¡°User not recognized,¡± a synthetic voice said.

    ¡°Fuck.¡±

    Nestra used momentum to close in with the aug in charge of the cameras even now brandishing a room sweeper with a confused look. He was just as lost as the others, eye imnts searching but finding only glitches. Nevertheless, wide choke shotgun bad. She dove low and struck up, gutting him and grabbing the gun. Bullets buzzed past her head. There was a shorter man with curly hair pointing a rifle near a small printer in the distance. He didn¡¯t have eye augs.

    Nestra used the dying, gutted aug as a human shield. He screamed and convulsed under the onught while Nestra remained untouched. Smelled bad though. The shooting aug slowed down to adjust his sight. He was surprisingly calm, Nestra thought, as she watched him breathe, nervous sweat pearling on his brow. As he did so, she sprinted then used momentum again to appear behind him. He swiveled his gun around but it was toote. The shotgun st took him in the neck. Even dermal ting couldn¡¯t stop a shell at this range.

    There was a crash of ss upstairs. Window. Nestra grabbed hertest victim¡¯s rifle then slipped through the nearest wall. A man, running away to safety, or so he thought.

    She lined the rifle and switched to burst fire. There should be at least half a magazine left. More than she needed. The weapon felt so small in her hands. It was more like a toy than a tool of destruction. It didn¡¯t buck under her fingers when she pulled the trigger thanks to her superior strength. The fleeing shape shuddered and stumbled on the uneven ground. Little puffs of blood bloomed where the bullets pierced through whatever defenses he had. One two three. One two three. One two three. Thest volley caught him in the neck.

    He fell and stopped moving.

    Nestra remembered to breathe.

    Breathe, that¡¯s right.

    Breathe and curse.

    ¡°Riel fucking dammit.¡±

    Stupid. Stupid and sloppy. Amateurish. She hated amateurish with a burning passion, and yet here she was, forgetting to sweep rooms clear because she saw something shiny and let curiosity take over her higher brain functions. She could have lost her lead, or even her life acting like a fool. Fuck! At least she remembered to use their own weapons instead of her sword.

    Nestra clicked her tongue as she moved to retrieve the body. A quick check showed she could slip back into the den with it so at least she had that going for her. This time, she made sure to quickly sweep the second floor just in case. There was no one there.

    Only one person remained in the ground floor¡¯s makeshift infirmary. It was the aug she had wounded this morning. She was dying.

    Nestra watched the woman¡¯s heavily bandaged chest move up and down. The aug was younger than she thought, with light alterations that focused on speed and reflexes. It had not helped against a bullet traveling through a damn wall. Herpanions did try to do their best, with synth blood transfusion and other drugs but¡­ there was a rattle in her chest, lungs slowly filling with liquids. Her heart beat too fast and her skin was too pale. Organ damage, most likely. Not something that could be fixed here.

    There was still a rush of power when Nestra slit her throat. Mind speed, this time. She could recognize the taste. Humans seemed to grant random advantages, and though they were not significant, they were not weakening either. Nestra had diminishing returns with monster deaths but with her peers, either she had not noticed it yet, or there was¡­ no limit to how strong she could grow by killing humans.

    She considered this as she gathered the bodies in a pile, thankful that she didn¡¯t have fingerprints in demon form. Was this how it would end? With human undesirables acting as fodder for her growth? A disturbing sensation of kinship filled her mind. Those augs fought her and died without standing a chance because she was simply superior and there were no measures they could have taken, no training they could have followed, that could have saved them from her. They were doomed from the moment Nestra decided to kill them.

    She was the gleam now.

    It felt¡­ a little sickening. Winning like that didn¡¯t feel good. It felt like cheating. She didn¡¯t mean to summarily execute those people. She only wanted to find a way to lead her side of the human conflict here, so maybe they could be interrogated. They were not dead because she nned on executing them. They were dead because she¡¯d fucked up and left herself with no choice.

    Nestra shook her head. She already knew the cause of her torment: overestimating herself and her energy reserves. It was just so unfair! A month ago, she could run all nighters and be functional well into the afternoon, but now? Now she needed over four thousand calories and ten hours of sleep a day or she would forget how to tie her own fucking shoces. Gleams were renowned for their amazing stamina! Where was hers hiding? This was bullshit. Utter bullshit.

    And also an excuse for her failure. She knew she needed sleep and still thought she could get away with it.

    Her fault.

    Nestra let herself whine until the bodies were gathered, then she realized there was no real reason to gather them to begin with. Instead, she went to the monitor to see if she could at least erase the surveince footage. Luckily, the videos were stored on a local hard drive she recovered for her own perusal. The cameras didn¡¯t show reinforcements rushing in so she took some more time looking around theputer. It really was a bare bone setting with no inte ess, only security logs that didn¡¯t say much. She only learned the local gangers had been here for a week, that they had a rival gang and a boss called Cleaver which was, in Nestra¡¯s opinion, really fucking tacky. Thetest log named the wounded aug as Mai. Her group¡¯s massacre spooked the gangers who were ready to move at dawn.

    She found the answer to one of her questions among the avable programs. It seemed this safe house was linked to a couple of others, including the one she¡¯d cleared the day before. There was a way to ping the safe house for a status update via the shelter under the hab block.

    Nestra knew with absolute certainty that sh was plugged into that system. He had ess to its cameras. She started the program and set it on repeat. sh wouldn¡¯t fail to notice it.

    Hopefully this would be enough to have human Nestra ess this ce.

    After onest look around to make sure she hadn¡¯t forgotten anything, she left.

    ***

    Nestra was still tired, but at least she would have a respite this morning in the form of an approved medical visit. It was time to meet Mazingwe again.

    This time the appointment was at his private practice which happened to be closer to the center of the town. Her car delivered her there without issue, and she used the transit time to check the surveince footage she¡¯d copied to her visor. After ten minutes of fast forwarding, the prize appeared.

    Someone hade to visit, someone familiar. She tried to ce him and failed, at first. Heavy augments on his eyes, chest, legs under a tattered waistcoat made an imposing figure. He was tall and bulky with short brown hair. He also no longer had enough flesh to even identify an ethnicity. She stopped the feed when it caught his face at a good angle. There was something about the shape of his imnts¡­

    The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

    A roof over District Fifteen on the night of the purge. Nestra had shot at a charging tide of stimmed augs and¡­ a heavy weight almost crushed her. This was the one who had jumped on the roof. She¡¯d pushed him back over the edge after paralyzing him with her sword. He was a ganger lieutenant and he¡¯de a swipe away from killing her.

    Huh.

    So he did make it after all. And now he was¡­ doing whatever. She kept watching the feed which was now running at normal speed. He wore a heavy de on his hip, this one too heavy to be really wieldy. It looked like it had been torn apart from abat walker.

    Cleaver. That was Cleaver.

    Nestra pushed herself back from her seat, eyes widened as the one of the cameras showed Cleaver opening a wall safe and cing something in it. Demon Nestra had missed it but demon Nestra just wanted to go home at the time. Maybe it was still there. Cleaver left shortly after.

    She searched for more visitors but found nothing, only gangers vacating to their upations with a surprising modicum of discipline.

    ¡°You have arrived.¡±

    Nestra blinked. Her car was parked in a nice spot next to a flower pot. In front of her, a ss building rose high. Right. Her health check. She easily found the main entrance, a tastefully decorated affair.

    ¡°Can I help you, miss?¡± a security agent asked, seeing as she was in the uniform she usually wore under her armor.

    ¡°Just here for an appointment.¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡±

    Nestra followed the directions to the third floor where she was weed by an olddy in an immacte suit exuding politepetence. Mazingwe still employed a secretary and greeter where most doctors had automated the process, or operated out of a hospital. He was old fashioned like that. She sat down in the waiting room and checked her visor for messages. There was one, from Shinoda, giving her a new address to meet at when she was ready.

    It looked like sh did the right thing. Good guy. She wondered¡ª

    ***

    ¡°Miss Padian.¡±

    Nestra woke up with a jolt.

    ¡°MUOH!¡±

    Golden eyes illuminating a very dark, kind face. Lean muscles. Mana bled out of his frame in both a gentle light and the promise of fire should she stray. There was so much power in this lithe frame, it almost gave her a headache.

    He was also holding a cup of coffee and a donut.

    ¡°No, Miss Padian. You may not have my snack.¡±

    ¡°Dr Mazingwe! It has been too long. How are you?¡±

    ¡°A worthy effort at pleasantries, however you still may not have my donut. Is this the moment you will assure me you were not asleep?¡±

    ¡°Why would I? I¡¯m not at the office so you can¡¯t exactly discipline me.¡±

    She shrugged.

    ¡°No rules against sleeping in the waiting room.¡±

    In her peripheral vision, Nestra saw a gleam look at her with utter shock. No affinities so not a raider. Maybe a researcher or something. He was leaving.

    ¡°I took the liberty of letting you sleep longer, seeing as you were exhausted. It is now ten AM.¡±

    ¡°Shit I need to get back to work.¡±

    ¡°None of that now. I did you a favor.¡±

    Nestra considered it. Maybe he had. It would take the techs hours tob over the area anyway, and she needed the sleep. She eyed the donut and thought longingly about the bag of croissants in her bag. They were not the freshest but they had a mana-rich almond fillings. Some leftover from a gleam function.

    Maybe with some coffee.

    ¡°Thanks, by the way,¡± she finally said.

    ¡°Think nothing of it, and now, if you will follow me. I need to ascertain that you are in good health.¡±

    Mazingwe¡¯s office was clean and well-lit byrge windows. Several lights would provide a sunny feeling even in winter though the high gleam himself could probably do it just as well by releasing his control. There were several testing machines in the room that tried to look harmless despite the restraint-like bands and other torture chair simrities.

    Maybe Nestra was a little biased.

    ¡°You look much better than when west met. Have you perhaps found a workaround for your mana cravings?¡±

    ¡°I have, in fact. Food.¡±

    ¡°Mana-rich food?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    He leaned against his designer chair.

    ¡°And do you also sleep more or was today just a coincidence?¡±

    ¡°I sleep more, yes.¡±

    ¡°Hmmm.¡±

    Mazingwe flexed his long fingers. With his distraction came a rush of barely contained might, the power of the sun just peeking from behind a mountain.

    ¡°Your case being unique, perhaps this solution will work in the long run. I am relieved that you seem to be doing so well, though I have concerns about the amount of food you would need to maintain a bnce. We will be conducting in-depth tests. It should not take more than twenty minutes.¡±

    It might have been short but it was invasive. Mazingwe took a blood sample then ran various examinations. Blood pressure, visual acuity, X-rays. Everything was done besides a pee sample for which Nestra was quite grateful.

    ¡°Interesting. You are in¡­ remarkable health. Better than before when you were exhibiting signs of exhaustion. In fact, some of the results would almost ce you in the lowest bracket of users. Have you, perhaps, shown any signs of having quirks? Multiple ones?¡±

    ¡°Nope,¡± Nestra replied.

    Mazingwe stared. He could do that very well.

    ¡°No, really! Why would I hide it?¡± she replied with conviction. ¡°I just feel better and maybe I move a little faster but I don¡¯t have any special tricks or anything.¡±

    At least not in human form, which was all that mattered.

    ¡°I see. Hmmm, perhaps they might manifestter. I have equipment to measure the performance of freshly awoken users in the next room. I would like you to take those tests as well.¡±

    ¡°Oh, the machines that tell gleams what they¡¯re worth right after they awoke? Nice,¡± Nestra replied before she could stop herself.

    ¡°Your sarcasm is misced, Miss Padian. Everyone wants to know which way their natural abilities lean so that they may follow an appropriate training path, especially raider candidates. I merely point them in the right direction.¡±

    ¡°What if they have no talent?¡± she asked, perhaps a little sweetly.

    Just enough of the high gleam¡¯s aura pierced through to send her back to her seat with just a hint of vertigo.

    ¡°You should know better than most that everyone has their skills, Miss Padian.¡±

    ¡°Okay, okay.¡±

    ¡°There is also a psychological evaluation.¡±

    ¡°Oh spare me.¡±

    ¡°But considering your career choice and your attitude, I would say they woulde considerably toote.¡±

    ¡°Hey!¡±

    ¡°Just one question then. Are you aware that your biting attitude and the way yoush out against perceived figures of authority stems from a deeply ingrained feeling of inadequacypounded by a desire for recognition of your own merits and the deleterious effect of Threshold¡¯s vertiginous socialdder?¡±

    ¡°Mazingwe, what the fuck are you on about? I¡¯m a simple girl that likes swinging her sword. If I were a gleam I¡¯d be swinging it too and if I couldn¡¯t swing I¡¯d just end it. It¡¯s that simple. I don¡¯t give a shit about politics, respect or hierarchy beyond the basics because it won¡¯t give me what I want, which is, as I said before, swinging my damn sword. Don¡¯t try to oveplicate me. I know what I am.¡±

    ¡°You may have surprising depths to your character.¡±

    ¡°Nah. I¡¯ll never be a genius and I¡¯ll never be a leader. I epted that long ago and gleam powers wouldn¡¯t have changed my brain anyway.¡±

    ¡°Hmmm. You seem to be in a good ce. I see no cause to push you right now.¡±

    ¡°Thanks.¡±

    ¡°Would a donut convince you to go ahead with my tests?¡±

    ¡°Bribery? Sign me up.¡±

    And so Nestra did the damn tests.

    The donut was freaking amazing but Mazingwe refused to say where he got it. There was some very basic weight lifting but most were reflex tests, and once she turned when Mazingwe shed his aura and heter made a note.

    ¡°Well, I have confirmed that you have¡­ slightly superhuman capabilities,¡± he finished.

    Nestra nodded. She knew that already. While demon Nestra¡¯s progress was massive, human Nestra only benefitted from a fraction of her true strength but a fraction of a shit ton of strength was still quite respectable.

    ¡°As expected, you knew this but elected not to share this piece of information with me, just as you elected not to tell me you were doing much better. Even though I am your practitioner.¡±

    Nestra frowned as they sat back at the man¡¯s office. He didn¡¯t offer another donut.

    ¡°Dr Mazingwe, no one sends messages to their doctor telling them they¡¯re doing fine.¡±

    ¡°And yet I recall asking you to keep in touchst time.¡±

    ¡°I mean sure, but¡­¡±

    ¡°Specifically.¡±

    He seemed a little annoyed.

    ¡°You are angry. Is that why you didn¡¯t shake my hand and ate the first donut in front of me without offering any?¡±

    ¡°I cannot express my annoyance in a clearer manner without overstepping the bonds of courtesy.¡±

    ¡°That was petty. Buuuuut you have always been good and¡­ I suppose you¡¯re right. I should have told you. Sorry.¡±

    ¡°I ept your apologies, and acknowledge that the wounded beast only sees its own pain.¡±

    ¡°What does that even mean?¡±

    ¡°You are a bitch when you¡¯re hurting.¡±

    ¡°OOF! What happened to the bonds of courtesy?¡±

    ¡°I ran out of patience and allowed myself a little folly. Since there are no witnesses.¡±

    ¡°You are a dangerous man, doctor.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± the high gleam said, ¡°you have no idea.¡±

    On the way out, Nestra asked the secretary where that ursed doctor got his donuts.

    ¡°Oh he makes them himself. I understand he doesn¡¯t even use a machine for that.¡±

    ¡°Riel! Really?¡±

    ¡°Certainly.¡±

    Talk about VIP treatment.

    ***

    Nestra parked right next to the building she¡¯d infiltrated the night before. The light of the day gave it and its surroundings no quarter. Where night had left some doubt this ce could be redeemed, now it appeared as the dead husk it was. Most structures were either copsed or on their way to be, and those that still stood had been gutted by fire, bullets, or both. This entire ce was a lost cause. By contrast, the tech hover van and the few cruisers present were beacons of order and cleanliness.

    Nestra found Shinoda by the main gate, drinking miso soup from a thermos. The wind carried hints of umami to her nostrils. She appreciated the nice change from the stench of voided bowels and old blood. It bothered her much more when she was in human form.

    ¡°Detective Shinoda. I have a gift for you.¡±

    ¡°You do?¡±

    ¡°Also, miso soup? I figured you for an instant noodle kind of guy.¡±

    The detective cast a shameful nce towards the nearest trash bin set up for the day. Probably where he had disposed of the evidence.

    ¡°Ah, very astute of you, Padian-san. I fear I never learned to cook.¡±

    ¡°There is still time. Anyway, the gift?¡±

    ¡°Douzo. Lead the way.¡±

    Nestra opened the trunk of her car which caused Shinoda to whistle. She had her own rifle there in a ck box along with a few other goodies she kept there for the big game. Shinoda hesitated to pick his weapon when she presented it to him.

    ¡°Rush order. Got it in time.¡±

    ¡°Is this¡­ legal?¡±

    ¡°You have been deputized. Kim cleared it this morning, or so she said by mail. This is very much above ground. Hell, I even got a grant for it.¡±

    What Nestra didn¡¯t say was that Kim¡¯s budget barely covered the gun, and it didn¡¯t cover the ammo. That was fine for now but she sure as hell hoped she would keep the loot from her next raids.

    ¡°Padian-san. This is a sawn-off shotgun.¡±

    ¡°Tut tut tut this is a ¡®Last Ditch¡¯ monster-killer gun. It was designed to look like this. Note thepact frame. You can unfortunately only chamber and shoot one flechette at a time. Got you five mana-charged ones in case we meet some reallyrge hindrance.¡±

    ¡°This might even stop a D-ss beast!¡±

    ¡°It can.¡±

    ¡°You are joking.¡±

    ¡°If yound the shot, it can. I also got you ordinary bullets for augs. Should stop most of them in their tracks.¡±

    ¡°What are they made of? Titanium?¡±

    ¡°Depleted uranium.¡±

    ¡°Padian-san, chotto, you are joking too much.¡±

    Nestra frowned. The old man was pissing her off.

    ¡°Look, detective, I never joke about weapons and survival. This is the realm of gleams and heavily augmented gangers. Feel free to stick to your peashooter and maybe next time, I¡¯m not here and a wired goon will gore you whileughing because you can¡¯t pierce through their defenses. Or you can shut up and ept my gift so maybe you stay alive a little longer. This wasn¡¯t exactly easy to find, wakatta ka?¡±

    ¡°Ah, you are correct. I receive this weapon with gratitude, Padian-san. Perhaps my previous work has made me too unused to the violence of this ce.¡±

    He sighed then touched his chest.

    ¡°The most dangerous encounter I had in the past five years was being threatened with a kitchen knife by a scared widow.¡±

    ¡°Ah, sorry.¡±

    ¡°Not to worry Padian-san. To be fair, she had previously killed her husband, so I was indeed in danger. In any case, let me show you the inside. You have seen the file I sent, yes?¡±

    ¡°I did. And there was something I noticed¡­¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Come on, let¡¯s get in first.¡±

    The steel door demon Nestra had ignored because doors were for scrubs stood wide open. A few techs milled about next to body bags, having finished their own part of the work. A few more officers stood at the corners of the building with weapons out while uncontrolled, fizzling mana betrayed the presence of at least one low gleam. Kim wasn¡¯t taking any chances.

    Despite some fresh air flow, Nestra was almost overwhelmed by how much the ce stank. It wasn¡¯t just the fading scent of dead bodies. An acrid aroma of unwashed bodies permeated the air, clinging to the yellow isting tarps on the walls. A team of techs devoted their attention to one of the weapons workshops though Nestra wasn¡¯t sure what they expected to find. Maybe they would get lucky and find proof Gidung had provided the equipment but she wouldn¡¯t be holding her breath. In any case, people were mostly done here.

    ¡°Padian-san?¡±

    Nestra had been wondering how she would find the drive without appearing too lucky, until she remembered the gangers never really built anything.

    ¡°I looked at the picture of the crime scene and then I remembered something. This is a standard ss 3 administrative building from the time humanity moved on the Threshold continent. They are all copy-pasted temtes designed for convenience so I knew something was missing, and I found it.¡±

    ¡°What was it?¡±

    Nestra sent Shinoda the blueprint. The wall safe Cleaver had used to hide his storage drive came with the building but it had been camouged. Shinoda quickly inspected the n and came to the right conclusion.

    ¡°Interesting. Very astute, Padian-san. Great job.¡±

    He walked to the hidden spot and knocked. The telltale sound of a hiddenpartment answered him.

    Nestra leaned against a pir for what followed, which was an interesting mix of excitement and reprimands.

    ¡°We were going to finish with this,¡± a tech assured Kim on his visor.

    ¡°Finish? FINISH! What if the gangers hid an explosive in there? From now on, every inspection will begin with a wall check immediately after the area has been confirmed clear of hostiles, do I make myself clear?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Kim-Nim.¡±

    ¡°You are lucky to be alive. You are operating in a warzone. Do not forget that and change your protocols if you have to. I do not want to attend any more burials.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Kim-Nim. We understand.¡±

    ¡°See that you understand AND remember.¡±

    While the tech in charge got chewed up, another pair finished excitedly dismounting the entire safe door, revealing the soft, juicy secret inside. Nestra got a first good look at the drive. It was¡­ a drive. A widely-avablemercial one for people who didn¡¯t want to store stuff on the cloud. Workers who went outside of the walls sometimes carried them to quickly transfer files. It even had a decorative little rabbit painted on the surface which gave Nestra a bit of a mental whish. She didn¡¯t know what sort of horror was on there.

    ¡°We need to transfer this to a specialist,¡± one of the techs said with bitter annoyance.

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re all busy. We have already found an enormous amount of data. I just don¡¯t know when we will get the results.¡±

    ¡°Hold on,¡± Nestra said.

    ¡°Do you perhaps know someone, Padian-san?¡±

    ¡°I know a girl, yeah. Let me just clear this up with Kim first.¡±

    ***

    ¡°Got to say, I never expected to work for the rat squad,¡± Stib said on the call.

    ¡°Yeah me neither. At least they let me keep my weapons.¡±

    ¡°But not your honor. Hss! Hss!¡±

    ¡°Stib, I have no honor.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s just such a weird thing to say for a fencer. Anyway, I checked the data. It¡¯s heavily encrypted.¡±

    ¡°Damn.¡±

    ¡°Buuuut you know me, I still got something for you! So, ok, the encryption? It¡¯s a weird, really high level type that needs two data sets before you can ess the decrypted stuff. It¡¯s called a symbolon and it¡¯s really, really high level shit, like top secret corpo projects or the military.¡±

    Nestra¡¯s heart skipped a beat. She knew exactly what it meant. This wasn¡¯t ganger property.

    They had taken something from Gidung.

    As to why they hadn¡¯t used it yet, she wasn¡¯t sure. Maybe they had to find the other half.

    ¡°So yeah, you¡¯ll never get anythingplete unless you find the other half. Not even sure the city¡¯s quantumputers could learn anything. Buuuuut there is a catch. It was never meant to be stored on amercial drive. Someone opened it about¡­ three weeks ago, with the other half, and the drive saved a page in the cache. I managed to recover it. Just, it doesn¡¯t make sense to me. Here, sending it now.¡±

    Nestra shared the document with Shinoda.

    Her hopes that it would be a picture of the person responsible for the entire debacle holding a sign that said: <em>¡®I did it! It was me all along nyeeeehehehehehehe!¡¯</em> were promptly dashed. What Stib had sent her was a very dense table of numbers.

    ¡°Those are automated measurements. The column on the left is the date. The next one is the location,¡± Nestra said.

    ¡°You sure?¡±

    ¡°Simplified longitude andtitude markings,¡± Shinoda exined. ¡°They refer to locations in District Fifteen.¡±

    Nestra blushed a little. District Fifteen¡¯s markers were part of the information packet Kim had sent her but¡­ Nestra hadn¡¯t been very diligent in learning them. It was just a pile of numbers and she¡¯d had limited time.

    ¡°What matters is thest line. I recognize the rest. Temperature, pressure, but what are¡­ thetas?¡±

    ¡°An abbreviation for thaums,¡± Nestra exined. This was her area of expertise after all. As a failed gleam.

    ¡°It¡¯s a measure of ambient mana. Not a very good one because it doesn¡¯t work well with aspected mana, but still a good indicator nheless. The name is based on some twentieth century writer. Still a rather, ah, not widely epted unit of measure.¡±

    ¡°So¡­. someone was measuring ambient mana?¡± Stib asked.

    ¡°And the gangers think it¡¯s significant enough to be kept, possibly for ckmail.¡±

    Nestra pondered the discovery for a few moments.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think Gidung is here just to make factories,¡± she finally said.

    But the question remained.

    What did they find here?

    ***

 (17)

    (17)

    Nestra¡¯s sprint quickly turned into a jog. She was too tired to sprint all the way there, in those shoes. It had been a long week and even her true self was tired, so the human mask was really not happy about it. The underground utility and evacuation tunnelscked fresh coffee, unfortunately, so she grit her teeth and persevered.

    It was quiet down here, for now. Dust and the scent of rot tickled her nose though the tunnels were holding well for their age. Threshold¡¯s bowels were dimly lit by sparse ceiling light that failed to dispel the shadows. Only Nestra¡¯s feet made a pitter patter on the concrete ground. Besides that, it was silent as a tomb.

    Nestra slowed down to check her gun and make sure the ammo pouch was easily in reach. It gave her some time to think and decide what she would do, how far she was willing to go to defend others. Her shotgun would kill dokkaebi easily enough but that would only be the first, frantic wave. Even if portal monsters were weaker on earth, it would still take several twelve gauge to the face to stop a D-ss threat. She didn¡¯t have her gear. She didn¡¯t even have her sword. If Shinoda¡¯s herd of idiots got caught up, she would have to fight at a fraction of her abilities.

    That meant, people might die. She had to decide now if she was willing to let them die to protect her secret because although Gorge knew about her, he was actually an honorable asshole. He wouldn¡¯t talk. She was confident about that. A group of strangers? No. They would talk.

    Risk her life for strangers?

    Hmmm.

    Probably not, but she would risk it for Shinoda. It was cruel but¡­ it was them or her, and she wasn¡¯t willing to die for strangers. They were not entitled to her life.

    Decision made, Nestra moved faster, doing her best to ignore the cold ball in her stomach. The one that said ¡®what if it¡¯s a kid?¡¯. She hoped she wouldn¡¯t have to find out. Soon after, she reached a branch in the tunnel.

    Where were they again? Shit, had she even asked? Both tunnels led to other ces on Fifteen. Tragically, there were no directions she could recognize.¡°Fuck, I need to call sh.¡±

    The deafening sound of gunshot rang from the left tunnel. It reverberated and made her wince.

    ¡°Nevermind.¡±

    She sprinted this time. Screams and snarls joined the din and she chambered a shell in anticipation. The tunnel turned sharply. She scrambled to a stop before she could hit an old woman carrying a wailing child. Beyond, a group of maybe fifty people were fighting off a swarm of rat creatures.

    Nestra took in the situation as she aimed. The group had not totally devolved into chaos yet but it was a close call, with monsters nipping at their heels and harrying the more isted people. The refugees were an eclectic bunch. Only herd instinct and terror held them together.

    A burly man pushed one of the creatures off a teenager. Manarattus Viridae. One of the weakest dokkaebi around. Lucky them. Time to help.

    She pulled the trigger.

    Boom. Recoil. Sttered meat. Turn and aim. Boom. Recoil. Decapitated rat. Turn and aim. Rinse and repeat. After eight shots, the gun clicked empty. She batted a rat mid-air then chambered more rounds, but eight victims in a short time turned the tide. The front of the swarm retreated, and prey nature took over. They fled back. They left behind many of their corpses as well as stunned human survivors, many sporting scratch marks. A woman was dying on the ground with her throat ripped out while a young man clutched her hand.

    The group broke off then. Many of them raced ahead with a small thank you but others were left without direction. The air was thick with fear. They needed orders.

    ¡°Don¡¯t wait here! Go, go!¡±

    She reloaded while they rushed on. Face after face passed by and eventually, the back of the group came into view. Solid men and women, some armed with guns and others with knives, bats, rebar, whatever they could get their hands on. They were the most wounded of the lot and some were carried on the back of theirpanions. Even the dead ones.

    Shinoda wasn¡¯t there.

    ¡°The Japanese policeman, where is he?¡± she asked an old guy with a machete. He tried to brush her off but she turned him around using a pain point. The snarl on his face died when he noticed the muzzle of her shotgun.

    ¡°The Japanese policeman.¡±

    ¡°Shenme? Ah, yes. Yes. At the back, with the militia. They¡­ I hope they¡¯re alright. We got separated at the bend.¡±

    She was off before he could finish his sentence. More dead mana rats, at the back. They must have been frenzied to keep going instead of eating their victims, and there were plenty of those. A teenage girl leaned against the wall, having tripped, maybe. Gone. A mother with her toddler, both dead. An old man with two stones. He¡¯d killed three before bleeding out. The trail of dead rats grew wider then, and she realized she¡¯d caught the very end of the battle. Images flooded her mind, angles, perspectives, dead monsters and dead persons. Checking her corners not to get blindsided by something only ying dead. All to forget what should be there but wasn¡¯t. Finally a trio of rats jumped at her from behind a crate. Boom, boom, block thest one. Tiny wed hand scrambled on the ck metal of the barrel. Beady ck eyes, filled with frenzy. Rage, so much rage. The teeth snapped at her when she twisted, then mmed the beast against the wall. Its spine cracked. She lifted her foot to crush its head before remembering she was wearing fucking pumps with the toes exposed. Soft soles.

    ¡°Balls.¡±

    Nestra left the dying rodent behind. She chambered another two shells.

    Ahead, something stepped out of the shadow.

    Thest surviving overheadmp shone on green scales, then a wide crest that reached her throat. A stooped back. ws. She recognized it from shows and warning videos. Neosaurian, Threshold version. The lowest carnivorous rung of a very long food chain.

    D-ss.

    Nestra shot it. The beast seemed to merge with the shadows in a confusing mix of colors but she mostly got it. Blood sprayed on the ground when she hit something important, hit it again when it squealed. It was already halfway to her. She aimed for the head, got it in the crest. More blood sprayed and it stumbled. Another shot, this time, under the eye. She missed the sixth one. The seventh got it in the chest. It fell down with a piteous squeal, shivering from the pain. The eight shot finished the beheading the others had started.

    The gun clicked empty. Nestra¡¯s ears rang. She frantically reloaded, just in case, but there was nothing yet. This was it, really. This was the limit of what she could do with human tools and even then, the shotgun had massive stopping power and she¡¯d relied on quirkie reflexes. Anything more and she was done for.

    She knew what it meant but she still pressed on. Another corpse. A man with a machine gun, neck torn off by a lucky attack. A woman with a blood-soaked frying pan. Nestra heard the sound of mastication ahead.

    It was arge room. The human defenders had used a line of crates as an improvised barricade. Several neosaurs lie dead, with more rats sttered all over the ce. Typical horde scene since those monsters would normally kill each other, but kaijus always seemed to override their aggression to center it on humans. A couple of neosaurs fed on the young man Shinoda had almost dropped from the balcony on his first day here. They stopped to raise a muzzle when she walked in.

    There were half a dozen dead fighters here, human baselines who¡¯d made the ultimate sacrifice to cover the civilians¡¯ retreat. The hint of tan duster caught her attention. She looked down and to her right, near the entrance. Shinoda was here. He was, of course, dead. A neosaur had nted a wed hand into his chest, which felt like an overkill really, though the old inspector had taken it out with him. The pistol Nestra¡¯s lent him had done good. Just¡­not good enough.

    And shattering his chest felt like such a dick move. Completely unnecessary. He was probably out of breath the whole time too.

    Nestra tossed the shotgun aside just as the neosaurs charged her. She was toote anyway.

    There was really no more need to hold back.

    Nestra surged out of her mask. She pped the first neoasaur¡¯s entire face away with a void-wed hand. Got into his guard and hit the pathetic thing. She pushed the second one¡¯s extended arms to the side, grabbed it by the throat. Smashed it against the wall. Watched its slitted eyes.

    ¡°I have had¡­ enough of you.¡±

    Cracked the neckbones and tossed it aside. More grunts and roars, more squeaks. Was it something in her conditioner that made all the monsters attack her so rabidly?

    It didn¡¯t matter.

    Neosaurs, one after the other. She danced aside as she carved, one swipe each. She struck as they did but their ws only found air because they were predictable and she wasn¡¯t. She moved forward, beyond the barricade to the mass of fur returning like a tide. It was enough to punch the mana rats to cave their little chests in or bash their fragile skulls, snap their brittle spines. <em>Celerity</em> from the neosaurs and <em>resilience</em> from the rats suffused her body, keeping her going past her exhaustion in a manic fashion. Excitement rushed through her veins like too many coffees. She had to keep going. The why stopped mattering. Why was she holding this ce? Why was she facing the tide? It didn¡¯t matter anymore. All that mattered was this ce. All that mattered was the horde she was going to kill. The mana rats bit at her but her Skin stopped most of it. Those that managed to draw a bit of blood were soon crushed. Too many though, she used <em>momentum</em> to step back. The mass grew confused but she killed the outliers and the dance continued. She was the Scornful Crescent now, untouchable, frustrating every strategy with an insufferable counter. She was always a step ahead of the storm of ws and nibbling teeth. She was fists and speed and they were chasing after a ghost. The horde died on her knuckles and under her heels. She was gore-drenched but smiling, always smiling, and after blood covered every freest piece of ground, the few survivors broke off to find easier prey. But more came.

    The first was a charging turtle that must have smashed through something to get in, so thick it was. Top of D-ss.

    Nestra didn¡¯t hesitate. Her fingers extended and potential<em></em>bloomed on the creature¡¯s exposed throat. Gray light turned the tunnel monochrome, and the turtle¡¯s entire head disappeared in a sh. The resulting explosion shook the walls and took a chunk off Nestra¡¯s reserves, but she had a little bit more now.

    Something crawled over the smoking shell. It was clearly insectile, and ck. Nestra spotted a raising head and ducked, and not a moment too soon. A red thread covered the path she¡¯d followed. Where it touched the concrete, it smoked and turned to ss. She used <em>momentum</em> to close the distance and <em>precision</em> on a mana de to catch the armored creature in the brain. Another high D-ss, fortunately not too fast. This one¡¯s essence filled her bones and the heating off the ground didn¡¯t seem so intense anymore either. She sidestepped a massive jumping spider, then another. The first died from a foot de through the thorax. Her mana control inexplicably improved, confirmed when she killed the second one just as it was pushing on her mind with¡­ something.

    She crushed more neosaurs until they no longer improved her, then a spine caught her in the arm though it barely prated. She found a quill-covered creature only asrge as a small dog creeping on her. She made a slightly longer de and it died as well. More spiders, still D-ss. She was pushed back towards the barricade room. There were less monsters but they were stronger now, and she was still killing them as they came. They didn¡¯t work together. They were never meant to work together. Only the Kaiju¡¯s presence urged them on and it was a weakening thing. She slipped through the cracks of their chaos on tippy toes with a w here and a de there and they simply couldn¡¯t catch up. Errant strikes tore through the Skin but her blood and energy grew it back and it never did much damage. She was already beyond them. It wasn¡¯t a battle. It wasn¡¯t even a ughter. It was¡­ a buffet. Such variety, such interesting abilities to discover, tactics to learn and exploit. The spiders could harden their skin to resist magic if they saw an attacking, a discovery that cost her a gash on her nk. A butterfly with a deafening sound attack came though she crushed it fast. An acid-spitting leech almost sprayed her, though she used one of the many corpses as an umbre. Always on the move. <em>Momentum</em> and <em>precision</em> gave her the distance and executions she needed to catch a breath. She could always retreat through the wall but why stop? The Scornful Crescent had led her to such a feast.

    Nestra killed and she grew. The spiders were no longer a threat if she slightly dyed her attacks. Neosaurs became aplete non issue. Another creature spittingva died before it could strike. A snake tried to coil around her but it was too slow and its head, too exposed to her void de. It was when she killed a strange, hairless creature without a head that she realized something peculiar.

    If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.

    She wasn¡¯t getting stronger anymore in one aspect. Her muscles were as powerful as they were going to get without¡­ adding something. Instead, the mana swirled in her chest. It didn¡¯t dissipate as before, or at least, not as fast. There was just a very light pressure. Her <em>resilience</em> was next after crushing a blue smander that spat water and made her more resistant to cold. She wiped its blood on her Skin and then¡­ there was a lull. Shrieks still came but they were distant.

    She became aware, fully aware of the mountain of corpses in front of her. At this point, it no longer looked like food. It was a charnel pit. The stench of blood and bowels turned her empty stomach. Her vision swam, just a little. So hungry but¡­ so disgusted as well. She ignored the pain from several light wounds to turn around, returning to the barricade she had left behind at some point. She heard a sh. A screech of pain. She moved faster.

    Standing above the body of Shinoda was a gleam. She blinked away the exhaustion, found the white uniform of the Threshold Police Users. He turned to her and gasped, his mouth opened. The heavy mace in his hand hit the ground with a thunk.

    It was Valerian.

    Of course it was. Shit. Instead of attacking immediately, the idiot lifted a shaking arm.

    ¡°Errrrr. Nestra?¡±

    It was Nestra¡¯s turn to blink. Some of her battle focus fell away. She became more aware of her surroundings outside of immediate danger. The squelching under her naked toes. The high temperature. The stench. Her throat obeyed hermand, bing more like her human self but with a lower pitch.

    ¡°Hmmm how could you tell it was me?¡±

    ¡°You have the exact same face? Hello?¡±

    ¡°Ooooh right. Right.¡±

    The two stood around awkwardly. Nestra wasn¡¯t sure what to do. She wasn¡¯t exactly the most sociallypetent person around.

    Well, might as well.

    ¡°Could you please keep this a secret?¡±

    ¡°Nevermind that, how are you a gleam? You have no core! Wait, it¡¯s a camouge thing? Does your family know? Damn, my mom told me I would never be attracted to a baseline ¡ª no offense ¡ª and here I was thinking I had proven her wrong and bam!¡±

    ¡°Hmmm, sorry but¡­¡±

    ¡°Oh I know I know you¡¯re not interested, can¡¯t help my heart though, can I?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll move on,¡± she said more out of habit. ¡°About me looking like that?¡±

    ¡°Oh yeah, I won¡¯t tell. Obviously. You know you can count on me. Right?¡±

    ¡°I was hoping very hard. Truth is¡­ this is very new.¡±

    The gleam looked at the literal hill of savaged corpses she¡¯d left behind.

    ¡°Yeah?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    The shrieks were getting closer.

    ¡°Look, about what I said. I can boost you. I mean, it should work, most likely? Can I try?¡±

    Nestra frowned. What was he¡­ oh, the buffs. He did mention buffs.

    Well.

    Worst case scenario she could always escape. Valerian had been killing fast,paratively weaker creatures ording to the bodies around him so that side of the tunnel was still on the safer side. And she was really tired so the buffs would help.

    ¡°Yes please.¡±

    ¡°Ok, here we go!¡±

    The sensation was one of soothing warmth. At first, her body resisted and Valerian winced, but his jade eyes soon widened. The spell was taking hold. Nestra¡¯s exhaustion washed away as if she¡¯d suddenly had a nice nap and a bowl of something tasty. Miso ramen, maybe.

    ¡°You are¡­ exhausted. Strained too hard. You¡¯re going to crash hard when the spell breaks.¡±

    ¡°No choice, unless we fall back.¡±

    ¡°The surface is worse and I¡¯d rather not lead them to the shelter. They¡¯re safe, by the way, And¡­¡±

    They both turned to Shinoda, then to the other human bodies.

    ¡°I just don¡¯t want us to be eaten. Call me crazy but it¡¯s just¡­ not right.¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s not,¡± she agreed. ¡°They deserve better. They deserve thest rites. It¡¯s important,¡± she replied with conviction.

    Valerian grunted, then he lifted his mace. It looked quite heavy.

    ¡°Look, I¡¯ve seen you move from the back. Thought you were some sort of scout C-ss in a mask, to be honest. I¡¯ll cover you. Give them hell.¡±

    ¡°When reinforcementse¡­¡±

    ¡°Turn back to normal and I¡¯ll just say it was like this when I arrived. Let¡¯s focus on fighting, for now. I hope I¡¯m not making a mistake by deciding to stay. You can turn back to normal, right? This isn¡¯t permanent?¡±

    ¡°No no.¡±

    ¡°Ok, great. Here theye. Let¡¯s get them here before they spread across the entire fucking district and we have to give chase.¡±

    ¡°Ok.¡±

    Nestra was acting much more confident than she was feeling. Gorge knew and she was fine with it but Valerian? He was a damn gleam. But she couldn¡¯t murder him, it would be like killing a puppy. And especially not after losing Shinoda. And just¡­ it was Valerian. Her¡­ sort of friend.

    Her demon self was immensely confused. He wasn¡¯t kin, but he was still brother in arms. Or something like that. Her mind struggled with the concepts just as the snarls and roars of the horde grew closer. She was too tired. Even the spell was already unraveling at the seams. She just had to keep going. It was too much of a good opportunity and the tunnel was a great chokepoint. Or maybe hubris was getting to her and they ought to be fleeing towards the nearest battle, hoping to catch the attention of a B-ss raider. She spared a nce towards Valerian who was now standing with his back to her and his mace firmly held.

    He was so confident she could do it.

    The idiot.

    His blind trust chased the anxiety away. She could still get away with secrecy if nobody looked too hard and they probably wouldn¡¯t. Here was a tide of varied and interesting foes to kill. She just had to lean into her nature and make it work.

    The first were rats, again, and Nestra methodically crushed them. They no longer provided her with any essence at all. Next came a group of green insects the size of children, looking likerge,pact mantis. They were almost as fast as her but they followed a basic pattern and after getting a single cut on her arm, Nestra was able to bait the first strike reliably. A massive wolf thing was next and she was forced to fall back to avoid being bitten. It just closed the distance and snapped at her, so she used <em>momentum </em>to get behind it and let the size of the tunnel prevent it from turning too quickly. Nestra clung to its ck fur and stabbed, and stabbed again with a short void de. It smashed her against the wall but she held on, though it stole her breath. Finally, she cleaved a long gash along its nk and it fled away. A yelp of pain showed it didn¡¯t go very far. The kaiju¡¯s influence was unraveling, with monsters fleeing or turning on each other. She just had to hold a little longer. She tried to catch her breath but arge, rock biped was next. It was slow, so she easily used its thunderous attacks to manage the next group of mantis, staying ahead of them. They still gave her essence but it fed into her chest now because she was as fast as she could get. Once the mantises were dead, she struck the golem in the chest with <em>precision </em>and the most concentrated void de she could muster.

    Its outer skin exploded.

    Nestra used <em>immovable </em>at thest instant but the shrapnel still bit into her in many ces. She was bleeding now. Her regeneration wasn¡¯t following anymore, and Valerian¡¯s spell only helped a little. Golem was dead though and her <em>resilience</em> increased yet again.

    Fire hit her leg, and she dodged another as pain seared her mind. Fireball-tossing monkeys of all things. She used <em>momentum </em>to run into the troupe and crushed them, using their bodies as shields, then she raced back with more mana in her pool to avoid the charge of a sort of¡­ metal unicorn?

    Its horn shone.

    Nestra jumped behind the golem corpse. Magical energy pierced through it like butter. She used <em>momentum</em> to roll under the beam, then punched up and with a de using <em>precision</em>. The strike caught the unicorn under the jaw, killing it instantly. She got a lot of power from that one.

    There were fighting sounds from Valerian¡¯s side but here, at the edge of the tunnel, silence was returning.

    That¡­ that was it? Maybe? Strange though, she could swear¡­

    The only warning she had was a pool of darkness on her left, in the wall. She recognized it from the infinite war world. It was a standard maneuver for shadow users: teleport through darkness and strike from a blind spot. She twisted on herself to avoid snapping teeth but something caught her in the shoulder and sent her careening. <em>Momentum </em>saved her life. The creature was fast, much faster than her. It was all she could do to stay ahead. It merged with the darkness, a snarling mass of chitin-covered muscles and a head made only of teeth. Long ws on its digits. A horrifying shape halfway towards human but too elongated and far too muscr. She didn¡¯t know what the fuck it was but she decided, right there, to call it the Shadow Beast. Nestra fell back towards the barricade but the creature was fast, too fast and she couldn¡¯t shake it off. Dodging was all she could manage, even then it was a close call. The Stalk of the Scornful Crescent helped her stay just one step ahead but it couldn¡¯tst. In desperation, she turned and raised her left arm. She activated <em>immovable</em>. As the thing pped her. ws bit into her arm and shoulder but she was still standing. <em>Potential</em> bloomed on the creature and it¡­ veered away.

    A cataclysmic boom shook the entire tunnel. Parts of the wall in front of her exploded in a shower of dust. The beast screeched. Itshed out. Pain red in her side when she was smacked into the barricade. Hurting all over, really all over. Valerian¡¯s spell was working overtime to keep her functional. She had maybe a few seconds more.

    ¡°Aaaaaah!¡±

    Valerian jumped on the Shadow Beast, bloody mace raised high. The creature casually batted him away into a nearby wall.

    ¡°Oof!¡±

    Nestra aimed herst bolt. Her ears picked up the sound of dying monsters. Cavalry was almost here. Just had to hold for a little longer. Using the time Valerian had granted her, she pushed potential in the Shadow Beast¡¯s face. The maddened creature opened its maw wide to bite on her.

    She let it go.

    Gray energy tore through her target, then a geyser of blood sttered her. Decapitated. A fantastic spike of energy flooded her, pushing her <em>awareness</em> and <em>resilience</em> to their limit. A diffuse warmth lingered in her chest but even the rush of power could not protect her anymore. She barely managed enough strength to reactivate her mask before Valerian¡¯s support finally fizzled. She was the most tired she¡¯d ever been in her life. Thest thing she saw was a pair of worried jade iris but the concrete was simply toofortable. She closed her eyes and fell asleep.

    ***

    When Nestra came to, she was warm and lying on something soft. And that was weird. She was also starving and hurting all over which was much more within her expectations. Below her was a cot in some well-lit ce but still underground, a sort of recess more than a room separated from the rest by a drawn curtain. The susurrus of conversations drifted from behind the symbolic line, as did the scent of tomato soup. It nicely covered the smell of blood, rust, and her own sweat. She was wearing her filthy cocktail dress, still. Her throat itched. Thirsty.

    ¡°Here, here,¡± Valerian said as he shoved a straw in her mouth.

    She gulped tepid water with relish, though moving her arm hurt terribly. Her true self must be really messed up if even her human body felt the aches. Moving around through, she realized the light didn¡¯te from amp as she¡¯d originally thought.

    It came from a man. A gleam in golden te armor. Their aura was so controlled she hadn¡¯t realized they were here. Her gaze drifted up from a pilum and a strange leaf-like shield to dark skin under a thick helmet and two soft golden eyes shining like the sun itself.

    ¡°Mazingwe?¡±

    The calm doctor¡¯s face tilted to the side. It was a strange and terrifying expression in someone usually so warm. The gesture chilled her.

    ¡°Sorry, Doctor Mazingwe.¡±

    ¡°I see your memory is intact, at least. Valerian, if you would give us a moment?¡±

    ¡°What? Oh, sure. Sir.¡±

    He left with ast worried nce and Nestra saw something there she didn¡¯t like at all. Pity.

    ¡°Oh no.¡±

    Mazingwe made a small ck orb appear seemingly out of thin air. The sounds from outside grew immediately muted.

    ¡°Oh noooo.¡±

    ¡°Do not me him,¡± the doctor said in a guarded voice. ¡°He was concerned after you could not be woken up and agreed to share more about your conditions under a seal of secrecy. My oath as a doctor means that your medical details are safe with me. Unfortunately, my oath as a defender of mankind supersedes it, so now I must ascertain, are you my Clytemnestra Padian or are you a monster wearing her skin?¡±

    Nestra felt pressure. This was bad.

    ¡°I told you I hate that name,¡± she said.

    ¡°So you did, many times.¡±

    ¡°I am still me.¡±

    ¡°Your words speak in favor of this hypothesis. Were you always able to assume¡­ another form?¡± he asked.

    It felt like a very, very, very bad idea to lie to him.

    ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°No?¡±

    ¡°Really no. I only figured it out right after the purge.¡±

    ¡°Right after the purge?¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    He waited.

    ¡°I am under the impression you are hiding things from me.¡±

    ¡°Well yeah I was and I am, but the question here is: am I a monster and the answer is no.¡±

    ¡°The answer is no?¡±

    ¡°The answer is no.¡±

    Another silence. His voice was low and soft but there was something in the intensity in his gaze that meant he would kill her in an instant.

    ¡°How would I know that you¡¯re you, and not some skinchangers or some other creature?¡±

    ¡°Riel, doctor, how the fuck do you expect me to prove that? I don¡¯t even know for sure. Maybe I woke up with the exact same souvenirs but since there were no corpses and it still feels like me, I¡¯m going to apply am¡¯s razor and say it¡¯s me, alright? It¡¯s me. Still mostly the same as far as I can tell.¡±

    ¡°You are not human,¡± he stated with absolute confidence.

    ¡°How the fuck would you know that?¡±

    ¡°You think you¡¯re still human?¡±

    She froze. He got her there.

    ¡°Well, hmm.¡±

    ¡°Yes?¡±

    ¡°I, uh, I don¡¯t ¡ª¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t what?¡±

    Nestra clenched her teeth. This was all going wrong. He¡¯d found a crack and dug in and there was no amount of bullshit that could save her now. Still had to try.

    ¡°I am what I am. And who I am. Maybe I¡¯m a weird human. How would you know?¡±

    Mazingwe considered long and hard. Nestra was tempted to ask him if he wasgging or something. When he finally spoke, he was even more guarded than before.

    ¡°A long time ago, Vanquisher¡¯s alpha team came across a¡­ strange being in a portal world.¡±

    Nestra blinked. Vanquisher was North America¡¯s top guild by arge margin. Their Alpha Team had to include stars like Cyrrhus and The Mangler.

    ¡°They were tested and they were beaten. Portal Worlds of their levels have entire groups of seemingly sentient entities, though they only have a semnce of civilization, so meeting one wasn¡¯t particrly a surprise. Being beaten was. Being spared after that confirmed they were not dealing with a maddened portal creature.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°The stranger didn¡¯t kill any of them. Eventually, Shiloh managed to shoot him at point-nk range and then something surprising happened.¡±

    Nestra was almost hanging from her bed. This was¡­ ssified information.

    ¡°The stranger changed. He grew in size and revealed ck horns, ck eyes, sharper teeth. Gray skin. He congratted the team for breaking his¡­ mask. In English.¡±

    Nestra was so excited. Someone like her. Finally, knowledge!

    ¡°He told them they were not ripe yet before leaving them. The Vanquishers collected a sample of the little blood they¡¯d managed to shed. Ipared it to the one found on your dress. It seems your own¡­ mask¡­ was breached a little, whatever that means. I could obviously not check the highly ssified Pandora database from here but many of its attributes were simr. Gray then oxidized to red. You are not human Nestra. You are a Cacodaimon Anthropomimesis. A gray demon, as your kind was dubbed.¡±

    ¡°Caco whatever,¡± she stubbornly replied. ¡°It¡¯s me. You know it¡¯s me. Now, I know where this can go.¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Mazingwe said.

    He seemed sad.

    ¡°They¡¯ll kill me if you tell them. Or worse.¡±

    ¡°I will reveal your presence to Shinran and his team only. He¡¯s not the kind of person to execute others for who they are, believe me. There is no need to spread it to the public, however he, as Threshold¡¯s guardian, must know. I am sorry, Nestra. You will being with me.¡±

    The room darkened.

    Mazingwe¡¯s magical tool splintered on the spot. Outside of the room, all conversations had instantly died. All that was left was a group of people breathing heavily. Even Mazingwe¡¯s light felt dimmer. The high gleam himself was now standing in front of Nestra, to his credit defending her, facing the curtain opening.

    Stomp stomp. Someone wasing. Slowly. They were taking their sweet time.

    A stooped shape stopped in front of the flimsy fabric. It was absolutely fucking massive. More than three meters high, far above even the tallest human, and strong. Arge white hand grabbed the curtain then pulled it apart. It revealed an angr, humanoid face with eyes as ck as the void under twin forward-jutting curved horns. The being smiled a forest of abyssal needles. It was Seth. The fucking baker. His voice was low yet very soft, andforting to her, somehow.

    <em>¡°Hello little sister,¡±</em> he said in the strange hissingnguage.

    His attention turned to Mazingwe. This time, his voice carried the promise of death. And he spoke in English.

    ¡°She won¡¯t being with you.¡±

 (18)

    (18)

    ¡°No one is going with you,¡± Mazingwe growled.

    Seth seemedpletely unbothered. He merely tilted his head before replying with a nod.

    ¡°That would be my first choice as well.¡±

    The high gleam still stood between them. Wait, Mazingwe was defending her?

    ¡°You see, humans need their packs and little Nezhra is still very young and she would be very sad if those bonds were broken. And her being sad would make me very, very angry. Were you not about to break those connections?¡±

    ¡°This is the best option. The best one I could think of.¡±

    ¡°Reconsider.¡±

    Mazingwe¡¯s aura red ever so slightly. Seth was still aloof.

    ¡°Shinran would have protected her. And before I reconsider anything, what happened to the people outside?¡±¡°Oooooh they¡¯ll be just fine. They won¡¯t even remember it. Just having a moment of introspection and being very focused on their toes right now. Everyone is fine. Everyone is alive. For now.¡±

    ¡°For now?¡±

    ¡°Yes! Pending on your decision.¡±

    ¡°Sounds like you want everyone to stay that way.¡±

    ¡°Correct. And it depends on you.¡±

    ¡°And what would it take for everyone to stay alive?¡±

    Seth moved his head again. He was doing that a lot, as if it was part of hisnguage which was weird considering he was the same as her and she didn¡¯t feel the need to do it. Maybe a difference? Actually, now that she was looking more, his face was less human than hers, the eyesrger, and he had very long, very sharp ears while hers were only slightly pointed. Not to mention the horns were different. She wasn¡¯t sure what to think about it.

    ¡°Easy. Swear on your core not to betray her secret and we¡¯re good.¡±

    ¡°You just want me not to tell her secret?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± demon Seth said, eyes half-lidded over a knowing smile.

    ¡°And let two demons loose around mankind?¡±

    ¡°I think there are four things you¡¯re forgetting,¡± Seth replied quickly. ¡°One, she clearly cares about you and your kind much more than many of your own humans. Two, I was already loose around mankind before this moment. And I have been loose for a while, which you didn¡¯t notice. We have masks, remember? Three, the alternative is that we fight and you know, as an experienced warrior, that you do not stand a chance against me.¡±

    ¡°Not a chance against you?¡±

    ¡°Shinran couldn¡¯t do it.¡±

    He smirked, and Mazingwe seemed to tense though Nestra couldn¡¯t see his face from that angle. It was still weird that he was standing between Seth and her as a protective guardian despite his words.

    ¡°Which leads me to my fourth point,¡± Seth said ¡°What you¡¯re doing is mirroring which is an interrogation and negotiation technique. I¡¯ve studied humanw enforcement extensively and I do not think you appreciate the position you are in, so I will make it clear. You will ept my terms and swear on your core, or your city will be razed to the ground.¡±

    ¡°You say you faced Shinran? And yet the city somehow didn¡¯t hear about it?¡±

    ¡°I faced him inside of a portal world, obviously. I didn¡¯t want the city to know, just him.¡±

    Seth¡¯s smile widened.

    ¡°He¡¯s full of surprises. But that is not for me to share.¡±

    ¡°I want you two gone. I do not hate her but¡­¡±

    ¡°That is not an option for you. I will have the oath from you or you will die. You will respect the oath or the city will die. Those are your options.¡±

    ¡°It sounds like ¡ª¡±

    ¡°No. No tricks. Choose.¡±

    Mazingwe actually considered dying for the cause, for nothing. And condemning those outside. Seth must have perceived it because he continued in a soft voice.

    ¡°I swear that Shinran knows I am here. I also solemnly swear that since I arrived here, I have not taken a single human life. We both want peace here, but I also want little Nezhra to be happy. Desist.¡±

    ¡°If Shinran really knows, surely he will confirm it.¡±

    Seth tilted his head again, probably considering the offer.

    ¡°I have no objection. No one else.¡±

    ¡°Very well. For the sake of peace and life, I agree not to share Miss Padian¡¯s secret identity with anybody in any way except for Shinran.¡±

    ¡°Good enough for me. Remember, you talk and¡­¡±

    Seth shrugged. The gesture moved his massive body in a rather intimidating way.

    ¡°Very well.¡±

    <em>¡°</em>And now I will be leaving. With her. <em>Come with me Nezhra. We have to talk.¡±</em>

    ¡°Oh yeah we definitely do.¡±

    Nestra managed to move her tired body up though it was a colossal effort that should have been rewarded with arge slice of something caloric. Mazingwe helped her out, though he didn¡¯t let his guard down.

    ¡°Miss Padian,¡± Mazingwe said.

    She turned to the imposing high gleam.

    ¡°Medical checkup tomorrow, 10 AM, my office. On your other body as well.¡±

    ¡°But it¡¯s Sunday!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t bete.¡±

    ¡°Aw. Ok. Oh, can I ask a question, doctor?¡±

    ¡°Hmm?¡±

    ¡°You finding us first, was that a coincidence or were you looking for me?¡±

    The high gleam shifted from foot to foot. It was kind of hrious.

    ¡°My duty is to protect my people from incursions. Nothing says I should not prioritize well-meaning yet insufferably risk-prone officers first.¡±

    ¡°Aw, you¡¯re a softie!¡±

    ¡°Pot. Kettle.¡±

    ¡°And you are, in fact, the famous Dawn Spear. Wow, I would never have guessed.¡±

    ¡°Get out, Padian, before I lose my patience.¡±

    ¡°Ok ok.¡±

    Nestra followed Seth¡¯s imposing form out into a shelter. Tomato soup bubbled in arge pot while people waited around or rested in cots. They all stared at their feet with great intensity, as if spacing out. Maybe that¡¯s how it felt to them? Even Valerian was affected. The most curious thing was that Nestra didn¡¯t feel anything besides Seth¡¯s presence, and it wasforting. A bit of the void energy of the portals emanated from him and he smelled really good as well. Safe. He gave her a lopsided grin before addressing her in the demon tongue.

    ¡°I have prepared a meal!¡±

    ¡°Oh good!¡±

    ¡°You must be ravenous. Let¡¯s get there first, then we can talk.¡±

    ¡°Ok.¡±

    Seth walked her through the unmoving bodies of the sick bay. The tomato soup was dangerously bubbling. Valerian was leaning against a pir in a state of anguish. The traitor, She was pissed at him but¡­ only a little bit. He¡¯d broken his word out of concern for her well-being. It was the wrong decision but, if she had to be honest, if Shinoda told her he was fine but he clearly wasn¡¯t, she would not respect his wishes aaaand it would not happen now. Damn.

    Shinoda was dead.

    Felt so sudden. Never had the chance to say goodbye, or even good luck or something. She couldn¡¯t cut Valerian off now but she would scream at him.

    The door of the sick bay mmed shut behind them and the conversations picked up immediately. She heard the cook swear a storm too. Seth energetically dragged her through corridors packed with supply crates and sleeping people. This was clearly underground but outside of a shelter, maybe some sort of exchange node? The usual smell of dust and stagnant humidity made orientation difficult. To her mild surprise, Seth led her deeper underground until they were in some sort of pump room. Faint traces of void energy told her a portal might be nearby but it was far too diffused for her to use. Not for Seth, apparently. He waved his hand in the air, then grabbed her own small human limb and dragged her through the fabric of the world.

    Just like that.

    She gasped. Heat on her human skin and filtering through the sole of her shoes. The stench of sulfur. Cracked basalt poked with marks, smoke blowing up from stone chimneys. A dark orange sky. They were now in a portal world in some volcanic ind. Strange shelled creatures asrge as cows skittered a way when Seth sauntered forth. A deadly silence filled the ce. The tall demon made his way straight to the edge of the portal world and the membrane there. He ced a massive mitt against the surface. Or in front of it. It wasn¡¯t exactly solid, or even there to begin with. Seth turned at thest moment with a worried look.

    ¡°Oh, right. I told you this before but don¡¯t do it at home!¡±

    ¡°I remember ok?¡±

    ¡°Yes yes but sometimes you younglings just want to try stuff. Don¡¯t do it.¡±

    Once again, he pushed and unceremoniously dragged her through it, which felt like falling off a cliff, being pushed through a mattress and choking all at the same time.

    ¡°Blegh,¡± Nestra said.

    Then she blinked, realizing they were back on earth in arge apartment, or at least it looked like one. The outer walls were a little weird.

    Whoever had designed the ce really favored open spaces. There were support pirs but otherwise, only the bedroom and bathroom were separated and even then, it looked like recent work. Furniture and shelves stood in harmonious arrangements but the concept of room was firmly denied.

    ¡°Wee to my home away from home! You are the second person to visit it. You must be hungry!¡±

    She was, in fact, ravenous. Seth navigated through carefully arranged seats and tables to a cooking¡­ ce covering arge part of the apartment¡¯s corner. He did something with his hands and dishes appeared on an American-style table. Nestra hesitated. She wanted to eat in demon form. She could smell the mana from here.

    ¡°You¡¯ll be fine,¡± Seth told her, kind abyssal eyes centered on her.

    She just knew they were even if there was nothing but darkness. Weird. Too hungry to give it more thought, she removed the mask and the pain moved to the forefront. It was all she could do not to groan, though her Skin had thankfully cleaned her up, somehow. She was at least not actively bleeding but her healing had slowed down, probably due to ack of nutrients. Seth¡¯s dishes were Japanese-inspired which reminded her, again, of Shinoda, and made her sad. She gulped down the miso soup in seconds. It had some salmon bits in it. Delicious.

    ¡°Enjoy!¡± Seth said with great pride.

    Nestra had questions but she dug in first. Seth wasn¡¯t going anywhere anyway. Gyozas in soy sauce were next, then came the ramen. The broth was perfect. The egg hit her taste buds with a wall of rich umami vors. And there was mana there, not just in the meat but in the noodles as well! It was absolutely great.

    ¡°Hm! Hm!¡±

    ¡°I know, I am so pleased that humans dedicated so much effort to gastronomy. There are even knife techniques that are just for preparing food! Imagine that!¡±

    ¡°Hm.¡±

    ¡°Yes, you eat and I will exin. I am not sure what your thinking process is, so how about you ask the first question?¡±

    Nestra slurped the end of her noodles and chewed faster than she would have liked just so she could speak.

    ¡°Seriously? You can¡¯t imagine what I want to know? Like, what are we, to begin with?¡±

    Seth was a strange mix of giddy and cautious. It was baffling.

    ¡°Yes! Of course. We are the People.¡±

    In demon tongue it sounded Aszhii and was a bit of a hiss, one that a human mouth would struggle to reproduce and yet she could. It was¡­ very strange.

    ¡°I told you I would share some of what we are with you when you reach the second sphere, ah, that is C-rank, and you are already there! I only need to teach you how to start building a core after you have recovered a little.¡±

    ¡°I am C-rank?¡±

    ¡°On the cusp of it, but please let us talk about thatter.¡±

    ¡°Right. Hm! The meat is delicious.¡±

    ¡°Enve prime pork cheek. Sadly, I cannot tell you much. Please know that we are old yers in many worlds and that you are one of us. In fact, you are the first of us of human descent! And you are female! How very auspicious!¡±

    His enthusiasm cast an immediate dread in Nestra¡¯s heart to the extent she actually stopped eating. The term he¡¯d used told her demon society ced a lot of emphasis on the difference between their genders.

    ¡°What do you mean, a woman is auspicious?¡±

    This tale has been uwfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

    ¡°There are more than a hundred men born for every woman!¡±

    An ufortable calction wormed its way into Nestra¡¯s mind. Her next words were enunciated very carefully.

    ¡°Ok, I need to make this clear. If you are counting on me to repopte the species, I have very bad news¡­¡±

    ¡°No! Nooooo!¡±

    Seth waved his hands with agitation. He almost looked revolted at the thought.

    ¡°Sorry, I should have led with that. Men and Women of the People do not¡­ make babies together! Many of our women never bear children! It is the role of men to, ah, make more of the People with other sentients. Your role is different! You are here for the portals!¡±

    He seemed very excited about that.

    ¡°The portals?¡±

    ¡°Yes! The women guide our war parties on the rare asions when we unite against those who seek to exterminate us, and¡­ but I shouldn¡¯t share too much yet. You do portals! Openings through the weave. And you also gather in covens to have the men leave you alone and negotiate if they need a portal. Us men can still create openings and you can still change aspects of your shape, but making paths where none exist, that is the power of the women! We males are the ones who change shape and find suitable, ah, partners.¡±

    ¡°Sooooo you¡¯re telling me you, what, have sex with other species and it creates demon babies.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    Vertigo made Nestra¡¯s mind swim.

    ¡°Oooooh shit. Oh shit. Wait, we are a species of CUCKOOS?¡±

    ¡°The, ah, theparison is¡­ not urate!¡±

    Nestra was horrified.

    ¡°My mom had sex with a demon? What? Wait, are my brother and sister¡­¡±

    Seth winced. He raised both hands in a very affected way which was really strange to see on such arge being.

    ¡°I am sorry, I should have presented it better. You are the only People in your human family. Look, you are not going to like what I tell you and there is nothing I can do to soften the blow. Our father is¡­ not a kind being.¡±

    ¡°What the fuck did he do?¡±

    ¡°He took on your human father¡¯s appearance one night and, hmm, yeah.¡±

    ¡°Yeah? YEAH? Oh my GOD. Riel fucking dammit REALLY?¡±

    ¡°Sorry.¡±

    ¡°He had sex with my mom while masquerading as my dad?¡±

    ¡°Sorry.¡±

    ¡°And, just, I was born like that?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°The child of a deception?!¡±

    ¡°I am sorry, little Nezhra. The People only reproduce with women of other sentient races and then take on some of the characteristics of their parent race. This is our way. Our only way. We mostly care about not harming families. We will pick stronger hosts in the hope of providing the best conditions for their offspring.¡±

    ¡°This is fucked up.¡±

    ¡°This is what we are.¡±

    Nestra pushed the bowl of ramen away. So much for her appetite.

    She wasn¡¯t her dad¡¯s kid. Well. She didn¡¯t even know how to feel about it. He was a little bit clueless when it came to parenting but¡­ he¡¯d tried. And he was her dad. What¡­ what did it all mean?

    And she was the living reminder some asshole had deceived her mom.

    It took a solid two minutes for Nestra just to tank the emotional blow, by then she felt emotionally empty and just wanted to flood her mind with more stuff to chase the disgust away.

    ¡°Are you sure Helena isn¡¯t one of us? She shares our power.¡±

    ¡°Yes. I had a look and¡­ indeed, void energy, The first such urrence that I know of. I even asked a coven member when I was¡­ momentarily gone.¡±

    ¡°To get more Kero nuts.¡±

    ¡°Among other things.¡±

    ¡°That you ate.¡±

    ¡°Ionlyatethefirstbatch.¡±

    ¡°What was that?¡±

    ¡°I am sorry, please let me finish. Helena¡­ shouldn¡¯t have been born. The demon child will change its mother¡¯s body in order to survive pregnancy. The mother should only be able to bear demon children after that. This case is mysterious. The coven woman demanded answers.¡±

    ¡°What but then¡­ oh¡­¡±

    ¡°Hm?¡±

    ¡°Helena is an IVF kid. My parents¡­ well I learned in retrospect that they struggled with having her. Damn, that exins why she¡¯s¡­ not well adjusted. I¡¯ve got to help her.¡±

    ¡°Fascinating. Technology truly helps humans in interesting ways, hmmm. The women will be interested to hear that. Oh, and for Helena, remember, the more you share with others, the harder it will be for me to keep the situation under control.¡±

    ¡°Fuck you.¡±

    Seth seemed really hurt. Like she¡¯d pped him.

    ¡°Uuugh sorry this is a lot all at once,¡± she allowed.

    ¡°I am partly to me. You regard her as your sister. I was being oblivious and tactless.¡±

    Nestra frowned. The demon term for sister among the host family was different from the one in the demon family. The distinction felt important.

    ¡°So our father yed doppleganger to, basically rape my mom and now he sends you twenty fucking years after the fact to keep an eye on me?¡±

    Seth had the grace to look embarrassed. His answer made it even worse.

    ¡°He¡­ wasn¡¯t the one to send me. Aszhii tradition is to wait for the child to reach maturity to seek them out. Your situation was strange enough for one of the covens to ask me to go. This world is very peculiar. Your mana is still weak. Your technology is mighty. Cooking robots! It also means that your host kin have too many ways to track you down while other species would allow demons to thrive simply because they cannot keep track so easily.¡±

    Nestra didn¡¯t react to confirmation that not only did other worlds really absolutely exist, but the intelligent portal monsters were really drawn from several sentient races. It was the most likely exnation, of course, but it was still amazing to get a confirmation. That wasn¡¯t what she wanted to hear about right now though.

    ¡°So our father didn¡¯t send you.¡±

    ¡°No. He is¡­¡±

    He seemed embarrassed.

    ¡°I should not criticize my n but¡­ he is a callous man spreading his seed far and wide in the hope of gathering powerful offspring. I know ites as a shock to your culture¡­ and possibly many others as well.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s a fucking asshole yeah.¡±

    ¡°Unfortunately, no one would find his behavior reprehensible back home. Only¡­ wasteful and cruel.¡±

    ¡°The more I hear about your society and the less I¡¯m interested.¡±

    ¡°But that¡¯s the good thing, see! Every new species that joins the People enriches us! You could change our society for the better!¡±

    ¡°I want nothing to do with you,¡± Nestra told the crestfallen Seth.

    Looking at the monstrously powerful demon wither under her re gave her whish. She had to stop letting her emotions take over.

    ¡°I am making a mess of things,¡± hemented after a few moments.

    ¡°Ok, so you¡¯ve been looking after me then?¡±

    ¡°Yes! I put apulsion on Gorge and his sons just to be sure though they were already loyal. I also made sure Shinran fought me so every inquiry about something bearing the resemnce of one of us would be intercepted by him. I also cleaned up the bodies of those gleams you killed earlier, by the way.¡±

    ¡°Nice. And the gifts?¡±

    ¡°The coven was pleased with your adoption of the Scornful Crescent. Humans are adaptive and they learn very fast, but some were concerned the species was too¡­ individually weak. You have proven them wrong so far.¡±

    ¡°And the Kero nuts?¡±

    ¡°Hmmm.¡±

    ¡°You ate my Kero nuts. Does Stib know you¡¯re a demon?¡±

    ¡°No. But we are not having children yet! We are only at the love-making phase of courtship!¡± Seth said, very proud of himself.

    He gave her exaggerated thumbs up. Nestra facepalmed.

    ¡°Seth. Seth Seth Seth. You¡¯re also an asshole. It¡¯s deception from people I¡¯m supposed to be kin with I hate. Do you realize you¡¯re doing to her what¡­¡±

    She was about to say: what their father had done to her mom but that would be a lie. Her demon¡­ actually not a father. A gic material provider and a sexual abuser on the same level as Zeus.

    ¡°I¡­ but I don¡¯t know how to tell her.¡±

    ¡°Either youe clean with her or you break up.¡±

    ¡°Nezhra¡­¡±

    Nestra crossed her arms. She wouldn¡¯t bulge.

    ¡°... Can you help me¡­ break the news with her then? I like Siobhan Stibbons very much. I wouldn¡¯t mind, you know¡­¡±

    He shuffled on hisrge legs. It would beical if he were not at least evenly matched with Shinran.

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Make a family. Some of us stay with their partners for a lifetime. It¡¯s considered¡­ very challenging to do. And¡­ a little kinky.¡±

    ¡°You are such a bunch of weirdos.¡±

    ¡°You are one of us, Nezhra.¡±

    ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll help, promise. Ok. Well. I have more questions. First, I assume I was supposed to fit in as¡­ an immature demon. Right? Like a cuckoo?¡±

    ¡°Yes! Well, yes, but we don¡¯t kill other children!¡±

    ¡°Yeah only stop more from being born¡­ Anyway. Why don¡¯t I have a core? Isn¡¯t that expected? I even have a core as a demon.¡±

    ¡°Ah! Yes. Well. I did talk to the coven¡¯s envoy about it. You¡¯re not going to be happy.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not fucking happy.¡±

    ¡°Oh yes. It was very difficult for you. Ah, you see, the ambient mana on earth wasn¡¯t enough to sustain your life.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°It has increased since then but¡­ still not enough.¡±

    ¡°I was doomed to starve? And your genitor didn¡¯t see it fit to, I don¡¯t know, ANTICIPATE THAT?¡±

    ¡°He is¡­¡±

    Seth looked down, dejected again.

    ¡°A very callous man,¡± he finished.

    ¡°I¡¯ll fucking kill him.¡±

    ¡°Not happening for two millennia, at least.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll be patient and very vindictive. Ok. So. Why no core?¡±

    ¡°You had the decoy one. Your body cannibalized it to survive.¡±

    ¡°WHAT?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ gone. Sorry.¡±

    Nestra mmed the table. Seth winced and grew more stooped. He shook his head from side to side in a weird, distressing move.

    ¡°Motherfucker.¡±

    ¡°I am sorry, Nezhra.¡±

    ¡°DO YOU HAVE ANY FUCKING IDEA?¡±

    Once again, Seth deted. Guilt filled Nestra mid scream. She was wailing on the messenger here. He had nothing to do with it.

    ¡°Ok. I will stop screaming at you since you apparently were only just sent here by a coven, whatever it is¡ª¡±

    ¡°A group of women of the People.¡±

    ¡°Yeah. That. But seriously, Seth! Wait, is that even your real name?¡±

    ¡°Sereth is my real first name! Seth is a cute nickname! Do you like it?¡± he asked, excited again.

    He was kind of tiring to deal with.

    ¡°Yes. Seth. Very nice, now I appreciate you¡­ trying your best¡­ to keep me happy.¡±

    ¡°There are rules I have to follow, sorry. Or I would do more. I cannot hamper your growth by pampering you.¡±

    ¡°Ok, sure. But you¡¯d better believe that from what I¡¯ve seen so far, I intensely regret being born as one of you.¡±

    Seth sat on the ground with a piteous groan.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t going like I thought it would be going.¡±

    ¡°You got balls eating my Kero nuts¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry! I was too stressed!¡±

    ¡°...And eating half of my shrimp...¡±

    ¡°I have to tax you if you use me as a beast of burden. Those are the rules!¡±

    ¡°YOU OWE ME, SETH!¡±

    ¡°Yes yes sorry. I shall provide more good food as an apology.¡±

    ¡°No,¡± Nestra said.

    Seth stared at her, mouth wide open.

    ¡°No?¡±

    ¡°Well, yes, maybe, if you want, I¡¯ll get my own anyway stop interrupting me. What I want from you is¡­. sparring.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Sparring. You teach me how to fight like a member of the People.¡±

    She crossed her arms while he seriously considered her options, then she dug into the ramen because being so angry took a lot of energy. She was half done with the skewers by the time he came to a conclusion.

    ¡°It would not break any rule I can think of since it wouldn¡¯t be considered pampering. However, I have to tell you that normally, we learn how to fight from our host species. Mostly via hunts.¡±

    ¡°Are you familiar with the term ¡®murder investigation¡¯?¡±

    ¡°No! Well, yes, but you miss the point. There are plenty of legal ways for you to attack host kin.¡±

    ¡°There would be if I were a fucking gleam, yeah?¡±

    But in fact, she had a way. Maybe. In fact, Gorge had mentioned it. She could always be a masked gleam. All she had to do was use that and a full body suit while out in public. No one would suspect unless she talked too much.

    ¡°That is eptable since I can teach you how to form a physical core anyway. I will prepare for sparring since otherwise I might hit you a little too hard.¡±

    ¡°That would be painful.¡±

    ¡°Briefly, yes. Very well. Oh! This is human bonding but between us! Ooooh I love this culture so much.¡±

    ¡°Ah yeah, so, you grew up in another civilization? On another world? How does that work?¡±

    Seth shrugged, the movement exaggerated. He moved his head a little bit afterward.

    ¡°Just like that? I was raised with the other small ones?¡±

    ¡°So what was that civilization like? What are they called?¡±

    ¡°I will not tell you until you break through! Twice. Else you might let out information you shouldn¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°Do the, ah, head movements mean anything?¡±

    ¡°Ah! I¡¯m doing it again. It just means I am excited. Sorry, the mannerism is meant to be hidden in adults of¡­ my host kin but I have spent too much time away from them, and without a suitable mask on, I find it difficult to remember how to behave.¡±

    ¡°Great. I am excited as well. I¡­ actually think I¡¯d like to spend more time with you.¡±

    ¡°Yes yes yes! Okay! We¡¯ll begin in a few days though. You need to rest. I have pushed you far enough.¡±

    ¡°Oh, is this what you said you were preparing me for? The Kaiju?¡±

    ¡°Yes. I saw the humans tampering with telluric veins with such recklessness, I knew it was only a matter of time before something attacked, and Shinran has been delving a lot since we faced each other so he wouldn¡¯t help. Hahaha, he must be trying to kill me! I am d I didn¡¯t have to intervene to save you. Well done!¡±

    ¡°You kind of did.¡±

    ¡°Just to offset the effects of technology in terms of information sharing. It is only fair. Hmmm, I wonder if I should steal some fiber optics and a satellite.¡±

    ¡°Just don¡¯t do it while I¡¯m watching my vids thank you.¡±

    After that, the conversation continued while Nestra took her time polishing off every dish on the table. Seth wouldn¡¯t budge on sharing more about the People, portals, or other species, iming she had to progress to the third sphere first. He didn¡¯t seem to be in a rush, though with the speed at which Nestra was progressing, it might only be a matter of months, not years. Seth was strange when he wasn¡¯t wearing a mask. He seemed just so happy and excited to have her around, so much that after she was done, he briefly showed her his collection of cooking tools. She was barely awake by then so he helped her through yet another portal world before dropping her home directly into her garage. She managed to drag herself upstairs before checking her message which were on her visor, miraculously intact since she¡¯d worn it on her human mask.

    There were quite a few messages from Officer Kim.

    ¡°Shit.¡±

    Too tired but¡­ she replied, saying she¡¯d just woken up and was wounded. Officer Kim surprisingly replied though it was around 4AM by then.

    ¡°We will talk more after you have rested. There is no urgency.¡±

    So she knew.

    Nestra felt sorry for the woman but she was far too tired to do anything. She fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

    ***

    Nestra woke up at twelve, following which she raided her own freezer and fridge like Atti descending upon Rome. Her visor was choke full of messages and notifications, which she ssified in order of how much hassle and emotional pain it would be to deal with. The first easiest call was to an unknown number since it was the only one that could possibly be urgent. Someone picked up after a single ring.

    ¡°Office of Doctor Mazingwe, hello.¡±

    ¡°Oh shit.¡±

    ¡°Miss Padian, hello. The doctor was just finished.¡±

    ¡°I, errr, I can call ¡ª¡±

    ¡°Miss Padian,¡± the doctor¡¯s smooth voice said.

    It carried a certain tone she didn¡¯t like very much.

    ¡°It urs to me we had an appointment earlier this morning?¡±

    ¡°I was asleep. Exhausted. I literally just woke up.¡±

    ¡°Yes, it appears you have specific needs for sleep, more so than my usual patients. I will need you at my office at 4PM. You agree, of course?¡±

    ¡°I meaaaaaaan.¡±

    ¡°Miss Padian, you need a medical certificate to justify your absence anyway. One that would require you to exin why someone who faced a horde of monsters did so without sustaining a single wound.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure I coulde up with something.¡±

    ¡°Shame, and that was myst doughnut.¡±

    ¡°You know what? You¡¯ve been very patient to me, Doctor Mazingwe.¡±

    ¡°Indeed.¡±

    ¡°4PM sharp unless I¡¯m summoned somewhere.¡±

    ¡°If you are and the person is neither Shinran nor the mayor, do let me know as I would have choice words for them.¡±

    Nestra mulled over the situation.

    ¡°Still can¡¯t believe you¡¯re Dawn Spear. Damn. You could be a leading figure in the Nairobi enve if you wanted.¡±

    ¡°And that is why, Miss Padian, I am here instead. I would really appreciate it if you kept that information private since there is a rather sizable price on my head.¡±

    ¡°Oh. Sorry.¡±

    ¡°4PM.¡±

    ¡°Yes. Goodbye.¡±

    The next call was in house, so to speak. It came from District Fourteen¡¯s precinct.

    ¡°Yes? This is Nestra Padian.¡±

    ¡°Oh, thankfully you are alright. This is officer Gao from the Highway police. We found your car.¡±

    She might have met this guy in the past, at a function or something, but she couldn¡¯t ce him. Threshold had a lot of cops and she tended to stay around the anglos.

    ¡°What¡¯s left of it. You found the drone as well, right?¡±

    ¡°Absolutely. The attorney has been very interested in the origin of the drone, especially considering your current posting. We were mostly concerned about finding you, until we had confirmation that you had been seen in Fifteen. You rushed there immediately after the incident?¡±

    ¡°Yeah I needed to find my partner.¡±

    ¡°And¡­ did you?¡±

    ¡°I did but he didn¡¯t make it.¡±

    There was silence for a few moments.

    ¡°Damn, sorry to hear that. We knew it got bad but we didn¡¯t know how bad. I¡¯ll still need you toe here to make a statement, at least for insurance¡¯s purposes. It¡¯s not urgent though, so if you¡¯re hurt.¡±

    ¡°A little. Mostly tired though. I¡¯ll definitelye early next week, if that¡¯s ok?¡±

    ¡°Sure, sure. Oh, we got your gear as well toe and pick up. Nice sword, by the way. Anyway it¡¯s all in house so don¡¯t worry, just, I have to ask, do you need protection?¡±

    Nestra considered Seth.

    ¡°I¡¯m good, I think. Unless they start bombing runs on my house. I¡¯d still love to know what the fuck happened because I doubt it was an ident.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, us too. You take care now and call me when you¡¯re ready.¡±

    Ok, that was another easy call. At least she¡¯d get her de back. Would have been useful to have back when facing the horde but whatever. At least she¡¯d gotten some good practice in. The next calls were easy. Stibs was worried so she talked to her and promised to catch up soon. Aunt ire called as well, furious to have missed Nestra and assuming she¡¯d been home safe. The Padians had participated in the horde cleanup until the wee hours of the morning so Nestra took sce in the knowledge their evening had been ruined as well. Gorge had unexpectedly asked how she was holding on but the asshole just exchanged a few text messages with her stating he was d his cash cow hadn¡¯t bought it yet. Thest call for the day was by far the most difficult.

    Officer Kim picked up after three rings, more than expected. Her voice was raw.

    ¡°First thing first, are you safe, Miss Padian?¡±

    ¡°Yes. I¡¯m home. You, uh¡­¡±

    ¡°I am safe as well. I have been ced on sick leave for one day and ordered to rest. Guild Affairs have taken over the case considering the gravity of the situation, as you may imagine.¡±

    All gleams, Nestra remembered. Assholes who trampled everyone they wanted but at least their hatred of the guild system, which they saw as a humiliation to the idea of a strong state, was well known. Gidung wouldn¡¯t get off the hook.

    ¡°I¡­ just needed to know how he died. He was very precious to me as you may have surmised and they didn¡¯t let me see him. I have to know.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, ok. Yeah. You need closure.¡±

    One of the reasons why raiders went to great lengths to retrieve bodies.

    ¡°So, our hab block¡¯s shelter had no issues but one of the nearby blocks didn¡¯t have one, so Shinoda led a small group towards our own since our shelter was big enough to amodate both. They were attacked by the faster monsters. There were a lot of dokkaebi but¡­¡±

    ¡°But also D-ss monsters, I assume,¡± Officer Kim said with a resigned tone.

    ¡°Yeah. I helped the group fend off mana rats so I think they mostly made it but Shinoda was in the rear guard. They took a lot of fatalities. I found him in a checkpoint. He was killed by a neosaur he managed to take out as well. He died clean and I think the body was retrieved. I was saved by Valerian. I copsed from exhaustion a littleter but I assume the body was properly recovered.¡±

    Kim gave a shaky sigh. Nestra¡¯s excellent hearing picked up a few sniffles. She gave the woman a few moments of peace, wondering exactly how well the two had known each other.

    She also remembered the woman had sent Nestra to look after Shinoda and Nestra had failed. She didn¡¯t feel particrly guilty about it. He¡¯d gone off without backup in the name of his principles, a respectable act but also one she had no control over. Shinoda had died a warrior¡¯s death, the best possible end if she had to be honest. It was probably a belief she shouldn¡¯t share with other people.

    ¡°That was what I was told. At least I can be certain they were honest now,¡± Kim finally said.

    ¡°Yeah.¡±

    ¡°There is¡­ one more thing. No, two things. First, there are talks of allocating more social services and less officers now that most of the surviving gangers have either been killed or captured at the end of the purge when they went to secured locations. You will make sure the transfer of authority is done properly, then I will reassign you to a task that would better use your frankly impressive skills, which leads me to my second point.¡±

    ¡°Ok?¡±

    ¡°You¡­ are not what you seem, Padian. I had an inkling after you killed those gangers under the hab block andst night¡¯s events confirmed it. You do not have to deny anything. This is not a trap. I just want you to listen.¡±

    ¡°Ok¡­¡±

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t sure so I ran a few simtions on a tactical AI, the results of which I kept for myself of course. ording to what you did, that is, finding Shinoda alone in the middle of a horde, your chances of survival were a t zero.¡±

    ¡°Hmm.¡±

    ¡°ording to a timing I confirmed with tunnel camera footage, it should have taken Valerian almost five minutes to find you after you left the refugee group behind. You survived a horde alone, without visible weapons, and without imnts. To be honest, there are no imnts in the market that would have saved you.¡±

    Nestra held her breath.

    ¡°I will not ask more right now. I just want you to know that¡­¡±

    Nestra waited for Kim to finish her sentence. It took a while.

    ¡°That Mr Watkins is going to be transferred to Central tomorrow. Some details were shared with me concerning the risks such a move entailed. There is a¡­ a specific part of District Twenty-eight that an unscrupulous individual could use to get a vantage point to the back of the precinct. Police users can stop a great many things. A supersonic round isn¡¯t one of them.¡±

    ¡°You think someone would try to assassinate him?¡±

    ¡°If an unscrupulous individual had the will, ess to dangerous weaponry, and some inside information, a tactical AI would confirm this is the best ce to do so. I would be very, very disappointed if our star witness disappeared before we nail his ass to the wall and Gidung with him.¡±

    ¡°Alright,¡± Nestra said. ¡°And hypothetically, when would that be?¡±

    ¡°Tomorrow morning, 5AM. The Levant Project towers, which have not been finished due to financing concerns.¡±

    ¡°Ok.¡±

    ¡°And Padian? Onest thing.¡±

    ¡°Yes?¡±

    ¡°Shinoda¡¯s funerals will be tomorrow. I took the liberty of organizing it since his estranged wife would make a political mess of it. Can I count on youing?¡±

    ¡°You could not possibly stop me.¡±

    ¡°Very well. Thank you and¡­ we can talk more there. About the future.¡±

    ¡°Sure. I¡¯ll see you there then.¡±

    That was probably ok. Kim was a work friend but not a real friend yet. Surely. Nestra jumped into the shower in demon form and let the warm water cleanse her. All her wounds were closed but they still felt tender to the touch. She hoped Mazingwe wouldn¡¯t poke her. He clearly intended to make sure her demon self was healthy which was going to be a tall order without a baseline but that would never discourage the stubborn man.

    Weird how her timetable was suddenly so busy. Well, there was some grieving and a lot of mopping up to do but it seemed her adventures in District Fifteen would be over only a week after starting. It had been a busy time. For now, her new goals were clear but she also wondered what the future would have in store for her. She hoped it would be edible.

 (19)

    (19)

    ¡°I told you, electronic equipment won¡¯t work. Can I go now?¡±

    Nestra red at Doctor Mazingwe. Down, for once, since she was using her true form. The doctor tilted his head in a way that made her feel distinctly ufortable, because he was like a teacher and she was a petnt teen trying to get away from the physical exam.

    ¡°Miss Padian, do you perhaps believe I am clueless without electronics? Hmm?¡±

    ¡°No, of course not,¡± she mumbled.

    ¡°Then I believe we can proceed the old-fashioned way. I assure you, humans have managed their health for centuries without advanced machines and I will draw upon their experience. Now, if you will follow me?¡±

    ¡°Oh, back in your days? Do you think an excess amount of humor in my spleen might cause me to be sad?¡±

    ¡°I know you are trying to get a raise out of me because you are concerned, Miss Padian, however I assure you that I have handled worse than you over the ages and I will qualify your banter as ¡®average¡¯.¡±

    ¡°Oof. Who had the best banter?¡±

    ¡°Surely you do not expect me to provide you with ammunition. Here.¡±They had moved into the gleam testing area. The good doctor¡¯s innovative new tool that would beat X-ray and other pedestrian devices happened to be a table.

    A table, and two chairs.

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°My testing equipment is designed for young men and women on the edge of D-rank, and since you are clearly much stronger than that, we shall assess your physical prowess with a basic yet nheless indicative test.¡±

    ¡°Beat each other over the head with the chairs?¡±

    ¡°No, Miss Padian. We are going to arm-wrestle.¡±

    ***

    ¡°Oooow.¡±

    ¡°Do not be silly; I stopped long before breaking anything. Now, where were we? Oh yes. We shall now test your reflexes and general speed.¡±

    The doctor opened a drawer, removing throwing knives from a sheath. They were clearly blunted.

    ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°If you will take position in front of this reinforced wall?¡±

    ¡°NO! Do you seriously use that on kids?¡±

    ¡°Of course not. I have them throw the weapons. Again, however, I fear it will not be a good indication of your capabilities.¡±

    Nestra wondered if she could get away with walking through the wall. Unfortunately, Mazingwe was already stronger than ire thirty years ago ording to some footage she¡¯d found, and though battle instincts could grow unused, a gleam¡¯s body never weakened.

    Bastard would probably burst through the entire building then drag her back in, screaming.

    ¡°Oh fiiiine.¡±

    Mazingwe shifted. Nestra used <em>momentum </em>to move to the side, because she knew the old bastard would try something. The first dull knife nged against the reinforced wall before falling down. Nestra dodged again fully expecting the good doctor to follow up, and of course he did. Something pped painfully on the skin of her left arm. She changed direction. A glimpse at her attackers showed that he was looking at her right leg, so she pulled it to the side just in time to avoid another painful throw. No time to dodge the next so she received it on her forearm with <em>Immovable</em>. Mazingwe blurred. She used <em>Momentum </em>again.

    Three knives were now lodged in the reinforced wall. nted it, as it were.

    Mazingwe¡¯s hands were empty.

    Nestra still didn¡¯t let her guard down. She¡¯d counted seven knives but who knew what he would pull off to test her.

    ¡°Hmm. Impressive. I have fought slower experienced C-ranks. Your battle instincts are also remarkable. How is the arm?¡±

    She flexed it. The knife had only grazed it.

    ¡°Already healed.¡±

    ¡°No hematoma? Is regeneration one of your skills?¡±

    ¡°Think so.¡±

    ¡°Very impressive. If you do represent the baseline for gray demons, then your race is dauntingly powerful. I notice that you used some activated skills during the exercise? Do you know how many you can do in a row? Are they tiring you?¡±

    ¡°I, errr. They¡¯re not very tiring. I always finish fights before I run out of juice.¡±

    ¡°But do they affect your mana, your physical endurance, or some other metaphysical source unique to your species? Mental exhaustion? Or several resources at the same time?¡±

    ¡°I, errr, dunno.¡±

    Mazingwe seemed utterly unimpressed.

    ¡°Miss Padian¡­¡±

    She groaned.

    ¡°While I admit that your base abilities are very impressive, especially your natural resistance which we humansck, you have so far mostly faced D-ss threats. C-ss threats are significantly more dangerous and will require you to know yourself and the full extent of your abilities. We will be testing those abilities over the course of the next few weeks until you are performing to my satisfaction. You cannot do any less than the maximum to survive.¡±

    ¡°Those are no longer doctor duties,¡± Nestra replied. ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re supposed to be my coach as well?¡±

    She thought about her words. Was she sounding a little ungrateful?

    ¡°Not that I¡¯mining, quite the contrary. I just¡ª¡±

    ¡°My stone town was destroyed during the incursion. We lived along the shore of Tanzania, above the Indian Ocean. I was one of the only survivors.¡±

    Nestra shut up immediately. First gens NEVER talked about the incursion. At least not to little shits like her. When her parents had done it, it was behind closed doors with sifters of mana liquor and hostile res should she dare to break the sanctity of the moment by intruding.

    ¡°I could not return. When I became Dawn Spear, the crafter who made my armor asked me if I wanted to wear it with a kanzu. A kanzu is¡­ a robe. A cream or white robe I would wear under a jacket. I found that I could not. I could not see elements of my past and not remember the screams. The fires. I havee here with no roots.¡±

    He shrugged.

    ¡°No roots, but a past. We cannot let go of the past, yes? Now I have decided that I would help people before the portals im me again. It will happen. It always does. We can never fully stop. And now, I am helping you. Do you deserve it? No. You are a headstrong, obnoxious, rebellious woman with a sharp tongue and a sharper sword.¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡±

    ¡°You remind me very much of my little sister.¡±

    ¡°Oh¡­¡±

    ¡°I am helping many people. I am helping you more because you need the help more, and also because you remind me of my little sister. Do you understand?¡±

    ¡°I¡­ think so?¡±

    ¡°Now that you no longer have to divine why on earth I would try to keep your sorry hide mostly intact, will you stop questioning and challenging everything I try to do that would favor you?¡±

    ¡°Sorry, it¡¯s just¡­¡±

    She hesitated. He waited patiently.

    ¡°I feel like I¡¯ve been kicked in the teeth by life many times, so now if something goes well I expect that it wille back to roundhouse me some timeter.¡±

    ¡°I appreciate the difficulty of trusting people, Miss Padian. However, ording to my understanding, I have not been the only person who has been here for you consistently over the years. There is your aunt?¡±

    ¡°Oh yeah.¡±

    ¡°So perhaps you should trust the people around you a little more.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s also my brother.¡±

    ¡°Ah, yes, that.¡±

    ¡°And my dad. And my mom. And Bard, you remember Bard?¡±

    ¡°This detail had escaped my mind.¡±

    ¡°Well it didn¡¯t escape mine. By the way, are you familiar with the decisions of Gidung¡¯s leadership?¡±

    ¡°I stand corrected, Miss Padian. You have driven the point home. I would still appreciate you extending me the courtesy of trust.¡±

    He waited for her answer. A part of her wanted to jab more, maybe out of habit or maybe because Mazingwe was a father figure and she was the poster child for daddy issues. Double daddy issues, even. Mazingwe didn¡¯t deserve it.

    ¡°Ok. I¡¯ll stop giving you shit. I promise.¡±

    ¡°Marvelous.¡±

    ¡°So what do we do now?¡±

    ¡°We shall test your mana sensitivity in terms of direction, intensity, and nature. The other abilities will require tests that I cannot conduct in this facility.¡±

    ¡°How will you test my sensitivity? You mean like feeling mana?¡±

    ¡°Yes. You will close your eyes and I¡­¡±

    Golden mana emerged from the doctor¡¯s delicate fingers. Power radiated from them in an instant, brushing against Nestra¡¯s skin with the promise of searing pain.

    ¡°I will be moving this sphere around you.¡±

    ¡°You won¡¯t hit me with it. Right?¡±

    ¡°I am confident you will feel its presence before it urs.¡±

    Nestra was starting to wonder if the good doctor wasn¡¯t having a little bit of cathartic fun at her expense.

    ***

    ¡°Hello, this is Doctor Mazingwe.¡±

    The voice that answered was usually harmless. It made the cold hiss now filtering through the visor that much more threatening.

    ¡°I only gave you my number for dire emergencies. You must be very foolish or have a very good reason to contact me now.¡±

    ¡°I need some information on Gray Demon anatomy if I am to monitor the health of my patient.¡±

    ¡°Foolish, then. Gray Demons do not require physicians, Mazingwe.¡±

    ¡°You are never hurt? You always know exactly what you are capable of? I find it hard to believe given your proclivities. I need to know more so I can treat her if she gets hurt.¡±

    ¡°I can help her, unless she regenerates first. We are rather resilient.¡±

    ¡°Are you a medical practitioner?¡±

    There was annoyed silence at the end of the line.

    ¡°I shall take this as a no. Listen, I have a proposal. You tell me enough to help her under an oath of secrecy, and in return, I will give you the recipe to my homemade doughnuts.¡±

    There was a long pause.

    ¡°I do enjoy the human rituals around the preparation and consumption of food, but make no mistakes. I am here for the new woman of the People, not for the cultural experience of being a human. You already have information on our anatomy I am tempted to¡­ erase. I will be forced to take drastic measures if you keep digging.¡±

    ¡°I swear on my ancestors that this knowledge will only be used to safeguard her wellbeing. I take my duty very, very seriously.¡±

    Another pause, then a chuckle. It was not a pleasant sound.

    ¡°You believe in your own words. Very well, but if the coven protecting her decides that you need to be removed¡­¡±

    ¡°I already know enough to be a danger. A little more will make no difference.¡±

    ¡°I admire yourmitment. I shall ept your oath and extend my trust. Recipe and one demonstration,¡± Seth replied.

    ¡°We have a deal.¡±

    ¡°The coven will love to hear that a human healer has taken a female Changeling under his wing, knowing what she is. Perhaps it is true that humans can pack bond with almost anything. You are making your own species quite interesting, Doctor Mazingwe.¡±

    ¡°I hope that is a good thing.¡±

    ¡°Oh, most certainly. After all, some may care about good and evil but for us, it is about fun and tedious, and you are beginning to be quite fun. Goodbye. We will be baking at my ce. Bring your own supplies.¡±

    ***

    Dawn crested the kaiju wall. For those who¡¯d barely slept, it offered no sce. The rays of the sun revealed cables snaking out of the van when there should be none. They dispelled the illusion of secrecy thatforted operatives everywhere. They reminded said operatives that they werete, that the delivery robots were dropping fresh muffins on the doorsteps of harried corpo ves, and that the time of reckoning was upon them. Mostly they showed the contents of floor sixty-eight of the unfinished Pacific Dream tower, part of the Levant Project real estate disaster. It should have contained, to the exclusion of most other things, a 40 mm single shot remote controlled-rifle. A walker killer as they were known in the military. Around that weapon, there should have been satchel charges designed to turn the entire floor into a pile of molten g and powdered concrete.

    That was not the case. Thest intact camera showed a mess of exposed cables and the barrel lying on the ground, possibly still connected to the rest of the gun. Or perhaps not.

    The team leader ignored the sweat pearling in his brow. Every assessment said this should be impossible. Cameras didn¡¯t glitch that way. This was either the work of a gleam, or a hostile jamming device not yet in the Gidung database.

    His gut said it was a rogue element.

    ¡°We¡¯re packing.¡±

    ¡°Wait,¡± the runner said, interrupting him.

    The team leader looked into her crimson eye imnts. The false iris rotated, probably calcting his heartbeat and blood pressure and all the other tools runners used to ¡®convince¡¯ people they were not allowed to kill. She licked her lips. His eyes caught a crease near her scalp where the dermal imnts were barely visible.

    ¡°I can do it. I can make the shot. Manually.¡±

    ¡°Target on the move. ETA three minutes, sir,¡± Condor said from her seat in the far corner of the van. He could see the convoy holding Watkins making its way towards the precinct, with hovercrafts providing oversight. Once he reached the ce, he would be out of reach and his testimony would fuck the corp over in a way no one had done before. Their window was closing fast.

    Condor¡¯s voice had wavered. The team leader thought it was a lost cause and Condor didn¡¯t seem so hot either.

    ¡°Sir. Please let me.¡±

    The team leader assessed his chances.

    Law enforcement would have already gone after the van. A rival corpo would have detonated the satchel charge since it was the easiest way to make the operation fail. And Gidung really needed a symbolic win. His career depended on it.

    The stench of cigarette smoke and sweat joined forces with the wet heat and his own exhaustion to muddy his thoughts.

    ¡°I think it¡¯s a trap.¡±

    ¡°Then let me trigger it. If it were the city, the ce would already be swarming with cops. I can do it. Somebody¡¯s fucking with us and I want to look them in the eye.¡±

    ¡°It smells of gleam to me.¡±

    ¡°And I can go toe to toe with a low C-ss. Let me do it.¡±

    ¡°ETA two and a half.¡±

    A feed showed the convoy carrying the witness on its way to Central. He would be out of range soon. The team leader had to choose now.

    Stolen novel; please report.

    ¡°Ok. Ok but you evac the moment you get cornered.¡±

    The runner gave a carnivorous smirk. She turned and the swish of her ck ponytail brushed the man¡¯s face. He hoped for a floral touch from shampoo, perhaps vani, his favorite, but the synthetic hair was soaked with tobo. It offered no sor. Neither did the sight of her armored form leaving the false safety of the van. The floor rose a little higher when she walked off just from the sheer weight of synth muscles and ting and against anything without mana, he would bet on her. She was more machine than person at this stage.

    He suspected that wasn¡¯t the case here.

    The runner allowed her feed in his own imnt and he epted the connection. The runner was fast. She was through the deserted underground garage in seconds, then carefully, she looked up the empty elevator shaft. The team leader saw little but gray, bare concrete around the holographic sight of the woman¡¯s short submachine gun, though theck of light was no obstacle. She sped a rope ascender around the naked cable and then she was off and up along the vertiginous well, her aim never wavering. The team leader waited for a trap to spring but there was nothing, no falling grenades or massive impact tearing down the rope. The runner still stopped a few meters away, lightly jumping to the nearby wall where her gloved fingers somehow adhered with enough strength to keep her attached. The entire endeavor had been perfectly silent.

    She scaled the wall.

    ¡°ETA two minutes.¡±

    The team leader knew he should have brought a spare anti-walker rifle but those things were massive and there had been no time. He could only watch the runner deploy small drones to watch the room above her. To his surprise, they flew unimpeded.

    The room was empty. It looked empty. Faster than the man could process, the cameras cycled through thermal, X-rays, infras, and then the woman was up and walking. He allowed himself to take in the devastation.

    Someone, or something, had gone off on the rifle and its surrounding. Only the naked concrete pirs surrounding the remnants were still intact. Satchelsy haphazardly, some torn apart, some throw off at a greater distance. The rifle was a loss. Its barrel was still mostly intact but the stock was twisted out of shape, the supporting frame looked crumpled, and the connected machine smashed. It felt more like the result of a tantrum than a deliberate attempt at neutralizing equipment. A chill crawled up his spine.

    ¡°Gear¡¯s destroyed. Fall back.¡±

    The runner paused but she didn¡¯t listen. The team leader remained silent while she slowly, slowly took a step back. Inside of the empty space, only the howling wind came to break the silence.

    Light from the rising sun crested the angle made by the floor, stretching the runner¡¯s shadow towards the elevator shaft. She twitched.

    It happened very fast.

    Something nged. The runner turned so fast it gave the man vertigo. A silent round blew something off, which exploded outwards towards the gaping great empty of District Twenty-Eight. She turned just as fast and then, the image twisted. Chaos melded pixels into each other in a pulsating, disturbing kaleidoscope of dark motes. Psychedelic mouths and ws assailed the cameras from every angle to the point that the man recoiled. The runner¡¯s gun went off. A shower of debris rained down, merging with the phantasmagoria in a nauseating riot but the man was no longer watching. His gaze was glued to the disy showing her vitals.

    Catastrophic damage to the chest.

    There was something holding her gun in ce.

    Catastrophic damage to the neck. Signal lost. Agent considered deceased.

    The feed showed the camera falling on the ground. Itnded her, and for the briefest of moments, the team leader saw it reflected in the ssy mirror of some broken casing. A foot. Naked. Strangely gray. Then it, too, was eaten by the glitchy nightmare.

    ¡°We pull the plug. Go,¡± the man said.

    Every cable disconnected at the same time. The van hurled itself across the garage and towards the exit. As it surfaced into the light of dawn, the team leader expected something to stop them. Surely, it would. After all of that. Instead, they continued unimpeded to the outer middle ring and beyond.

    In the distance, Watkins¡¯ convoy continued on its merry way, unaware of the danger it had escaped. It went to Central to seal Gidung¡¯s fall from grace and gleams watched it pass with curious eyes. It was not every day one could see a titan stumble.

    ***

    ¡°Tell me,¡± the tall man said.

    He did not turn to look at the team leader. White hairbed back over a white Hanbok, a traditional Korean garb. Tall shoulders. Gidung¡¯s founder was a man of short stature but he had this solidity earth users had, the one reflected in the name he had chosen. Gidung. The pir. Even now the corporation cracked at the seams, but the man didn¡¯t. His gaze was fixed on a small altar nestled in the corner of his presidential office. It showed a faded picture of a young woman smiling over the distant Busan Harbor.

    ¡°Someone came after us. They knew we would be here. Some shadow user. It felt¡­ personal.¡±

    ¡°I wonder who we might have offended to face such a reckoning.¡±

    That was not ament that invited reply, and so the team leader didn¡¯t offer one.

    ¡°This ends now. The crisis management team will stand down.¡±

    ¡°Sir, if I may¡­¡±

    ¡°You were let go as a courtesy,¡± the founder said.

    He turned, and the team leader saw a weathered face, marked by adversity. Deep brown eyes met his. They were not unkind.

    ¡°When courtesy is not repaid with respect, terrible events follow. That is particrly the case when we have not identified our opponent. We will just me fate as we brave the storm. Gidung weathered many and it will weather more.¡±

    ¡°Yes sir, I just¡­¡±

    ¡°Wish to know whose terrible gaze fell upon us?¡±

    ¡°Yes sir.¡±

    ¡°So do I.¡±

    ***

    The harbinger of fate bit into a chestnut cream pie.

    ¡°Hmm! Thish ish good!¡±

    No calorie impact on her mortal shell plus nepo power on the owner plus on a break meant that she was ravaging the Sunflour¡¯s inventory with gusto. Four small tes were already piled on her table, forming a monument to hubris, a Babel tower of sugar and an affront to God. Nobody seemed to care but it made her feel positively sinful. An article on her datasheet spiced the pastries up with the sweet aroma of vindication.

    <em>¡°Gidung market cap in free fall. Emergency Board meeting in progress.¡±</em>

    Hurting where it mattered: wallet and reputation. Nestra turned her attention to Seth, somewhat hoping that gorging on his stuff might annoy him with the ¡®family discount¡¯. Unfortunately, the goof was beaming with pride at the counter. He pointed at a verrine filled with white chocte mousse and passion fruit puree, possibly his next offering.

    It was really hard to piss off Seth for some reason. It was like he had no real ego. All her teasing were universally taken as gestures of attention. And he loved attention. From her. Maybe from Stibs as well, though the way he talked about her, he saw her in, well, a different way then what she thought was normal for partners. From her limited experience.

    Her visor beeped, and she moved her shoulder carefully. The runner woman had clipped her. The wound on her real form still pained her. There were still non-gleams who could make her bleed, not just that, but the woman couldn¡¯t actually even see her and she still managed one clean hit. It was inspiring, in a way. Gleams would continue to increase in numbers, but perhaps technology would be integrated instead of discarded. It was just too damn potent.

    With onest sigh, Nestra gave up on her thoughts of chocte mousse. She nodded to Seth on her way out into the stifling heat of summer. The weather was just nice and there was something there that bothered her.

    It should be raining, because today was Shinoda Yuuji¡¯s burial, but of course that sort of serendipitous crying from the heavens happened only in movies. The world didn¡¯t give a shit that Shinoda was dead, and neither did most of Threshold. That pissed her off, even though her grief was light since, well, they had not known each other for that long. It was just that Shinoda was one of the good ones, and he¡¯d died a hero, and, just, there should be something, anything, to acknowledge that. But instead, mundane birds flew around to pick up insects.

    Her partnership with Shinoda hadsted only two weeks but now, it was time to say goodbye. She readjusted her ck suit then made her way out to the nearby elevated tram station since her car was totaled. It was mostly empty at this time of the day. Only a couple of students and older folks with grocery bags sat around, casting her curious nces since she was dressed to the nines in a morbid kind of way.

    Outside, the cozy houses and low buildings of her district gave way to brick buildings, then to a park as the tram slowly made its way along the kaiju wall. The wind carried the distant scent of the Pacific Ocean when Nestra climbed off, not too far east. The park was open and wide with low, carefully cut grass. The few people leaving with her did so in a subdued mood and the usual flock of children was missing. Around her, tall columns dotted the ground in miniature stonehenges with people gathering in loose clumps of dark-colored garbs. Nestra made her way to the one Kim had referred to, close to a pond surrounded by zen sculptures. The susurrus of flowing water calmed her nerves.

    There were quite a few more people than she expected.

    At first, she hesitated a little since those looked at her with curiosity. Even in Threshold, there was an invisible wall formed by a group of mourners when they were obviously of the same ethnic or cultural group ¡ª in this case Japanese. The sight of a diverse group of cops in the distance confirmed that she was in the right ce. She made her way up towards the mausoleum. Her stress faded as the groups didn¡¯t push her away and she finally spotted Kim atop some stairs.

    If there was any doubt the two of them were closer than they let on, this dispelled it. Officer Kim wore a regal ck kimono with her dark hair tied back with a white ribbon, a mark of respect to the deceased when she could have worn a hanbok though the ribbon was most likely a korean thing, from the vids she watched. Nestra wasn¡¯t exactly sure about the etiquette here, but the rest of the mourners seemed to approve since no one was being hostile. Not like Nestra could do anything but learn from the diplomatic civil servant. More importantly, Kim carried the urn containing Shinoda¡¯s ashes. Cremation waspulsory for anyone buried within the walls of the city but the role of carrying them to the mausoleum usually fell with the widow if there was one. Kim stood above the crowd as if daring them to challenge her. Shinoda¡¯s ex-wife was conspicuously absent.

    She started the ceremony at 3PM sharp. By that time, the heat had turned slightly ufortable. Nestra only half-followed the proceedings. There was a Shinto priest, a very old gleam who looked at everyone with quiet benevolence. Nestra voided his gaze just because she was feeling pissy. Then came quite a few people saying how Shinoda had saved them, somehow.

    Each story was short but it was clear he¡¯d mattered.

    Maybe that was better than rain.

    It felt strange, getting to know someone better after they were dead. She would have liked to meet him in an izakaya for more beer and food if he¡¯dsted long enough, but he¡¯d gone the way he¡¯d lived, touching and saving more lives than was wise to. In a way, he had more hubris than she did but while hers was a thing she reined in, Shinoda had embraced it. And then, he¡¯d fought to the end. And he¡¯d died. With his finger on the trigger.

    The ceremony didn¡¯tst for a very long time. More than ack of things to say, Nestra felt it was the distance between the mourners that was to me for the reserved silence. Shinoda had helped without reserve but his benefactors didn¡¯t actually know one another. The various groups eyed their counterparts warily from an angle when they thought no one was looking. Nestra watched all of this from afar and wondered if they were jealous that someone else had been saved and made feel so special. Eventually, she watched Kim finally ce the urn in an empty box of the mausoleum, then the ce was sealed and the massive dark b returned to being a monolith to the dead of the threshold city.

    The mourners solemnly made their way to pay their respect. Many spoke to the shaman who offered words offort. Nestra and he exchanged a nce and he moved away, apparently epting that she wasn¡¯t interested in talking.

    The afternoon went on. Clouds gathered to provide some wee shade. The wind picked up until the weather cooled to more pleasant temperatures. The mourners trickled away but Nestra waited, leaning against one of the bs. She wasn¡¯t in a hurry.

    Kim only sobbed when she thought she was alone.

    Nestra stood by and waited. There was really no need to interrupt. And also no need to get physical. Kim really didn¡¯t give off any huggable vibes and Nestra had been tempted to jump on Sashimi just to feel what it would be like.

    It was remarkable that she was the first to feel the intrudere. Nestra could tell from the straightening shoulders and the discreet application of tissue to her face, then she looked out herself and saw a woman approaching, a Japanese one in an impable suit. Handsome in a mature way. While Kim¡¯s ¡®touch ups¡¯ had turned her into a distant and efficient worker, this one exuded majesty. She meant to impress. An aug bodyguard strode after her though not too close. He wasn¡¯t enjoying himself. The ground was too open, maybe.

    The woman addressed Kim in English. She had to know Kim¡¯s Japanese was perfect but she did it anyway.

    ¡°Howe I learn about my husband¡¯s death from social media?¡±

    She spat thest two words. A fewte visitors turned her way. Nestra put on her visor and started to film just in case.

    Kim replied with all the dignity of the bereaved. Nestra didn¡¯t need a trantor to guess Kim reminded theteer she was the ex-wife. She did so in Japanese, again, a power move. The two women talked in a cial tone. At some point, the bodyguard took a step forward and that was all the signal Nestra needed. She stepped up next to Kim, drawing the gaze of the two.

    ¡°I hope there isn¡¯t gonna be a problem,¡± she said with a tight smile.

    The bodyguard flexed his muscle under a too tight suit. They bulged, but Nestra could tell from the wandering gaze that he had concerns.

    Her time to flex, she guessed. With a ¡®tut tut¡¯, she sped her badge to her breast pocket. Now if the guy put a hand on her, that was two years in prison and his license revoked.

    He reconsidered.

    There was a certain hypocrisy in pulling ranks when she despised the gleams for doing the same. The difference was that she was not being an asshole. At least, in her own eyes.

    ¡°This does not concern you,¡± the ex-wife finally told her.

    ¡°Oh, but it does. I was Shinoda¡¯s partner and you are making a scene. At a funeral, no less.¡±

    Nestra tapped her visor to indicate the woman was being recorded. If she was still a career politician, as Shinoda had mentioned, then this would not show her in a good light. The woman sneered at Kim onest time.

    ¡°Mada owatta wake de wa arimasen. This is not over yet.¡±

    They left, the woman striding with all the fury hell does not have and the bodyguard trudging after her. Kim remained unmoving as a statue for a long time, Nestra waiting by her side.

    ¡°Thank you, Padian. You have made a difficult moment bearable.¡±

    ¡°You seem to have it handled. I was merely providing support.¡±

    ¡°I was ten seconds away from pping the bitch.¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡±

    They waited some more. In the distance, someone yed the flute. It wasn¡¯t very good.

    ¡°We are done here,¡± Kim finally said. ¡°For now. Let us walk. Since you are here, I wanted to go over a few things before I retire for the day. I do believe I will take a short break after that so we might as well finish first.¡±

    The prim Officer picked up a small object from her kimono¡¯s inner pocket. It was a tiny jammer. She wasn¡¯t taking any chances.

    The pair walked by the pond, then they made their way through an alley of tall sycamores. Kim appeared distracted. There was something about so much open ground that gave Nestra vertigo, made her feel unsafe rather than rxed. Or perhaps it wasn¡¯t open ground per se but her fragile, imperfect human form who couldn¡¯t smell the enemye and couldn¡¯t trick sensors.

    ¡°First things first, we just received word from Gidung. They have decided to settle for the murder attempt on you by drone. They will give up the idiot responsible for the operation under charges of reckless endangerment and provide you with afortablepensation of one point two million credits if you ept.¡±

    ¡°Reckless endangerment? This was attempted assassination.¡±

    ¡°It is up to you to ept or refuse, of course, but my advice is to take the deal since Gidung will otherwise m up and hide their idiot behind an army ofwyers. It would take years before you see money. This way, the culprit will spend three years behind bars at the Red House.¡±

    Nestra thought about it.

    ¡°Did they say who it was?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re not cooperating until we sign. At least not on this.¡±

    ¡°And we know they will give up the right person¡­ how?¡±

    ¡°Because we¡¯ll have AIs go over their records, of course.¡±

    If she epted the deal she would have a name, and then kill the guy if she felt like it. Not to mention, she needed money for a new car. The insurance wasn¡¯t covering more than a third of the price since the car itself had been pretty old.

    ¡°Yeah ok sure.¡±

    ¡°Good choice. I will also take the liberty of gging that imbecile in our system to make his life miserable from now on. Can I drive you back?¡±

    They had arrived near a parking lot.

    ¡°Uh. Sure.¡±

    They climbed in a nice hovercraft, ck. The inside was perfectly clean and smelled vaguely ofvender. It was devoid of any trinkets, not even a loose wrapper, but there were three ports for charging electronics.

    Once the doors were closed, Kim leaned forward.

    ¡°By the way, a janitorial team found a body and a demolished sniper rifle in the Levant Project Tower. How fortuitous. The dead might have made an attempt on Mr Watkins¡¯ life otherwise.¡±

    ¡°Serendipitous indeed.¡±

    Kim assessed Nestra for a moment. The secret demon didn¡¯t react. There were already too many people knowing about her. Let Kim wonder a bit.

    ¡°We may have a job for someone of your peculiar skill, outside of the walls. There is a¡­ developing situation in one of the enves. It will have toeter, however. Your performance during the invasion has raised some questions. I have removed you from the active roster for the time being, and you will be reced by peacekeepers trained specifically for the task. The end goal is to have District Fifteenw enforcement done by its own residents. You should go say goodbye at some point.¡±

    ¡°I will.¡±

    ¡°I believe some paid leave would do you good since there is a possibility you will be¡­ involved in our inquiries. How does that sound?¡±

    ¡°Pretty good. I wanted to spend a bit more time with my family anyway.¡±

    ¡°Is that so?¡± Kim asked with some doubt.

    ¡°I have some catching up to do.¡±

    ***

    Helena had this guarded expression Nestra recognized in pictures of her around the same age. A bit hopeful, but mostly expecting some bullshit. The young gleam clutched her training gear with a nervousness that her face tried very hard not to express. It didn¡¯t help that Nestra had brought her to a decrepit parking lot at the center of an abandoned hospital in the back of a rental van. If she wanted to give off psycho killer vibes, she couldn¡¯t have possibly done better.

    ¡°So¡­ we¡¯re training here?¡± the young gleam asked with obvious disbelief.

    ¡°Yes, well, no. Around. But first we need to talk.¡±

    Nestra stepped out. It took a while for Helena to join her on a bench overlooking an abandoned zen garden. The hospital extended in a square all around to form a vaguely oppressive prison.

    Helena¡¯s mana was leaking. It tasted familiar to Nestra¡¯s dull senses but it also meant Helena was really, really nervous. Not good.

    ¡°Shit, I should have picked a better ce.¡±

    ¡°Hmm damn right we should have. That¡¯s like the set of some horror story where the stupid teens get picked off by a shadow monster, or something.¡±

    ¡°Yeah it¡¯s my bad. It¡¯s just, at least here we won¡¯t be listened on.¡±

    ¡°By Riel Nestra have you, like, killed someone or something?¡±

    Nestra blinked.

    ¡°Yeah but how does it rte?¡±

    ¡°Nestra! Killing people is bad! Oh shit you¡¯re a cop. I always forget. You guys don¡¯t really mind.¡±

    ¡°Damn it, ire, get out of this body.¡±

    ¡°Hahaaaa! No but seriously what is this about?¡±

    ¡°Ok so, it¡¯s a bit weird but it¡¯s about me and¡­ how it¡¯s¡­ Look, there is no good way to say this. You¡¯re like that, with the weird attunement and the bursts of anger, because of me. It¡¯s¡­ not exactly my fault but it definitely happened because I existed and¡­ I think you have a right to know. No, I believe you have a right to know.¡±

    Helena immediately rolled her eyes.

    ¡°Oh my Riel Nestra not you too for fuck sake. I know the conversation by heart. I already got this shit from mom. Stop it. Stooooop it. You¡¯re not helping, ok?¡±

    ¡°No, listen, I¡¯m serious.¡±

    ¡°Yeah yeah I know the draft. ¡®If only I have been here when you were a child¡¯ and ¡®I was too focused on my own boo boos¡¯. Cut it. I want actions, not words. The sparring idea is good, though I really don¡¯t see how this ce is good for sparring¡­¡±

    ¡°There is a portal underneath. In the shelter.¡±

    ¡°There¡­ Oh. Oooooh. Wait, you¡¯re fucking crazy.¡±

    ¡°And it¡¯s my responsibility because I was born first and you got void as an affinity because of it.¡±

    ¡°Riiiiight.¡±

    Nestra bore her gaze into Helena¡¯s amused, yet still worried ck orbs. She had normal sclera but the iris and pupil really were like her own. It was uncanny.

    ¡°Because I¡¯m not human.¡±

    ¡°Riiight. Right. Wait, shit, you¡¯re serious?¡±

    ¡°Dead serious. I was born non human, and mom¡¯s body was¡­ affected. And you got the void affinity and the anger as a result. Also our dad is not my real dad. I mean, not gically. Probably. Whatever.¡±

    Helena¡¯s mouth hung open.

    ¡°I can prove it but you got to promise not to freak out.¡±

    ¡°You¡­ are not human?¡±

    ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°And¡­. who knows about this?¡±

    ¡°Exactly five people. Three who shouldn¡¯t be, I had to help.¡±

    ¡°So, uh, ok? Are you going to¡­ show me?¡±

    ¡°Yep. If that¡¯s ok, I mean.¡±

    ¡°And you brought me here becaaaaause?¡±

    ¡°The portal. If you were, I mean if you took it well, I thought we could have a bonding moment.¡±

    ¡°And not because you wanted to kill me and get rid of the body if I threatened anything?¡±

    Nestra paled. Horror filled her chest.

    ¡°Wha ¡ª what? No! No, of course not I would never! Helena!¡±

    ¡°Ok ok ok ok sorry I shouldn¡¯t have. My bad.¡±

    ¡°I, shit I didn¡¯t think it would worry you so much I¡¯m so sorry!¡±

    ¡°I know thinking¡¯s a bit hard for you but just listen to me! I¡¯m fine, just show me non human Nestra!¡±

    ¡°Ok. Sure. Don¡¯t freak out.¡±

    ¡°You have tentacles?¡±

    ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°Horns?¡±

    ¡°... yes.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s so wired! Come on, show me.¡±

    Nestra sighed. It wasn¡¯t going the way she¡¯d expected. Helena was just so exuberant but¡­ maybe that was better? She pulled off her mask. Immediately, the world became more. She could hear the birds nesting on the second floor cafeteria. Her nose picked the dust and the rot and the wild flowers growing through the cracks. The wind caressed her skin. Mana pulsated wildly from her little sister, familiar yet strange on a human. Said little sister was now standing but Nestra was still looking down at her in her best, most harmless impression of a meek demon.

    ¡°Wooooooow.¡±

    ¡°Yep, it¡¯s me.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re so tall!¡±

    ¡°And ssstill growing.¡±

    ¡°And your voice is so low-pitched?¡±

    ¡°Also because I¡¯m really tall.¡±

    ¡°Are those horns?¡±

    ¡°As I said, yesss.¡±

    ¡°Can I touch them?¡±

    ¡°No, please. Very sensitive.¡±

    ¡° Holy shit what are you?¡±

    ¡°A Gray Demon.¡±

    ¡°Yeah I can see that but what is it called?¡±

    ¡°Hmm. Err. Gray Demon.¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Unless you want thetin name but please don¡¯t address me by my genus and de?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s so wireeeeeeeed. How long have you been, you know, that?¡±

    ¡°Hm. From birth. But I only figured it out recently.¡±

    ¡°So is this why you have no core? Is that part of the disguise?¡±

    ¡°Hm. No. My body needed a lot more mana to grow so¡­ it cannibalized the human core.¡±

    ¡°WHAT REALLY?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°You nommed your own core? That¡¯s so wired! Can you, like, regrow it?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t think so. My true form has a core anyway. It¡¯s¡­ serviceable.¡±

    ¡°Nice. And can you use mana and everything?¡±

    ¡°Yes, void, same as you. Or rather, you are the same as me.¡±

    ¡°Riiiiight! Can you tell me more about who your dad is then? Are there more like you? Oh, are you infiltrating human society to overthrow it and control the government? Wait, you¡¯re not going to do that, right?¡±

    ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°Aw.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t tell you more about what I am, partly because it endangers you and partly because, well, I know very little myself. But we are hunters, not maniptors. At least, I think so.¡±

    ¡°Wait, you can have human shapes and you¡¯re not evil maniptors bent on world domination?¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t talk for other Gray Demons I assume exist but as far as I am concerned, I absolutely and very definitely couldn¡¯t possibly be arsed.¡±

    ¡°Damn. You show up with super infiltration power in human society and you stay for fun?¡±

    ¡°And gastronomy.¡±

    Helena huffed though a smile tugged at her lips.

    ¡°That¡¯s some high mindset here. I like it. Actually, you just asked me to bring my axe expecting me to, like, be okay about all of this?¡±

    ¡°I was certainly hoping for it, yeah.¡±

    ¡°And we just go into the portal and kill stuff? Wait, that means you¡¯re registered as a gleam then?¡±

    ¡°No, at least not yet and¡­ this portal isn¡¯t registered yet.¡±

    ¡°ILLEGAL RAIDING?¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡±

    ¡°What about the loot?¡±

    ¡°ck market.¡±

    ¡°This is so damn wiiiiiiirred. WAIT A MINUTE YOU ARE A COP IS THIS A STING OPERATION?¡±

    ¡°Human Nestra is a cop. Demon Nestra¡­¡±

    Nestra shrugged.

    ¡°She is one hungry girl. And Threshold¡¯s gleams are not exactly tolerant of non-humans.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I mean. Oh. You would be killed on sight. At least by the old guard.¡±

    ¡°Yep.¡±

    ¡°I am part of a secretive criminal conspiracy. Oooooh this is so wired. I wish I could tell someone, but I won¡¯t. Oooh this is so damn wired. Can we go now? Can we go?¡±

    ¡°Get in your training armor. I¡¯ll go grab my sword.¡±

    ¡°Yes. YES! We were only scheduled to raid shit portals at the end of the semester, and even then only under guard. You¡­ you¡¯ll cover my back, right?¡±

    Nestra used <em>momentum </em>to step really close. Helena jumped back with a yelp.

    ¡°WAH!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m actually quite strong. This is a D-ss portal. We¡¯ll be fine.¡±

    ¡°Get that damn sword and let¡¯s goooooooooooo!¡±

    ***

    ¡°Sooo what now?¡±

    ¡°Just like the textbooks say. You just need to push your hands into the portal after coating them with mana.¡±

    ¡°Like that? WHA¡ª

    ***

    Nestra drifted through the hospital portal into a forest. Leaves covered the ground in patterns she didn¡¯t recognize. The trunks were smooth and striped like a zebra¡¯s hide. They were also red. Above her, a bluish sun castte afternoon rays that provided little heat while Helena finished copsing from the entrance portal.

    ¡°¡ªAHT. Oh. Huh, it was easier than I expected.¡±

    ¡°Might be the void element. Hss.¡±

    They stood in a clearing. The ground rose and fell in tiny mounds and deep recesses and the air smelled of mud and rotten leaves, altogether not unpleasant at all. The distant din of battle surrounded them on all sides though Nestra wasn¡¯t too concerned. It had a distant, fake quality she couldn¡¯t quite ce. It was more a setting than a reality. That told her what sort of portal this would be.

    Helena stood up, She looked a little ridiculous in her training gear since it was so bulky, but it would definitely help. Her axe sucked since it was a dull weapon but she knew how to coat and it was all she needed with void mana. And it was still arge piece of metal swung by a gleam so¡­ not exactly harmless. And Nestra was here.

    ¡°A portal world! I¡¯m inside a portal world! What do we do now, explore?¡±

    ¡°No. Battle.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    Nestra pointed. A short humanoid creature emerged from the treeline, d in a gambeson with pieces of shiny metal strapped here and there. He looked surprisingly humanoid but his features were much more feral, his skin drawn, and the hair on top of his head was dark and thick like a horse¡¯s mane. He growled when he saw them, then picked a mace hanging by his side and charged. A dozen warriors followed quickly after him. Only their hair color and weapon truly differed, though the first had by far the most protection.

    ¡°Battle,¡± Nestra said. ¡°You take the leader.¡±

    ¡°YAAAAAAAH!¡±

    Nestra had been worried her sister might hesitate but the girl was meeting her foe head on with her axe held high. It was weird watching her be so fearless. She really trusted Nestra.

    Speaking of.

    Nestra used <em>momentum</em> to move to the first of two archers, dispatching him with a single punch. They were D-ss. She was almost a step above. She was also twice their size and monstrously stronger. There was no context and yet, when his skull crumpled, she still felt her mind grow slightly faster.

    She took out the next archer in the same breath. Helena made contact with the squad leader. She didn¡¯t coat, but her strength was alone to push him back. Her follow up was slightly too slow tond a solid blow, Nestra judged. The demon rushed to a spear wielder trying to nk Helena. A kick crushed his spine. She slew a sword fighter with a void de an instantter.

    The barrier between worlds shivered. Nestra tensed, knowing what it meant. She grabbed a shield bearer before crushing his vertebrae. Helena fell back when another spear fighter threatened her nk. Solid battle instinct. Not bad, but though the warriors were little danger¡­

    Sashimi swam into this world.

    ¡°Sashimi if you touch a hair off her head, I swear to¡­ to¡­¡±

    But the shark just hovered above them. Their dark gaze met Nestra¡¯s own and in them, she felt a sort of baffled condescension, along with a feeling words could only express one way.

    <em>Cub.</em>

    That was it. Sashimi would not attack Helena because Helena was a cub.

    ¡°You leave her alone but you attacked me? What?¡±

    Nestra used momentum to appear in the middle of the surviving fighters before they could surround Helena. Her strikes were precise and, to be frank, there wasn¡¯t much challenge here. It would be a little boring without Helena. Maybe she could fight without any mana at all? No, that was hubris talking. When Helena was here, Nestra would take no risks.

    <em>Rival.</em>

    <em>Not cub.</em>

    ¡°REALLY?¡±

    Her sister did a nifty maneuver and managed to strike the enemy across the chest. It didn¡¯t break through the armor there but the blow was enough to send the leader on his back. Before he could recover, Helena stepped forward to bring her axe down. The de erupted with a dark corona. Her void was a wild thing, hard to control yet oh so destructive.

    The de cleaved through an arm, the chest, and the loam below. A little bit of blood sprayed the armor.

    Helena stepped back. She pressed her hand to her torso, then found her fingers sticky with her victim¡¯s fluids. She took a deep, shuddering breath.

    ¡°Wow. Feels different when they¡¯re humanoid. Wait, what is that thing? A pet? You have a pet shark?¡±

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t call Sashimi a pet, per se.¡±

    ¡°Can I touch it?¡±

    The traitorous shark bumped Helena with their snout. Then stole her victim¡¯s severed arm beforezily floating away.

    ¡°It¡¯s so glorious and buoyant!¡± Helena dered.

    The damn emergency seafood banquet went for one of the dead spearmen.

    Nestra was livid.

    It was so unfair.

    ***

 (20)

    (20)

    Nestra watched while Helena engaged in the time-honored tradition of divesting the dead of their belongings. Sadly, this was a rtively benign D-ss world and the pickings seemed slim indeed.

    That was a first world problem, to be fair. Primitive societies would love to recover the high purity metal contained in the fallen warriors¡¯ weapons and armor. In Threshold, they would be absolutely useless. The city mined its own minerals in special enves, recurring portals, and it recycled a lot as well. Nevertheless, Helena was consciously piling all the shinies in a single pile.

    She finally hit something valuable.

    ¡°Gold!¡± she eximed.

    The leader had a single, tiny bar of the precious metal engraved with a really stylistic depiction of a bird. Or maybe it was a really ugly leaf. Nestra couldn¡¯t tell.

    ¡°Yes! Gold. It¡¯s worth something, right?¡± Helena asked.

    ¡°Enchanters use it a lot, and gold found in portals often have some properties so¡­ this is probably worth a couple hundred creds. The bar is just very small and the purity doesn¡¯t seem very high. You can give it to me and I¡¯ll sell it on the ck market. Return the cash.¡±

    ¡°No, I want to keep it. This is my first portal world. I¡¯m clearing it with you, my sister, the gray demon, and that¡¯s the most wired thing ever. Yeah, I¡¯ll keep it as a souvenir. First trophy yay! I won¡¯t get in trouble, right?¡±

    ¡°Just hide it from mom and dad. You¡­ can do that, right?¡±¡°Yeah, obviously? They¡¯re afraid to step into my room.¡±

    ¡°Yeah because it¡¯s a disgusting pigsty.¡±

    ¡°I cleaned it! I cleaned it!¡±

    ¡°Did you discover a new species of fungus maybe? Name it after yourself?¡±

    ¡°Har har. Hmm so, what now? Is this a fae world?¡±

    Nestra looked around, The distant sounds of battle were still present, though she wasn¡¯t too worried. This was a rathermon portal type.

    ¡°Looks like a faerie conflict world, yeah. It will feel like we¡¯re at the edge of a battlefield. We¡¯lle across patrols and scouts, or rather, they¡¯lle across us.¡±

    ¡°Are they really faeries, you think?¡±

    ¡°Nope. I think the first raiders just picked the name because the fighters were short individuals with exaggerated features. And also, super cruel.¡±

    ¡°Your low-pitched voice is kinda rxing. Can you keep it in human form?¡±

    ¡°Focus, Helena!¡±

    ¡°Sorry sorry sorry.¡±

    ¡°Anyway, D-ss worlds don¡¯t have royals. Those are much, much stronger than their foot soldiers. You must still pay attention to their war beasts. And watch your footing.¡±

    ¡°So¡­ we¡¯re going?¡±

    ¡°Yep.¡±

    ¡°No battle formation?¡±

    Nestra crossed her arms.

    ¡°What formation? This is a void raid. You stand alone. I am only covering your back because it is the first time.¡±

    ¡°Okay! What about¡­ them?¡±

    She pointed at the menacing shadow of the void shark swimming through the air above like a sleek missile of smug voracity. And also duplicity. And also food theft.

    ¡°Dunno. Sashimi is absolutely useless, in my experience.¡±

    She frowned at the shark, just to make sure they got the intent. Perhaps they did since they flicked their tail in a way that felt very much like a ¡®fuck you¡¯.

    ¡°Ok! Rely on myself. Got it. But hmmm. if there are plenty of enemies just likest time¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll help you if you don¡¯t stand a chance.¡±

    ¡°Works for me! Riel, this is exciting. The teachers at school don¡¯t really trust me that much because, you know, I always have to hold back. But here I¡¯m free to go all out! Ok! Raid on.¡±

    Helena stepped out carefully, and Nestra followed at a distance with Sashimi providing, errr, overshark. Nestra wasn¡¯t sure what the hell the void creature was up to. Maybe just garbage disposal. It wasn¡¯tpeting with her for the portal guardian, this time.

    Helena followed a small trail forward, barely more than a beast trail snaking its way between the zebra-striped trunks of the crimson forest. The uneven ground meant that sometimes, she lost sight of Helena behind a sharp incline but that was fine. The autumn air and the smell of fallen leaves made the trek pleasant, a contrast to the sounds of battle. Sometimes close, sometimes far, they were punctuated by great screams and the detonations of mighty spells. They still sounded off to Nestra. She almost expected to find tiny audio things cleverly hidden in trees but the sounds came from all around, probably directly generated at the edges of this temporary world. Whatever battle it emted must have been massive and really, really bloody if the screams of the dying were any indication.

    Nestra was the first to hear the two scouts shuffling in position. She approached, ready to help just in case as Helena progressed deeper into the forest. One of the scouts drew on a bow.

    Helena couldn¡¯t see him from where she was. She also couldn¡¯t hear him with her low D-ss ears, and yet, Nestra saw her react. As the arrow flew towards her head, Helena moved to the side and the projectile nged uselessly against the training armor. Another shot pinged against a carefully angled pauldron. When the next arrow flew, Helena was already halfway up the slope with her axe in position. Nestra moved up to make sure she was close enough. She needn¡¯t have worried. Helena caught up with the first scout with decent speed and cut through the bow and the creature in a single void-infused strike. The other scout shot her in the back but once again, Helena moved just in time for the armor to take the blow, instead of her knee. She closed the distance with thest scout in moments using her speed and superior size. The scout screeched as it unsheathed a dagger. It didn¡¯t make any difference.

    Helena was left standing over two gored corpses, unscathed.

    She breathed hard and looked around, making sure she hadn¡¯t missed anybody. Nestra felt a pang of pride at the sight of her sister doing well and taking things seriously. A smile bloomed on her lips. She let it.

    ¡°Well done. You have great battle instincts! You could even tell they were there.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know for battle instincts but I knew they were there because¡­¡±

    Helena pointed up. Sashimi was circling its next meal.

    ¡°The shark took off and started hovering over there so I figured¡­¡±

    ¡°Wow. I actually didn¡¯t notice that. You¡¯re damn smart.¡±

    ¡°You didn¡¯t notice therge floating shark?¡±

    ¡°I try to ignore Sashimi so I¡¯m not tempted to chase it and bite it again. I currently hold a grudge.¡±

    ¡°Oh by the way, do you know if they¡¯re a he or a she?¡±

    ¡°I, uh, I don¡¯t know about void shark anatomy.¡±

    ¡°Is it like normal shark anatomy?¡±

    ¡°Define normal? Actually, nevermind I can ask someone I know.¡±

    ¡°Woooooh is it another Gray Demon?¡±

    Curse her for being sharp.

    ¡°I can¡¯t say. It¡¯s confidential.¡±

    ¡°Oooh ok I won¡¯t pry. So. Loot?¡±

    ¡°Yep. Your kill, your loot.¡±

    ¡°So you don¡¯t object if I give the bodies to Sashimi?¡±

    ¡°Sashimi¡¯s going to get fat.¡±

    ¡°But that would be so cute!¡±

    Hmmm.

    Nestra considered the question.

    Could a fattened shark be even more delicious?

    No harm in finding out.

    ***

    Helena followed the void shark to two more patrols, then disposed of them with a merciless efficiency Nestra had never expected from her bubbly sister. They grow up so fast etc. Or maybe it was that teenagers tended to be psychopathic little assholes and this was just normal. In any case, the shark swept down to kill one of the scouts that had climbed up one of the trees, possibly because Helena had not brought ranged weaponry and the shark, somehow, recognized that. They didn¡¯t find more gold but they did find obsidian shards and other trinkets that could be broken down and used in low-tier enchantments. It wasn¡¯t too bad a haul.

    ¡°I¡¯ll keep those as well. Truth is, I¡¯m minoring in enchantments and I was thinking, maybe I can turn those into basic defensive tools. Like a bounce-back or something. Diversify a bit since void is not exactly versatile for me. Is that ok?¡±

    ¡°Yes, those are yours. You can do with them what you wish,¡± Nestra said.

    It was obvious to her, to the point she felt weird about Helena asking. It was the girl¡¯s hunt, her kills. It would be cruel and ridiculous of Nestra to tell the young hunter what to do with her first prizes.

    Helena continued along the trail rather proud of herself and still vignt if the careful walk was any indication. She didn¡¯t seem to suffer from too much hubris, but there was a savagery in the way she fought that Nestra wasn¡¯t sure was the normal human standard. Her technique was also more straightforward than Nestra¡¯s. Much more direct. She relied on her strength and the dangerous coating much more, assuming the enemy would never ignore it and¡­ it was correct. So far. It was still very different from Nestra¡¯s own vicious disruptive technique.

    Nestra paused when the trail passed by a strangely even patch of sand in the middle of a clearing. Contrary to the rest of the forest, the open ground had little vegetation. The sounds of battle were also dull around here.

    This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

    Helena took a step forward, a little curious. Sashimi hovered above her.

    Nothing happened. Helena took another careful step.

    Something erupted from the center of the clearing. Nestra and Sashimi exploded into motion, Nestra grabbing Helena back while Sashimi dove, taking a bite out of a hurricane of ws and chitin. Twin mandibles snapped shut a meter away from Helena¡¯s face and even then, the whip-like crack sent shivers along even Nestra¡¯s spine. Gritty gravel flew through the air along with teal blood and then, everything returned to normal. Mostly.

    In the center of the clearing, the sand bubbled. A spray of blue ichor traced an uneven line across the area. In Nestra¡¯s arms, Helena struggled. She climbed back to her feet and brushed off her armor with shaky hands.

    ¡°Hoooly shit what was that?¡±

    ¡°Bobbit worm, hmmm.¡±

    She checked her visor and the database there.

    ¡°Eunice Manaphorditois. A reallyrge specimen. Hm! Should we hunt it?¡±

    ¡°Hell no.¡±

    Ah, truly not a Gray Demon then, Maybe for the best. Helena was still young and inexperienced. She needed to be careful.

    ¡°Ok, that¡¯s a great answer actually. You don¡¯t really have the tools to safely defeat that threat on your own. Anyway! I¡¯m going to kill it.¡±

    ¡°Why? Are you sure?¡±

    ¡°The shell¡¯s apparently valuable and since it¡¯s so big, probably even more so. It can either be used in light armor or as magical dye ording to my file. Also¡­ it¡¯s edible. And delicious.¡±

    ¡°You¡­ are going to eat that stuff? Really?¡±

    ¡°Hey, think of it as, errr.¡±

    Nestra considered her options.

    ¡°Land crustacean.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a fucking insect.¡±

    ¡°No it¡¯s not. It has more than six limbs. It¡¯s probably an arthropod.¡±

    ¡°You are bringing semantics into gastronomy?¡±

    ¡°Look, you don¡¯t have to touch it.¡±

    ¡°Maybe kill it first and then you can talk,¡± Helena said defiantly.

    Nestra shrugged. Before she could do anything, Sashimi dove and pped the ground with its tail. The bobbit worm rushed out once more, again finding only air as the shark mockingly swam away. Nestra was off before the worm even snapped its jaw shut. It perceived her but toote. Its segmented body ponderously swept to the side, hoping to crush Nestra with weight alone but it was futile. She deftly stepped on its back and stabbed down with a void w, severing the central nerve. The beast shivered as it fell.

    Nestra felt her bones grow slightly harder. She moved her shoulders a bit to get used to the sensation. Resistances were both rare and very nice.

    ¡°Wah,¡± Helena eximed while the dust settled.

    <em>Share.</em>

    Nestra grumbled but the shark had done half of the job so she didn¡¯t have the moral high ground. It was a matter of minutes to cut the worm apart, piling the shell and mandibles on one side forter sales. Sashimi refused to eat unless Nestra threw the pieces of meat so the shark could snap them mid-air. The process annoyed Nestra to no end. Did the spare seafood banquet want to eat or not? What was its deal alway? She grumbled as she packed the bobbit tail meat into her backpack since it was the best part. Well, second best part after the brainstem but she let Sashimi have it.

    ¡°What now? Also, ew.¡±

    ¡°You didn¡¯t have to touch anything and I didn¡¯t pierce their entrails so you have no right toin. Ok, so we must be getting close to the guardian. I will handle the followers while you focus on them. ording to my database, they should be a scout leader.¡±

    ¡°Oh! I know that, it was even in one of my exams. Enchanted weapons and good technique. I got it.¡±

    It suddenly urred to Nestra that Helena was attending a school she had personally dropped out of, so technically, Helena was a better trained and more knowledgeable raider than she was.

    ¡°Huh. Ok then. Onest thing because you may have forgotten. Remember that in a portal world, the local fauna is as dangerous as the main foes.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I know. Sorry about that. I just don¡¯t think that species is verymon. I¡¯ll be more careful!¡±

    ¡°You are doing really well. Ok, let¡¯s go.¡±

    Once again, Helena took point. The sounds of battle increased again to the point it sounded like the pair was heading straight towards it, even though it was probably long over in whatever world it had taken ce in. They spotted a clearing very soon and a sound of rm came from a scout standing at the edge of the trees. Helena didn¡¯t seem disappointed. It was almost impossible for D-ss raiders to take the fae scouts by surprise anyway. Despite their typical monster aggression, which tended to make them more reckless, ¡®fae¡¯ warriors remained on average much more skillful than humans who had to rely on their massive physical advantages to triumph. Nestra kept that in mind as she pushed ahead of Helena to engage them.

    She burst out of the clearing and used <em>momentum </em>in the same instant, taking her surroundings mid-step. This was a camp, less fortified than camouged though there were a few earthworks designed to stop mounts. A tall tree stood at the top of a small hill and arge tent hid under its boughs. Warriors stood in a loose formation around a spear-wielding captain with hound-like creatures baying at her, though they looked more like trackers than war beasts.

    Arrows whistled behind her. She repositioned.

    The leader and obvious guardian was only slightly taller than his subordinates but there was a difference in his features that gave her pause. They were refined and smooth where the others were beastial. Almond eyes, muchrger than those of a human, followed her mid teleport. The being also wore an borate and elegant leather armor that shimmered with all the colors of the rainbow. His hair fell down his back in an elegant silvery waterfall. For all his grace, there was something deeply disturbing in the blood dripping down his mouth. He was chewing on something and she wagered it wasn¡¯t chicken.

    The noble ordered his soldiers forward in a sybint tongue but Nestra was already in their midst. She tore through their ranks easily since they had preferred to give each other a wide berth. It was almost too easy. Her boredom pushed her to take special care in dodging the arrows rather than letting her thick skin block them. That was decent training at least, and the motivation helped her keep motivated.

    Sashimi fell on the archers hiding among the branches above her. She killed but kept her attention on the noble, who ordered his men to close ranks around him while the hounds were left to fend for themselves. Those were still D-rank monsters, all of them. They stood no chance against her, so Nestra merely disposed of them as efficiently as possible while still doing her best to dodge the arrows. And there was the power from the kills, even now pushing against her core though the boost felt rather inefficient.

    Helena cut down two spearmen blocking her way, using her strength and non infused attacks. The fae tried to deflect her strikes but there was just a lot of power behind each one and they fell, overwhelmed before they could bring their techniques to bear. The captain gave Nestra onest furious nce before charging down the slope towards the roaring axe girl challenging him. Nestra used the opportunity to finish her sweep, all the while following the duel as it progressed.

    The noble fae deflected Helena¡¯s first assault with a flick of his spear. He was obviously proficient at fighting against a superior opponent but Helena was expecting it. Her strikes were precise enough to make every parry difficult. Nestra saw the pained fury on the captain¡¯s twisted features every time an attack made his lithe arms shudder. Helena wasn¡¯t using coating yet. She was saving mana for a finishing blow.

    The result was that Helena¡¯s training axe was getting damaged. With every deflection, the fae¡¯s enchanted spear bit more into the axe¡¯s de. Helena didn¡¯t care or maybe she didn¡¯t notice. Nestra believed the girl had a n, and her patience was rewarded. With a savage blow, the noble managed to cut a piece off of Helena¡¯s axe.

    Helena didn¡¯t stop. She flipped the axe and bashed the surprised noble with the haft, sending him crashing backward. She was on him in an instant. Her axe went up, then down, engulfed in void energy.

    This was where the fae superiority shone. The noble dropped his spear and surged forward, blocking the blow with a vambrace. In the same, smooth movement, he managed to lodge the enchanted piece of armor exactly where Helena¡¯s axe showed damage. Gossamer energy fought against the fizzling void and still lost. Blood, crimson and vibrant, sprayed from the wound but the noble had gained breathing room. His hand went for a sheath hidden near his waist.

    Nestra used <em>momentum </em>to jump forward just as Sashimi dove but she got there first. She managed to grab the noble¡¯s hand before the enchanted dagger could burrow itself in her sister¡¯s guts.

    Then, Nestra hesitated.

    And she let the arm go.

    The enchanted de dug into Helena¡¯s nk, now with much less momentum. It pierced the training armor like butter and when Helena moved back, blood dripped from the gash. Her sister roared and struck again, then again. The noble had gambled everything on the maneuver and failed to take her down. Helena gave him no chance to get the initiative back. She smashed through the chestte on the third strike, and cleaved the head on the fourth.

    The noble was dead. Nestra felt no energy but that was fine. She was just d that Helena had triumphed, sweaty, breathing hard and obviously mana-starved but victorious nheless.

    The noble¡¯s corpse was absolutely mangled though. Really, Helena was not afraid of getting her hands dirty.

    ¡°Wooooh that wasn¡¯t easy. Wow! I got him good though, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes, and I am very impressed by the way you didn¡¯t panic when you got wounded. Many people would flinch and hesitate, but you¡ª¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m wounded?¡± Helena asked, face an expression of panicked bafflement.

    ¡°Hm.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m wounded? Where? Aaaaah I¡¯m bleeding! Well, it doesn¡¯t look so bad.¡±

    Helena put a finger in the gash of her armor, pulling it wet with her blood. She smudged it a bit on her glove.

    ¡°Huh. Ow. Owowowow. Ok, ok, I feel it now. It¡¯s not bad though, right?¡±

    ¡°Nope, and we have potions.¡±

    ¡°Oh good.¡±

    She stood up, a bit hesitantly. She breathed deep a couple of times, then winced. The exit portal opened inside of the tent.

    ¡°So, we can go now?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you want to loot first? Actually, don¡¯t you want to drink a potion first?¡±

    ¡°This is nothing. I got worse in training.¡±

    The sentence bounced around Nestra¡¯s brain three times before it suddenly clicked.

    ¡°What do you mean, you got worse in training?¡±

    Helena blushed, caught.

    ¡°Helena?¡±

    ¡°Oh, you know, sparring can get a little rough.¡±

    Nestra knew very well that it didn¡¯t. Schools were very specific about keeping their students healthy if only because healing liquids were rather expensive and in limited supply, not to mention wounded students had to stop training for a little while. It was a big fat lie.

    ¡°Helena.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to talk about it, ok? I just want to raid in peace. With you.¡±

    Nestra wanted to push a bit. Was Helena being bullied? Maybe? Her sister¡¯s mulish expression told her the girl had mmed up tight and it would be of no use to pressure her now.

    ¡°Sure, ok. Here, drink this. And you can talk to me whenever.¡±

    ¡°Thanks. And it¡¯s nothing too bad, just kid rivalries. I¡¯m fine.¡±

    Helena tried her best to sound dismissive but Nestra wasn¡¯t fooled. Her reaction was too intense for it not to be bothering her. It still wouldn¡¯t help to pressure her right now. Helena was already a boiling pot of emotions right now.

    ¡°Ok.¡±

    ¡°I am! Really!¡± Helena exploded.

    And here it was, Nestra thought. Her sister calmed down and took a deep breath immediately after, however. That therapist must have taught her how to do that. It was rather impressive.

    ¡°Sorry. Anyway, it was really fun. Damn, those potions taste like ass.¡±

    ¡°Defective batch. They were supposed to taste like mint.¡±

    ¡°Like mint? Damn I¡¯m happy they taste like ass instead. Anyway, go back?¡±

    ¡°Loot first.¡±

    ¡°Oh yessss!¡±

    In the end, the harvest proved surprisingly good, including some special fruits and fae military rations humans could eat. The fruits were already cultivated and sold by the Baihua corp thanks to looted seeds, but those bastards charged an arm for a small basket so it was a good haul anyway. The spear was a minor artefact Helena intended to sell for a better, secret axe.

    ¡°Won¡¯t you get in trouble for damaging the equipment?¡± Nestra asked.

    ¡°You mean like I already destroyed seven axes fucking up the coating? I¡¯ll be fine. I¡¯ll just fix the armor myself. Oh, can we do anything with the fae armor? It¡¯s enchanted.¡±

    The multicolored piece of armor was an artefact, though it was extremely weak. It would fit a child if the kid was awakened and someone wanted to do a ¡®bring your kid to work¡¯ day in a portal world and they repaired the massive damage first. Nestra told Helena as much.

    ¡°In other words, it¡¯s fucking useless, yea?¡±

    ¡°We can always sell it for research. Or to a collector. I guess. Or I could take it off your hands because I have a use for it.¡±

    ¡°What kind of use? A little too small for cosy, no?¡±

    ¡°My err, it¡¯s hard to exin but I¡¯ll try. You see my body suit?¡±

    ¡°You mean the skin suit that leaves your feet bare and sticks to your tits a bit indecently?¡±

    ¡°Oh I¡¯m sorry for not being a paragon of fashionable modesty while I wade knees deep in monster guts. Anyway, yes, that, it¡¯s actually a symbiote. It eats armor to grow.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re shitting me.¡±

    ¡°And it drinks some blood as well.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re either fucking with me or this is like the most wired thing ever. Show me.¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡±

    Nestra grabbed the mangle piece, feeling her Skin shift and hunger like a waking snake. She brought it to her chest.

    Darkness.

    Ripples in the fabric of space. A hell of inward-facing teeth, extending to infinity. A tongue that peeled the soul, eyes like apertures into insanity. veringoids shoved through the eye of a needle. Cracks where a thousand maws closed. A sigh of contentment like thunder in a tiny bowl.

    Reality reasserted itself.

    Something burped.

    The Skin extended to wrap around the arches of Nestra¡¯s feet, leaving the toes and heel bare.

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s progress.¡±

    ¡°What the FUCK?¡±

    ¡°Wired?¡±

    ¡°Ooooh wow. What a day.¡±

    ¡°Go back and have a pic?¡±

    ¡°Sure. Do you have booze?¡±

    ¡°How old are you again?¡±

    ¡°I think I just saw space shit itself.¡±

    ¡°But not time so you¡¯re still underage.¡±

    ¡°Riel dammit.¡±

    ***

    The beat officer walked into the empty hospital, lured in by the salivating smell. Something was wrong. There should be no one in here, and in Threshold, unusual smells could be the only hints one would get before a hidden portal breached. It was probably hobos grilling sausages over a barrel fire but¡­ better be sure. And besides, it smelled too good to be secret meat.

    She called it in and took out her service weapon, just in case. If it was hobos, they would be a little scared. If it was a break, she could unload it into a dokkaebi and run.

    If it was a D-ss monster, the city would be safer for her sacrifice.

    She gulped with some difficulty. Her steps carried her through an underground parking lot. Shadows crawled around her. Any moment now, ws would close around her neck. She felt much better when the ground rose towards a small, half-dry garden.

    The smell came from a fire and she spotted its smoke in the inner courtyard. There was the top of a human head there as well, with blonde hair and a jacket.

    A human.

    The officer breathed a sigh of relief, then she stopped, unsure what to do with the scene.

    A merry fire roared in the empty clearing, and two women sat around it. A blonde one with gray eyes thered chili oil over chunks of juicy pale meat which she thenid on a grill while a younger, dark-haired girl chewed on a vibrantly green fruit.

    It was the most bizarre sight she¡¯d ever seen.

    The two were obviously rted. Also, the younger one was a gleam. She hadn¡¯t noticed at first because her eyes were so dark but the shine was there. They were eating here of all ces? The amount of food piled to the side showed they had enough to feed a dozen people.

    ¡°What are you doing here?¡± she asked.

    ¡°Eating.¡±

    ¡°Cooking.¡±

    The delivery was matter of fact. The voices, eerily simr. There was nothing humorous about their tones. It was like entering a tiger enclosure and they watched you but didn¡¯t move yet. The younger one felt more rebellious while the older was uncaring, and though she wasn¡¯t a gleam, she somehow felt more dangerous. Too calm.

    ¡°You can¡¯t be here, you¡¯re trespassing.¡±

    ¡°Nope, this is state property and legally the hospital never fully closed so we are, in fact, not trespassing,¡± the blonde calmly replied.

    ¡°This is ridiculous. The hospital is clearly abandoned. I will ask you to leave.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s your fucking problem?¡± the gleam erupted. ¡°We¡¯re not doing anything wrong! Why don¡¯t you¡ª¡±

    ¡°What my sister is trying to say,¡± the non gleam clearly interrupted.

    Sister? Oh, some baseline parents were starting to have gleam kids. Made sense. Maybe they were hiding because of personal issues.

    ¡°Is that we are trying to have a family moment here and we are not bothering anyone. Could you please let us finish? We will clean after ourselves and not bother anyone.¡±

    The gleam smoldered in her corner, vengefully biting on her fruit. She cast the officer a dark re as if daring her to object. The blonde woman was still the very image of detached disinterest.

    Well, it was weird but not worth anything except for a report at the station. Just in case.

    ¡°Can I ask to see some ID? Then I¡¯ll leave you alone.¡±

    ¡°Sure,¡± the blonde woman said, then she gave the officer a genuine police badge.

    ¡°The rat squad? Oh, sorry, didn¡¯t mean to¡ª¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s ok, and I didn¡¯t want to show you before because I didn¡¯t want to pull rank.¡±

    ¡°I see. Well, I¡¯ll leave you to it then. Please don¡¯t litter.¡±

    ¡°I promise. Would you like a skewer?¡±

    ¡°Never during office hours. You take care now.¡±

    The officer turned away, feeling a pair of gazes drilling into her back. She prided herself with her good instinct. Some people even said she was an intuition quirky, and perhaps they were right. It was still weird how the slightly scarred blonde woman still felt more threatening than the dark-eyed gleam girl. Probably because she was a cop. Yeah, that was it.

    The officer cast onest nce back. She could swear the rat squad woman must have felt her gaze, because she looked up from the skewers and her iris were gray, not gunmetal, more like a total absence of color. For a moment, she could almost see something else.

    Then the impression was gone.

    Nah, it was probably the fact she was a cop. May have seen some action. That was it.

 A Tale of Nice Tails (featuring a returning character)

    A Tale of Nice Tails (featuring a returning character)

    Yuren Jie stood before the temple¡¯s gates with a heart full of pride.

    At longst, he had made it to the top of Beast Mountain. The great jade gates of the entrance stood with the majesty of the heavens themselves. A great stairway of stone awaited him beyond it, alongside great buildings as old as time itself.

    This. This was where Yuren wouldplete his formation and ascend to greatness.

    Yuren Jie wasn¡¯t special among would-be cultivators. He was simply young, handsome, incredibly talented, phenomenally lucky¨Chard work was for those who weren¡¯t born winners, after all¨Cand most importantly of all, about as modest as a peacock on a strut. He was a ma for beautiful women, though of course, he remained above the influence. Girls led to romance, romance led drama, and drama led to <em>work</em>.

    And real work was beneath Yuren, like the earth crawled beneath the sky.

    No other sect was worthy of being graced with his immense talent. The Golden Order Sect had produced the greatest and most powerful cultivators in all of the Thousand Story Realms. He would soon put them all to shame.

    And so, it was with great pride that he stepped inside the temple. He immediately sensed a warm power flow over him like water on a smooth rock; an energy filling his body with serenity and energy. It was as if all his exhaustion and doubts vanished in an instant.

    He found himself entering a courtyard of well-tended grass and lotus flower ponds. A haven of peace¡­ were it not for its upants.

    A bunch of disheveled men crawled on the ground with the grace of maggots. ¡°She just won¡¯t stop firing at us¡­¡± a man rasped, his clothes full of holes and his eyes beset with fear. ¡°Every day¡­¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t¡­¡± Another replied, while clearly in a fugue state of some kind. ¡°Get back here, minion¡­ get back here¡­¡±

    <em>Losers,</em> Yuren thought. He knew cultivation wasn¡¯t for everyone. Few possessed the willpower to im their rightful ce at the world¡¯s apex. He didn¡¯t look down on these failures, not really. They were just beneath his notice.

    Thankfully, Yuren soon noticed an elder meditating near a pond; a great and powerful cultivator with a long white beard, in silk robes, and wizened skin. The man turned his head at Yuren with eyes full of wisdom.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± he asked, his words carrying the weight of a mountain.

    ¡°I am Yuren Jie, aspiring master under the heavens,¡± Yuren introduced himself. ¡°I havee to join the Golden Order Sect, greatest in the Thousand Story Realms.¡±

    ¡°You are in the wrong ce,¡± the sage replied before returning to his meditation. ¡°Get lost.¡±

    The casual, sudden dismissal filled Yuren¡¯s heart with anger and iprehension. ¡°Isn¡¯t this Beast Mountain?¡± he protested in disbelief. ¡°Then you should be in the Golden Order Sect!¡±

    ¡°No, we are the Golden <em>Hoarder </em>Sect now. With an H and an A. We used to be the Golden Order, but Dragon Sifu-Sensei insisted on the name change.¡± The sage shuddered. ¡°Arguing with Dragon Sifu-Sensei leads us further away from enlightenment and closer to ignorance, so we epted his wisdom with pain and humility.¡±

    ¡°Your sect¡¯s name does not matter to me, only its power,¡± Yuren dered. How dare that old geezer not recognize his limitless potential? ¡°I have toe to train and take my rightful ce among the Immortals.¡±

    ¡°To join our Sect is to experience great suffering,¡± the elder replied without looking at Yuren. ¡°You know not what one must endure to ascend.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not afraid of anything, old man,¡± Yuren insisted. ¡°I will pass any test I must.¡±

    This time, the elder deigned to look at him again. But his eyes¡­ His eyes were devoid of anger and pride. Instead they radiatedpassion. A deep sense of pity, the kind one reserved to cancer patients or the most miserable of all creatures.

    It took Yurenpletely aback. ¡°W-why do you look at me with such pitiful eyes?¡±

    The elder shook his head with a deep sigh and a quiet look of resignation. He rose to his feet and then agreed to Yuren¡¯s request. ¡°Very well,¡± he said. ¡°Dragon Sifu-Sensei will see to your initiation and put you through the Test of the Mind.¡±

    A dragon? So the rumors were true, the Golden Ord¨CHoarder Sect included a true dragon among its elders.

    Yuren nodded sharply, and then followed the elder deeper into the temple. The noise of explosionsing from nearby courtyards rocked the structure, but Yuren paid more attention to the strange energy pervading the air. Was that a spell of some kind?

    ¡°You are now under the influence of Fairy ine¡¯s healing power,¡± the Elder exined upon noticing his curiosity. ¡°It shall heal your wounds, even the searing mes of Dragon Sifu-Sensei¡¯s divine breath.¡±

    Yuren had been begging to ask something. ¡°Sifu-Sensei? Aren¡¯t they the same thing?¡±

    ¡°You are not to question Dragon Sifu-Sensei¡¯s logic,¡± the elder replied with the wisdom of the eon-old turtle. ¡°You will hurt yourself and your wounded spirit will crawl away from enlightenment.¡±

    ¡°You didn¡¯t answer my question.¡±

    ¡°There is no answer, only eptance.¡±

    That made no sense, but Yuren didn¡¯t have time to wonder for long. The elder soon led him down great stairs wide enough for an army to climb and before great closed gates of gold dug into the very heart of the mountain. It would take two giants to open them.

    ¡°Dragon Sifu-Sensei awaits beyond these doors,¡± said the elder. ¡°I must warn you that only the strongest of will can endure what awaits you.¡±

    ¡°Then I¡¯m overqualified,¡± Yuren replied.

    Once again, the elder sent him a gaze full of pity andpassion.

    It started to wear on Yuren¡¯s nerves. ¡°Are you looking down on me, old man?¡±

    The elder shook his head. With no more time to waste on this senile old fool, Yuren approached the golden doors and waited for them to open. They didn¡¯t. He stood in ce for five minutes, waiting for the gates to bow before his majesty, before noticing a smaller backdoor dug into the stone. He grumbled as he walked through it.

    What awaited him on the other side nearly left him blinded.

    Never before had he seen such a wealth of treasures gathered in a single ce. A vaultrger than an entire town stretched far and wide before his eyes. An ocean of gold glittering like the sun filled each and every corner under the weight of marble pirs.

    And atop its greatest hill stood a <em>dragon</em>.

    A great and mighty beast with crimson ruby scales, jet ck wings, and ws longer and sharper than any spear. The beast¡¯s fangs alone matched all of Yuren in length. The creature raised its immense and wise head upon sensing his approach, then looked at his visitor with eyes of shining gold.

    Yuren immediately realized that something was wrong.

    This looked like a dragon, felt like a dragon, but it wasn¡¯t a Long. It had no fur, no deer horns, no mustache. Was it a rare form Yuren had never heard of?

    ¡°Who dares interrupt my slumber?¡± asked the dragon, his voice stronger than a thunderstorm, his words heavy with the force of a hurricane.

    ¡°I do, oh great dragon sifu-sensei,¡± Yuren replied upon bending the knee. ¡°I am¨C¡±

    ¡°Insignifiant!¡± the dragon interrupted him with a grunt. ¡°Call me Dragon Sifu-Sensei, if you wish to live.¡±

    ¡°I¡­¡± Yuren frowned in utter confusion. Had he offended the dragon somehow? ¡°I just did.¡±

    ¡°You will call me Dragon Sifu-Sensei, capitalized. I can tell the difference.¡± The great dragon narrowed his eyes at Yuren, his tail sending waves of coins falling down his throne of treasures. ¡°Are you a thief? I hope so. I haven¡¯t had breakfast yet.¡±

    ¡°Far from it, Dragon Sifu-Sensei.¡± How did he¡­ The letters felt right, but he couldn¡¯t exin why. ¡°I havee to study with the Golden Hoarder Sect.¡±

    ¡°Ah, excellent.¡± The dragon suddenly sounded pleased. He raised his mighty head and swaggered, his chest full of pride. ¡°Then know that I, Vainqueur Knightsbane, First under the Heavens, Great Buddha of this Age, Master of the Golden Hoarder Path, and King of Beast Mountain, shall dly ept your fee!¡±

    Yuren squinted in confusion. ¡°The fee?¡±

    The dragon¡¯s happy mood suddenly deted. Yuren felt his blood run cold as the immense beast looked at him with unbearable suspicions.

    ¡°Your entrance fee,¡± the great dragon asked, smokeing out of his nostrils.

    Yuren had the impression of standing on thin ice. Or in this case, kneeling in front of a veryrge beast with a gullet of swirling fire.

    ¡°F-For the sect?¡± For the first time in his short life, Yuren found himself suddenly beset with dread. ¡°There is an entrance fee?¡±

    ¡°Of course there is one! Do you think this ce is a home for homeless cultivators?¡± The dragon rubbed his ws together. ¡°You must pay the low, low price of ten thousand gold to join my sect.¡±

    The price was so outrageous that Yuren forgot to be afraid. ¡°Ten <em>thousand</em>? You can buy half a kingdom with that!¡±

    ¡°I do not like your tone, miserly poor disciple.¡± The dragon snorted fumes and raised his head so high it nearly hit the ceiling. ¡°Did you expect the secrets of the universe toe cheap? That I, the greatest immortal under the heavens, would teach you the way of the Dragon Dao for free?¡±

    ¡°But¨C¡±

    ¡°I am a dragon,¡± Vainqueur interrupted him sharply. ¡°Your kind named its best techniques after me. Which one sounds better, <em>Immortal Dragon Fist</em> or <em>Puny Ape p</em>?¡±

    Yuren opened his mouth to answer, but what could he say before such irond logic? The weight of his insignificance suddenly dawned upon him when faced with a creaturerge enough to swallow him in one bite.

    ¡°Come to think of it, I should charge you for cultural appropriation too,¡± Vainqueur muttered to himself. ¡°Your species¡¯ debt towards me keeps increasing.¡±

    ¡°I, uh¡­¡± Yuren gulped. The realization of his own poverty suffocated him. ¡°I do not have¡­ ten thousand gold¡­¡±

    The dragon looked at him as if were lesser than a cockroach. It reminded Yuren of how he used to look on others, but magnified ten thousand times over. Like a noble king ring at a pile of horse shit waiting to be squashed.

    ¡°Are these clothes all that you have?¡± he asked with a dangerous edge to his voice.

    Yuren gulped and then nodded.

    ¡°Give me your shirt,¡± the dragon said. ¡°Give it to me. Give it to me now.¡±

    Yuren was too intimidated, too ashamed, to resist. He threw his shirt at the dragon¡¯s hoard, keeping only his pants.

    ¡°Your debt has decreased to nine-thousand, nine hundred ny-nine thousand gold and nine silver,¡± the dragon dered with ludicrous precision. ¡°To reward your dedication and humility, I shall ept you as an Emergency Food Disciple.¡±

    Yuren didn¡¯t like that title at all. ¡°Why <em>emergency</em>?¡±

    ¡°Because everyone outside the sect is just food,¡± the dragon replied kindly. Yuren wisely didn¡¯t push the subject further. ¡°Emergency Food Disciple is the lowest rank in my Golden Hoarder sect. Then you have Minion Disciple, Minion Master, Princess, <em>Virgin </em>Princess, Catering Gourmet, and then Chief of Staff. And then there is me, Dragon Sifu-Sensei. Do you understand your ce?¡±

    Yuren opened his mouth to argue, when he suddenly noticed piles of ashes in a corner of the vault. Somehow, he had the intuition that they didn¡¯t start out as firewood.

    ¡°I¡­ I do, Dragon Sifu-Sensei.¡±

    ¡°Good,¡± Vainqueur replied. ¡°Henceforth, you shall work for this sect for free until you repay your entrance fee. It should only take you five hundred years or so, factoring in the interests and the first ss lodging amodations.¡±

    ¡°Five hundred years?¡± Yuren choked. ¡°But I won¡¯t live that long!¡±

    The dragon looked at Yuren with condescension. The young disciple suddenly remembered the entire reason why he even came to this ce; and why it suddenly didn¡¯t appear like a good thing anymore.

    ¡°Why do you think,¡± Vainqueur asked, ¡°We dragons taught you humans how to be immortal?¡±

    Yuren¡¯s heart skipped a beat in his chest, his soul suddenly assaulted by the primal terror of the modern man. The ultimate technique which had brought countless aspiring masters low.

    The <em>Student Loan Debt Trap</em>.

    ¡°We taught you immortality so you can work longer hours and make us richer. Time is money, and right now, you are wasting mine.¡± Vainqueur dismissively waved a w at Yuren. ¡°Return rich or not at all.¡±

    Yuren found himself walking back to the exit before he realized what was happening. His mind, his pride, screamed at him to make a stand, but whenever he tried to straighten his spine, it crumbled back under the weight of his defeat.

    ¡°Loafer,¡± he heard the dragonining behind his back. ¡°Another one who lives in his mother¡¯s cave.¡±

    Yuren closed the backdoor behind him, and found the Elder waiting for him.

    He looked surprised to see the disciple alive at all.

    ¡°What just happened?¡± Yuren muttered to himself, his brain scrambled. He tried to find an exnation for this meeting and found none. None of this made sense.

    ¡°Dragon Sifu-Sensei was brought in as a treasurer, to better protect the sect¡¯s funds from thieves,¡± the Elder exined. ¡°Dragon Sifu-Sensei is so good at his job that he keeps the gold safe from us too. He only lends us one-one tenth of what we ask for.¡±

    ¡°One one tenth?¡± Yuren Jie did a quick calction in his head. ¡°Like a tenth of a tenth?¡±

    ¡°Hence why we ask for ten times of what we need each time.¡±

    ¡°But that¡¯s still a tenth!¡± Yuren protested.

    ¡°Dragon Sifu-Sensei is bad at math, but you?¡± The elder looked into his eyes. ¡°You will be worse.¡±

    A terrible pain raced through Yuren¡¯s skull, raw and sharp. Blood dripped down his nose and inside his lips. Then he sensed Fairy ine¡¯s magic healing his head from whatever wound he suffered through.

    ¡°What is this?¡± Yuren asked upon touching his blood. ¡°What is this?¡±

    ¡°You went through a brain aneurysm,¡± the elder exined. ¡°By surviving a meeting with Dragon Sifu-Sensei, you have taken your first step towards enlightenment. Next is the Test of the Body.¡±

    A chill traveled down Yuren¡¯s spine.

    Ascending to the heavens might prove a little harder than expected.

    Yuren Jie walked the many peaks of the Golden Hoarder monastery, wondering what in all realms he had gotten himself into.

    There were many manners of sects under heaven, from righteous to demonic, but none with a foreign dragon extorting new prospects. And that was but the first in a long series of surprises. Elders who ought to be overseeing mortal affairs, nodding gravely over cups of tea, ran around in a frenzy to pursue strange and oundish philosophies.

    ¡°The fist of utilitarianism must be wielded for the happiness of the many, not the great happiness of the one!¡±

    ¡°That is not the nature of a cultivator!¡±

    Masters and disciples wore uniforms in a wide variety of styles and colors. Students fought on the streets, exchanging insults and yet, none of them ever spat blood! It was as if some strange aura prevented them from being hurt internally and externally. In this ce, one could lose nothing but their face. It was baffling. It was chaos.

    The architecture as well defied the imagination. Most pavilions showed the harmony and beauty of the Thousand Story Realms, yet here and there, foreign contraptions ruined the effect like zits on the face of a jade-like beauty.

    The test of the Body was to take ce in the next peak, and when his eyes rested upon its massive nks, Yuren Jie¡¯s stomach dropped. Chimneys belched ck smoke to the skies while the din of metal on metal strained the ears. As he walked across a long bridge, he was joined by other prospective students. He knew they were like him because the men were shirtless, the women sleeveless, and all of them looked as if their birth vige had been burned down by a callous young master they would spend seventy-three chapters tracking down.

    They exchanged confused looks but not much else.

    Their path led them to a wide, open tform facing the maze of steel and heat that could only be the Armory, a great beast that breathed dark smoke and red at them from its myriad of ss windows. Targets and strange, wood tforms filled with stacks of precious ores waited on one side. Racks of training equipment lined the other.

    Now what?

    A man exploded out of one of the windows in a shower of crystalline shards. He mmed into the ground with back-breaking strength beforeing to a rest at the students¡¯ feet, yet once again, he stood unharmed. A feminine voice rang through the air. It was very loud.

    ¡°A shield against arrows must be made ofposite materials! I won¡¯t give two pills about your fancy water enchantment unless it¡¯syered on a properly designed base! Have I taught you nothing?¡±

    The fallen man jumped to his knee, face lit with the revtion of the dao.

    ¡°Thank you for your guidance!¡± he cried, then more quietly, he needled Yuren Jie on.

    ¡°You had bettere in while she is in a good mood, junior brother.¡±

    Yuren Jie was not so sure, yet the presence of the other students meant he could not refuse or he would risk losing face. He had to show he was a dragon among men, but obviously of the proper variety this time.

    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    He opened the gate using the strength of a hundred men. It was a heavy gate.

    Golden morning light shone on a workshop, and on a woman wearing the strangest cultivator robe he had ever seen.

    ¡°HISS!¡±

    She cowered for a second, leaving Yuren Jie certain he was soon to meet his ancestors. Instead, she smoothed that impractical garment of hers.

    ¡°Sorry, habit. Ah, yes, I recognize in you the fish-eyed and shirtless appearance of¡­¡±

    She sniffed the air. Her sky-blue eyes narrowed.

    ¡°Fresh blood. ¡®Tis time again, it seems. Oh well. I will be with you shortly.¡±

    As she turned to one of her assistants, Yuren Jie studied her appearance even more. She was certainly aowai from faraway, with golden hair and that strange¡­ dress¡­ of hers. There was something uncanny about her. Her canines were too sharp. Her fingers ended in ck talons, short yet sharp. Perhaps some beast blood ancestry.

    ¡°The alloy we want is nine part mountain steel and no less than one part vanadium, manganese, and copper. I don¡¯t care if it is not ¡®the way¡¯. If you don¡¯t follow my orders, I will not eat you, I will shove an incandescent bar up your buttocks the size of the average machine-tranted Xianxia novel, and you know it will not kill you. Not here.¡±

    The apprentice bowed.

    The woman returned her attention to them.

    ¡°To the Test of the Body, and then we will give you your uniforms.¡±

    She stepped outside, as did all of the other prospective students in various states of confusion.

    ¡°Right,¡± she said. ¡°Let us clear things up. My name is Fairy Thread Seeker and the first thing that wille out of your filthy impurity pools will be ma¡¯am. Do you silk worms understand that?¡±

    Yuren Jie gasped.

    ¡°WELL?¡±

    ¡°Ma¡¯am, yes,¡± a few students replied with terror.

    ¡°I can¡¯t hear you, sound off like you got a core!¡±

    ¡°Ma¡¯am, yes!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s better. If you disgusting spawn survive my training, if you find your dao, you will be a shining and tasty example of mankind, leading the world forward with an understanding of war, crafts, ethics, and safe forklift operation. But until that day, you are nothing! You are lice crawling on the ass crack of destiny. Frogs at the bottom of the well. You are lower than the dirt. You are not even cultivators. You are amorphous retions of baseless audacity. Because I do not give face, you will not like me, but the more you despise me, the higher you shall soar. I am difficult but fair. There is no discrimination on blood here. I don¡¯t care if you are jade like beauties, body cultivators, toad cultivators, three ravens in a trench coat, or if your ancestor fucked a dragon once. You are all equally pathetic. And my goal is to turn your arrogant mediocrity into the exacting perfection of a Golden Hoarder member.¡±

    The woman waited to see if anyone would object. Yuren Jie could not sense her cultivation, but she had to be at least at the navel-gazing realm to be a Peak Master. As a man gifted with the rare talent ofmon sense, he knew better than to challenge her. By some miracle, none of the students dared protest.

    ¡°No one to perform involuntary qigong this time? Amazing. First thing first then, in order to better understand who you are, you will be allowed to attack me so that I may taste your mettle.¡±

    Someone raised a hand. The woman nodded.

    ¡°Ma¡¯am, do you mean test our mettle?¡±

    ¡°I said what I said. Enough barking at the moon or whatever. Face me, get your uniforms, then your next stop will be the medical pavilion.¡±

    Fear spread across the ranks.

    ¡°No, I will not maim you. You are going there to receive medicine and advice on how to practice safe sects. It is your duty to remain cautious, for the Thousand Story Realms are a dangerous and nonsensical ce ruled by maniacs, as you all well know. What? What¡¯s that look?¡±

    ¡°Ma¡¯am, it¡¯s nothing,¡± a disciple grumbled.

    ¡°I thought as much. Since you cannot school your expression, you¡¯re the first to be schooled. Get up here and show me what you can do.¡±

    The woman appeared on one of the elevated tforms. A flick of her fingers, and the nearby targets disappeared, leaving the space bare.

    ¡°Get on with it.¡±

    Yuren Jie quickly realized that although his skill was supreme, he was not yet peerless. Students faced the woman one after the other and she somehow matched their skill and even style perfectly to push them to their limits without humiliating them. Her guidance left many disciples in awe.

    ¡°How about screaming the name of your technique after you¡¯ve used it? Or even while you cast it, but not, maybe, before?¡±

    ¡°Please do not monologue at me. I am impervious to such low-level sass. Focus on the fight.¡±

    ¡°If you tell me that this pill will unleash your true power, I¡¯m going to try to stop you from eating it, you know?¡±

    Truly extraordinary revtions. After fighting the disciples and giving them advice, the woman would provide them with a matching uniform that would best match their budding dao.

    ¡°You smell of water and metal. This should serve you well.¡±

    She handed one of the disciples a salmon-colored robe embroidered with the image of a mighty fish jumping up a waterfall. It was exquisitely made.

    ¡°Pink? You want me to wear pink?¡±

    ¡°You also smell like my lunch.¡±

    ¡°I am honored by your gift, esteemed elder.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s better.¡±

    And soon, it was Yuren Jie¡¯s turn.

    As a genius that happened only once in a generation among an arbitrarily selected poption number, Yuren Jie wanted to show that he was not to be underestimated, although he often was for some reason. Indeed, he may have been the child of a beautiful seamstress who died of unidentified wasting disease and a mysterious man who left him nothing but a ring bearing the sigil of the ruling bloodline of the phoenix empire, a demonly heavenly manual of techniques that only work with children of the imperial bloodline of the phoenix empire, and also a dagger that could only be wielded by the heir of the phoenix empire, and him for some reason, but he was certain he was destined for greatness. He couldn¡¯t stumble across hidden inheritances every three chapters if fate didn¡¯t recognize in him the seeds of a sage to equal the heavens.

    He prepared his first technique, a forbidden special skill that killed most users after three attempts, except for him because he was just that talented.

    He raised his fist. The rays of the sun gathered in an ethereal dance like fireflies upon ¡ª

    ¡°Another protagonist. Ugh, I hate protagonists,¡± the womanined.

    She extended her hand, then seemed to reconsider.

    ¡°Plot twist!¡± she roared.

    Yuren Jie looked behind him, but there was nothing! Instead, he was punched from the front.

    When Yuren Jie came back to his senses, he was standing at the edge of the tform again.

    ¡°Right, looks like it¡¯s everyone. As I said before, your next step is the medical pavilion, over there.¡±

    She pointed at a distant mountain.

    ¡°And since you are now properly dressed, you might as well get some practice out of it. Remember: there is an aura around here that heals you¡­ which means¡­¡±

    Yuren Jie turned to see the Fairy Thread Seeker wielding a long, metal weapon with a tube at the end.

    ¡°It means that even when I hurt you, you heal. So every minute from now on, I will shoot the slowest runner. Better start running now.¡±

    ***

    Yuren Jie was not hiding, for he was not a coward.

    He had merely... tactically relocated himself to a location where the bloodthirsty mistress of the forge wouldn¡¯t immediately see him. Yes, this was wise. Yuren Jie was certain that arriving at the Golden Hoarder Sect would teach him many lessons, and he was correct.

    For example, he was learning the wisdom of discretion already. He was not so unwise as to not take this lesson to heart.

    The medical pavilion still awaited, but it was atop a peak near the centre of the sect¡¯s great holdings. The other new disciples had taken the straight path, across bridges and over ravines, the mad cackles... polite tittering of the forge mistress behind them.

    Yuren Jie had chosen a less direct path. Perhaps it would be somewhat slower, but only if he didn¡¯t move with great crity.

    So he moved quickly... from statue to statue and fromrge stone torge stone, constantly on the lookout for a bloody, hungry smile from the shadows. He froze when he saw motion, but it was just a small cat who stared at him with about as much passion as one could expect from a cat. It seemed to sneer before sauntering off. He wondered if even the wildlife here was... peculiar.

    After some distance was made, he felt a weight lift from his shoulders. it seemed as though he would make it in due time with no great risk to himself. This, too, was wisdom. Truly this sect was the greatest if it could impart such wisdom so easily and clearly.

    ¡°Why¡¯re you sneaking around?¡±

    Yuren Jie started and spun to find... no one. He looked left and right, then cast his senses both upwards and down, but he felt no presence. Had the stress upon his core caused a deviation in his mind?

    Turning, he started again as he discovered a woman sitting upon a statue on the path ahead of him. She was d in strange garments, clothes that were tight against her body, and arge flowing coat like a robe cut down the front. More interesting were her ears. The ears of a cat sat atop her head, perked forwards at attention even as the woman smiled cockily.

    Truly, shecked the aura of a jade beauty, and instead felt like a cocksure, cockless, young master.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± he asked, his guard rising. Was this an older disciple of the sect?

    The girl grinned, disying slightly crookedy teeth. ¡°I¡¯m just a stray,¡± she said. ¡°What are you doing, sneaking around my neck of the woods?¡±

    ¡°This... is not a forest?¡± Yuren Jie said with a gesture to the area around them. This was one of the lower peaks, a ttened mount with several paths cut into its sides. There were archways here and there, and a few small garden pavilions with fantastic views of the ravines between the peaks. He could well imagine an elder cultivator sitting here and enjoying some ten billion year old ginseng.

    The young woman blinked, then stared off into space. ¡°You know, he¡¯s right, this isn¡¯t a woods, so that saying doesn¡¯t make sense.¡±

    She nodded. Then frowned.

    ¡°I guess it could be somenguage drift stuff,¡± she continued to speak. He was quite certain she wasn¡¯t speaking to him, and was equally certain that she wasn¡¯t quite sane.

    ¡°I will just be on my way, then,¡± he said.

    ¡°Hey now, no strutting off on my turf,¡± Stray said, her attention snapping back onto him. ¡°Where are you heading off too, anyway?¡±

    ¡°If you must know, the medical pavilion.¡±

    Her eyes widened a fraction, as did her smile. ¡°Oh, you¡¯re a newbie!¡± she gushed. ¡°Fresh blood! A little baby cultivator!¡±

    Yuren Jie tensed, then red. ¡°I am Yuren Jie, and I will reach the heavens, defy them, and surpass them to be even greater!¡±

    The woman snorted. ¡°You don¡¯t look like you could handle a fight against a scarecrow,¡± she said. ¡°You¡¯re all thin, no muscles. No brains either. And where¡¯s your gear? Are you gonna reach the heavens with those pretty-boy robes? sh the entire realm while you¡¯re up there?¡±

    Yuren Jie stood straighter. ¡°What is this juvenile taunting?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not juvenile. You¡¯re juvenile,¡± she said. Then she stuck her tongue out at him.

    Yuren Jie spun on a heel and walked onwards. He was leaving this ce and this discussion. He knew not where this woman hade from, but he wouldn¡¯t have minded if she crawled back to that ce.

    As he came around a bend, he felt his heart constrict at the sight. There was another statue of arge cat, and atop it, the woman was lounging, one leg bouncing casually. She was eating grapes from a small bowl. ¡°Okay, so I might have been somewhat immature,¡± she admitted. ¡°Tell me this, uh... Yuren Jie? Weird name. Anyway, tell me this; if you want to be so strong, why don¡¯t you let me take you on a little detour?¡±

    ¡°I will not follow you, strange woman,¡± he said. Was this a test? A punishment for deviating from the straight path to the medical pavilion?

    ¡°You¡¯ll get treasures and new weapons and all sorts of neat rewards,¡± she said temptingly.

    Yuren Jie stood taller. ¡°Treasures?¡± he asked. ¡°Who are you, exactly?¡±

    The woman grinned the kind of smile he¡¯d only seen on cats who discovered a saucerful of cream. ¡°I¡¯m the Golden Hoarder Sect¡¯s quartermaster. You need a Heavenly Spear-Throwing Earth-Shattering Bursting Demonic Pir Emitter to fuck up some local dragon and I hand you an ICBM.¡±

    He didn¡¯t know what either of those were, but the first sounded fearsome and powerful, the kind of legendary weapon oft associated with the Golden Hoard Sect. Was she truly the sect¡¯s quartermaster? If so, it would do him well to make her acquaintance.

    He eyed her for a moment. Her clothes were strange, but of fine make, and while he couldn¡¯t discern the use of the items she carried, they seemed to be of exquisite craftsmanship. They also had small images carved onto them, of cats frolicking and staring and licking themselves.

    On reflection, many of the stories of the sect¡¯s greatest warriors often mentioned that their swords of Rending Earth and their Heavenly Iron Arrow Hurlers had cat-like symbols upon them. Perhaps this woman truly was the sect¡¯s quartermaster.

    He bowed. ¡°What favours can I aplish for you, Lady Quartermaster.¡±

    Thedy smiled. ¡°A quest, then! Hmm... there¡¯s a shop on the far end of the sect. It¡¯s just past the western gate. There you will find a woman who makes sweetcakes and sells artisanal teas.¡±

    Yuren Jie nodded along. Was this the fabled fetch-quest?

    ¡°I want you to go there, tip over her tea pots, and burn her cakes.¡±

    ¡°Pardon?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Sabotage,¡± she rified. ¡°Sabotage her shop. Don¡¯t kill her or anything, you know, just ruin her afternoon.¡±

    ¡°Has this woman threatened the Golden Hoarder Sect?¡± he asked.

    Thedy quartermaster looked away, not meeting his eyes. ¡°In a manner of speaking.¡±

    ¡°That is not as clear of an answer as I expected,¡± he said. Not that he minded too much. If the sect needed him to scythe through ten million innocent civilians to prove himself, then that would be a small price to pay. ¡°Though I am curious as to her capabilities.¡± There had to be something more here.¡±

    Stray Cat cleared her throat. ¡°She gave my girlfriend a free sweetcake the other day.¡±

    ¡°Pardon?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s basically flirting, you know?¡± she said.

    ¡°You wish for me to punish a mortal because she hasid eyes upon your girl?¡± he asked.

    ¡°She didn¡¯t justy eyes. Laying eyes is <em>fine.</em> My girl is the prettiest girl under heaven, so I can¡¯t me either mortal or immortal for wanting to look. She gave my girl sweetcakes. That¡¯s crossing a line! Only I¡¯m allowed to give her cake!¡±

    Yuren Jie looked at her and took a moment to process what he was hearing. It was petty. It was petty and jealous. But it was also a task. One that would surely test his skills. ¡°I ept,dy quartermaster,¡± he said with a low bow of respect.

    ¡°Cool,¡± she said. He wasn¡¯t sure what the weather had to do with anything, but he chose not to question her. ¡°By the way, you¡¯re Yuren Jie, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes?¡±

    ¡°Oh, yeah, you¡¯re supposed to be at the medical pavilion. Like, right now. I¡¯m pretty sure if you don¡¯t show up soon, Fairy ine¡¯s gonna be pissed, and between her and a live nuke, I¡¯d rather piss off the nuke, you know what I¡¯m saying?¡±

    Yuren Jie nced down the path, then bowed quickly before darting along. He couldn¡¯t afford to bete!

    Once he was done with this medical examination, he would begin upon this quest. It would be one of the first steps towards gaining what he needed to defy the heavens!

    ==========

    ~Selkie¡¯s part because I¡¯m just too impatient~

    Yuren hurried onto the Medical Pavilion. The sharp <em>crack</em> from Fairy Thread Seeker¡¯s weapon as she fired upon the slowest members of the entrance ss, along with the asional hair-raising cackle let him know that, in spite of his side quest, he was not so utterlyte to the lecture on safe sects.

    Why they needed such a thing, Yuren didn¡¯t know. And yet, was that not the point of attending the Golden Hoard Sect? To receive wisdom from his elders? Truly, it was the only way this once-in-a-generation genius would ascend past the heavens. He would remember his stepping stones fondly once he¡¯d arrived.

    For now, it was time for wisdom.

    Yuren could not im to be the first in the lecture hall, and yet, he did not have the ignominy of being thest. He managed to slip in past a few fellow disciplines, rubbing their buttocks andining about Fairy Thread Seeker¡¯s methods.

    He wanted to snort disdainfully at them.

    <em>Weak.</em> A basic trial, and they wereining about mere pain? He had seen the truth - Fairy ine¡¯s powers healed all injuries as they urred. What was a little bit of pain on the bitter path of cultivation?

    Yuren entered the grand lecture hall, the inside distorted to thousands of milesrge, likely by some fantasy author with no proper sense of scale, and where the words ¡®structural integrity¡¯ and ¡®loadbearing¡¯ were simple suggestions.

    The seats at the front were all taken by the over-eager, as were the seats at the back by thezy. Yuren rolled his eyes at the painfully transparent ploys, and sat in the middle.

    A beautiful cultivator took to the stage, with hair the color of soft hazel and blue eyes that twinkled with stars deep inside. Yurne rubbed his eyes and looked again.

    There really <em>were</em> stars deep inside the cultivator¡¯s phoenix eyes, and he straightened up as the petite woman began to speak.

    ¡°I¡¯m Fairy ine. As part of the orientation to the Golden Hoarder Sect, we will be discussing Safe Sects practices.¡±

    There were titters around the room, and some of the men gazed lustfully at the jade beauties that were scattered throughout the room. Yuren wasn¡¯t thinking too highly of his peers. While they chased the unobtainable flowers, he studied the de. Seeking attachments was a distraction from cultivation and the Dao.

    ¡°First! Before two Sects do battle with each other, it is important that both Sects understand that they are going to do battle.¡±

    Yuren¡¯s eyebrows scrunched up as he tried to divine the wisdom inside. He struggled - didn¡¯t thatpletely remove sneak attacks and thefts? Then again, the Golden Hoard Sect was considered one of the most noble, virtuous, upstanding, dignified, honorable, gant, respectable, principled, esteemed, righteous, valiant, stalwart, and gracious sects around. Maybe this was just one of their rules.

    ¡°Second! Demonic cultivators can be hidden within the ranks of a sect. It is impossible to know where they are, and which sects have hidden members within their ranks, and which ones are clean. When doing <em>battle,</em> it is best to always protect one¡¯s sect from demonic cultivators trying to infiltrate.¡±

    Shouldn¡¯t there be a lecture about how to identify demonic cultivators, and prevent infiltration? Perhaps that was ater, more advanced lecture.

    ¡°Third! Know I wanted this to be first, but was overruled. A sect should never ever, under any circumstances, do <em>battle </em>with a thousand year old vampire, or simr. Don¡¯t do it. No.¡±

    Would a vampire at a mere seven hundred years be eptable? Or was that too simr? Yuren dutifully wrote down a note to askter.

    Fairy ine continued her lecture, dropping morsels of wisdom such as ¡®don¡¯t sh your sword carelessly¡¯, ¡®it¡¯s perfectly eptable to battle the Chrysanthemum sect with proper preparation¡¯, and a long segment about ¡®cultivation realm and level <em>matters.</em> Don¡¯t do battle outside your realm, I might not be able to put you back together.¡¯

    Yuren scoffed at that. He was a genius whose battle prowess could cross realms! But why was she saying ¡®battle¡¯ so strangely, and why was half the lecture hallughing and blushing?

    ¡°Thest part of this lecture before we break out the bananas! It is well known that Sword and Spear sects enjoy battling Flower and Gourd sects. However! It is perfectly eptable for a Sword Sect to battle a Spear Sect, just as it is eptable for a Flower sect to battle a Gourd sect.¡±

    Yuren was convinced by now the others in the lecture hall were idiots. The most basic of revtions - a Sword Sect battling another Sword Sect? How obvious! - was causing an uproar. A dozen disciplines spat blood in outrage. Three near Yuren suffered Qi deviation, their faces going purple as they clutched at their chest. Down near the front, such basic words had caused a revtion in a fellow disciple, the man instantly jumping three realms as the enlightenment raised his cultivation.

    Yuren nodded to himself. Truly, he was a once-in-a-millennium genius.

    ===========

    Yuren hurried after Cat - <em>Lady Quartermaster -</em> unsure quite how he¡¯d ended up following her, of all people. Perhaps it was the reasonable amount of martial might - Fairy ine didn¡¯t seem to have any, Fairy Thread Seeker was too liberal in her application of violence, and sifu-sen- <em>Sifu-Sensei,</em> Yuren mentally corrected himself, suddenly paranoid that the dragon could read minds and the Lack of Capitalization inside of them - hurt his brain and caused nosebleeds every time he got near him.

    Perhaps that was why the Catering Hall had the most powerful disciples.

    Or maybe he followed the Lady Quartermaster simply because of the promise of treasures, new weapons, and neat rewards that had <em>actually</em> been delivered on. He wasn¡¯t quite sure how a <em>Gre Nade</em> worked, but the impact it had in practice had been¡­ <em>satisfying.</em>

    Truly, the Golden Hoarder Sect had earned their reputation.

    They skirted around the pigpen, then scooted down one of the Sect¡¯s main roads.

    ¡°Hey! You!¡± Amanding voice arrested Yuren¡¯s movements. He froze, like a mouse under the gaze of a hawk, slowly turning his head.

    Yuren sped his hands and bowed to Fairy Thread Seeker, who beckoned him over.

    ¡°Well? Are you just going to stand there all day?¡± She demanded. Yuren hurried over to see what she wanted, getting handed three jade slips.

    Peerless cultivation manuals? Indomitable martial techniques? Repositories of forgotten treasures? Endless possibilities shed through Yuren¡¯s mind. His months of hard work were finally paying off! The heavens were smiling upon him!

    ¡°Please return these to Fairy ine, with my thanks.¡± Fairy Thread Seeker said. ¡°And tell her I think she¡¯ll enjoy thest one. What are you still doing here? Shoo!¡±

    Yuren bobbed his head and shot out the door before Fairy Thread Seeker could think to use him for target practice once again.

    On the empty trail to the Medical Pavilion, Yuren sneaked a look around. There was nobody around, and he couldn¡¯t feel any spiritual presences looking at him. Fortunate favored the bold, and holding three high-level jade slips was a once in a lifetime opportunity. No mention had been made of a reward - perhaps the chance to glean wisdom from the jade slips <em>was</em> his reward, should he be able toprehend the profound knowledge deep inside without exploding. The best would be a new cultivation technique that would let him get twice the results for half the effort.

    Without a moment¡¯s hesitation, Yuren plunged his consciousness into the jade slip, plundering its vast and unfathomable knowledge for himself.

    His nose started to bleed at the deluge of information that mmed through his mind. Tititing moonlight rendezvous and ripped bodices, dark and mysterious men with plucky and bold women.

    ¡°Junior, you dare? Are you courting death?¡± A soft voice whispered from behind. Yuren jumped a foot in the air, spat blood, and immediately threw himself into a kowtow.

    ¡°Please forgive this impudent one¡¯s transgressions!¡± He shouted out to Fairy ine. With a flick of her sleeves, she teleported the jade slips from his hands to her, and lifted an eyebrow at him. Yuren didn¡¯t know if he shouldugh or cry. ¡°Fairy Thread Seeker wanted me to return these two to you, and thought you would enjoy thest one!¡±

    Fairy ine¡¯s face lit up, and she chuckled like a dirty old man. She waved Yuren off.

    ¡°Don¡¯t go sneaking around. Be off with you, I hear Cat¡¯s looking for you by the Treasure Pavilion.¡±

    Yuren started to sweat again. The Treasure Pavilion was across the entire sect, and one of the loudest, most boisterous ces. Fairy ine could <em>hear that far?</em>

    Yuren found Cat again, and was engaged in the mundanities of the day, when, like thunder from a clear sky, the rm bells began to ring.

    The Lady Quartermaster perked up, throwing her paperwork into a corner.

    ¡°It¡¯s a lobster attack!¡± She proimed, grabbing a key and unlocking the door to where the heavy <em>Ordi Nance</em> was kept.

    ¡°Lobster?¡± Yuren asked. Dinner was rebelling?

    ¡°It was supposed to be ¡®monster¡¯!¡± Cat yelled from the depths of the room. ¡°Here, catch!¡±

    Yuren caught a heavy, malleable block of unrecognisable substance. He poked it with his finger, seeing how it sank in.

    ¡°Except there was a typo, and autocorrect turned it into lobster!¡± Cat continued to exin, throwing more blocks to him. Yuren tried to catch them all, but two fists couldn¡¯t block four hands.

    Yuren had been learning wisdom, and one keyponent was to keep his mouth shut when heaven and earth were flipped on him.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Cat came out with a cart filled with more of the blocky stics, clearly indicating that he should push. Yuren hurried after the Lady Quartermaster, quickly arriving at the field of battle.

    The field of battle was all the walls of the sect. Against each one of them, monstrous lobsters the size of horses were attacking with terrible pincers, firing energy sts from their ws. Nevermind the impossible vast distance between the Sect and the nearest body of waterrger than a pond. Experts were asmon as clouds, manning the walls and firing their own martial techniques back at the ravenous, never¨Cending hordes.

    Hoard vs Horde.

    Yuren flinched as an expert was blown apart, an energy de destroying his entire chest. A momentter he was restored, whole once again, pping his now-naked chest and cursing the lobsters.

    Yuren¡¯s mouth dropped open. He thought Fairy ine¡¯s healing was for <em>training,</em> and didn¡¯t have any true capabilities inbat. Truely, he had eyes, but couldn¡¯t see Mt. Tai.

    ¡°Stop staring, we¡¯ve got a job to do.¡± Cat said. ¡°I¡¯m going deep. I need you to¡­¡± She looked him up and down, appraising him. He got the sense she changed her mind halfway through.

    ¡°Stand on the wall. When I call, throw me a new set of C4.¡±

    ¡°Understood.¡±

    The Lady Quartermaster went invisible, a block vanishing off the top of the pile. Yuren kept his eyes sharp, but from where he stood on the wall, he had an unparalleled view of the battle.

    It raged back and forth, grand techniques sshing against the hardened shells of the lobsters. Ghostly fists and sword intent flew across the field, grand fireballs exploding on shells while haunting music turned lobster against lobster.

    The lobsters were winning - should be winning - except the members of the Sect appeared to be invincible. No matter what attack they took, no matter what damage they suffered, they jumped back up a momentter in the picture of perfect health, leaving behind arms, legs, and clothing. When a lobster died, it stayed dead.

    Cat briefly appeared on the field, and Yuren peerlessly threw two more blocks of C4 at her. She caught them and vanished again, a lobster¡¯s w snapping where she¡¯d just been. Yuren narrowed his eyes, noting a small piece of the white substance appearing on a lobster¡¯s head.

    <em>That much</em> was enough to kill one of the tenacious beasts? Where fist and sword fell, that was a killing blow?

    Impo-

    Yuren shook his head. He¡¯d resolved not to say or think that word anymore.

    The sky darkened behind him, and he turned to see what was happening next. An enormous flying ship hadunched from the Sect, Fairy Thread Seeker standing on the prow with a tricorn hat,ughing maniacally.

    ¡°You will rue the day you have run afoul of the Dread Pirate Fairy Thread Seeker, Queen of the arbitrarily high number of seas! Prepare to be tenderized! Servants! Open fire!¡±

    The cannons on the ship began to roar, smashing down at impossible speeds. Shell and pincers went flying, and Yuren dodged arge w, only to get pped in the face by an antenna.

    HOW DARE THEY-

    Yuren took a deep breath. Down that pathy swift death, Fairy ine¡¯s healing or not. Cat briefly appeared again, and Yuren tossed her some more explosives.

    Dragon Sifu-Sensei took to the field next, his immense wingspan casting a great shadow on the world below. The dragon rained down a pyrostic hell onto the lobsters; and those he didn¡¯t burn, he poked with his mighty w. His finger alone carried the strength of the heavens.

    ¡°Minions, get back here!¡± he roared. ¡°The food has decided to die with honor: by feeding me! Cook them at once!¡±

    The elite members of the Catering Hall flew over the wall on oversized spats, frying pans, knives, forks, woks, baking sheets, and whisks. Half of them were clicking tongs together menacingly. Eight of them were carrying an oversized cauldron of garlic butter between them. With deadly blows and lethal martial-cooking techniques, the members of the Catering Hall fought their way to Vainqueur, and began cooking. Half of them set up a perimeter, fighting the unending lobster legion, while the other half began slicing, dicing, and cooking.

    Fried. Boiled. Steamed. Grilled. Baked. Sauteed. Broiled. Poached. Stewed. Smoked, barbecued, pan and deep-fried, acid-cooked and more. Every way there was to prepare food, the elite members of the Catering Hall provided. Dragon Sifu-Sensei, ever the wise and patient Elder, swallowed anything unlucky to be caught within arm¡¯s reach.

    Cat showed up again, and Yuren tossed her thest of the explosives. A few momentster, she was by his side, touching her throat. Her voice <em>boomed</em> as Yuren sped his hands over his ears.

    ¡°FIRE IN THE HOLE!¡± She yelled, most of the members dropping behind the wall. Yuren might¡¯ve been slow, but he wasn¡¯t quite an idiot, and he threw himself below the ramparts.

    A cataclysmic explosion <em>ripped</em> through the lobster hordes,unching themselves into the sky like a river dragon ripping itself from the ground. Then, like the winter rains, a bloody barrage of finger-sized pieces started to rain down on all of them. Tails and shells joined the five viscera and six bowels in a gory rain.

    ¡°UNLEASH THE PIGS!¡± Another voice yelled.

    Dread Pirate Fairy Thread Seeker screamed back from her ship.

    ¡°NOT THE PIGS YOU LOUSE-RIDDEN IDIOTS! I¡¯LL-¡±

    It was toote. The gates opened, and ten thousand ming porcines took to the field, scything through the lobsters like a knife through melted garlic butter.

    A dyed explosiveunched a grapeshot of ming bacon up into the sky. By the divine hand of providence and author fiat, theynded <em>beautifully</em> on the flying ship¡¯s sails, setting them aze.

    The ship started to go down in a torrent of profanities.

    ¡°Vainqueur! Youzy bastard! Do I have to do your job for you!?¡± A voice - was that Fairy ine¡¯s? - screamed from Dread Pirate Fairy Thread Seeker¡¯s sinking ship.

    ¡°I <em>am </em>your job!¡± Vainqueur roared back. ¡°The purpose of life is to cater to dragons! Minions have jobs, and I have everything else!¡±

    There was a pause, and Yuren swore he heard a soft sigh on the breeze.

    Then the sky lit up as a dozen beams of pure, blinding Radianceunched from the ship, circling around the walls impossibly fast. Yuren was dozens of paces away from the beams asionally sweeping over his head, and yet he was starting to sweat as the temperature soared.

    ¡°Lazy ass!¡± the voice shouted onest time. Yuren nced over to Vainqueur, where a single one of his absolutely-totally-real whiskers had been cut in half, the other end slowly floating to the ground.

    A hesitant cheer came up, then quickly increased in volume as the members of the Sect picked it up and weed their sudden and unexpected victory.

    <em>Maybe not too unexpected</em> Yuren mentally amended.

    Cat grinned and punched Yuren in the arm.

    ¡°Yeah! That¡¯s how we do it here! Okay, I¡¯m going to grab Lucy and the kittens, and we¡¯re all going to have a nice little pic. Your job is to get us some space, some lobster, and most importantly - some butter.¡±

    Yuren nodded. He could do that.

    As he secured part of the food, members of the Sect were organising arge lobster roast under the militantmands of the Catering Hall. A great amount of butter was brought out, but Yuren¡¯s face fell as he realized it was only one-one tenth of the amount needed. Lady Quartermaster exited the Sect with her mortal wife, Lucy, in tow, and quickly fought off a few other members to grab a hunk for herself.

    ¡°The rest is for Dragon Sifu-Sensei.¡± She exined at his wordless question. ¡°The catering budget is a ck hole from which nothing escapes. If it runs out, the lower disciples are expected to¡­ fill in. We make sure there is <em>always</em> funding for it.¡±

    Yuren nodded, the statement making perfect sense to him. Dragon Sifu-Sensei obviously had a catering budget. For the rest of us, living¨Cor rather, <em>surviving</em>¨Cunder the glory of Sifu-Sensei was enough.

    Truly, he had been enlightened.

 (30)

    (30)

    Nestra was now facing an unexpected issue. In the past weeks, she¡¯d been living her best life as her demon self, with human Nestra taking a backseat, only leaving the house for the asional social outing. And pastries. She¡¯d driven her pink roadster around but that was just to meet friends and family. Human Nestra was professionally on leave until the heat of the Gidung debacle died down. She hadn¡¯t contacted anybody. Well, not anybody new anyway.

    A quick text to ire confirmed that her aunt wasn¡¯t responsible for the offer.

    ¡°Is it a date? Is someone mistaken? It could also be work-rted. ¡¥_ (¥Ä)_/¡¥ .¡±

    Nestra rolled her eyes behind her visor. Of course it wasn¡¯t job rted. Officer Kim wouldn¡¯t forget to send her a file, not with how anal she was about preparations, not to mention the invitation wasn¡¯t just any invitation. It was the VIP of all VIP invitations that came with a hover limo ride and evenplimentary Champagne. Not bubbly. Champagne. From Riel-damned France. This was the kind of offer one sent out to guild officers of upper management from an actual megacorp, not some idiot failure working as a grunt for the police rat squad.

    The only recent link she had with art was with the fucking serial killer.

    Surely it wasn¡¯t that.

    Out of ideas, Nestra called the fancy private art gallery where the exhibition was to take ce. They confirmed the invitation.

    ¡°The Collective¡¯s yearly g is such a great asion. I am certain you will have a fantastic time,¡± the mellifluous voice of the receptionist cooed in her ear. ¡°Only Threshold¡¯s best artists convene for the asion.¡±

    Damn.Damn damn damn.

    ¡°What should I do? What should I dooooo?¡± she asked her ceiling.

    Nestra¡¯s current life was perfect. She was having fun raiding with Helena, getting a ton of money by raiding as Crescent, eating, sparring, and just chilling overall. Why were people trying toplicate matters? Why disturb the perfect circle of life (fighting, looting, eating, and sleeping) with unnecessary garbage?

    Another call to Seth yielded more questions than answers.

    ¡°It¡¯s not associated with any direct danger to your life that you could not fend off yourself,¡± the man said.

    ¡°Oh, uh, okay.¡±

    ¡°Please note that it means there could be danger, just none that you would be hopeless against.¡±

    ¡°TELL ME THE TRUTH ALREADY.¡±

    ¡°Nope! Attend or not, it¡¯s your choice. Oh! My choux a cr¨¨me is ready. Bye!¡±

    ¡°Screw you, you sweet-toothed ¡ª¡±

    He hung up.

    ¡°Arg!¡±

    Nestra finally jumped into the shower, her pleasure now partly ruined by the recent development. Once she was in her clean, warm, safe bed, it was finally time to ask herself the real question.

    Should she even attend?

    ¡°It¡¯s going to be full of gleams.¡±

    But they would have Champagne. She¡¯d never had Champagne. Her dad thought it was a frivolous expenditure when Kiwi and Aussie vintages already pleased the pte well enough.

    ¡°I will be looked down upon and stared at.¡±

    Finger food for gleams.

    ¡°It will be dangerous for sure.¡±

    And exciting.

    ¡°I¡¯m just too damn curious. GAH! Ok, fine, you got me.¡±

    Had to prepare a bit though. She couldn¡¯t let hubris get in the way of a good evening.

    ***

    ¡°You have done as I asked,¡± Ragnarok stated.

    Nestra thought her habit of calling people to her office and facing the window with her hands sped behind her back screamed ¡®evil overlord¡¯ in an annoying way. There was also the transit time. An hour and a half both ways for what could have been a call. She supposed the woman was old-fashioned like that.

    ¡°I have disciplined Alden, of course. That man presumed too much, though I apud his enthusiasm. Issued warrants found correspondence and suspicious payments made to Satoshi, Naomi, and Strix. Just as I expected.¡±

    It was so nice to be Crescent because she wasn¡¯tpelled to answer. She could just let people ramble. Very rxing.

    ¡°The presence of the Kitsune came as a surprise. Have you ever heard of her?¡±

    Well, technically, she had heard of Fox Mask. Not ¡®the Kitsune¡¯. So it wasn¡¯t exactly a lie.

    ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°Hm? Oh, right. The Kitsune is an operative we suspect is working for one or several enves. It would be¡­ foolish for any enve on the continent to dare abduct the scion of a megacorp, but it would not be inconceivable for them to be working for traffickers. You don¡¯t need to worry about her. She is purely a mercenary, though a slippery one. This is, in fact, the first time someone managed to fend her off.¡±

    ¡°She leavessss witnesses often?¡±

    ¡°Yes. She only kills criminal elements. Or she has, so far. Otherwise the city would have dedicated more resources to stopping her. Are you interested in knowing more?¡±

    Ragnarok¡¯s expression remained carefully neutral. This, of course, made rms ring in Nestra¡¯s mind.

    ¡°Great fighter,¡± she replied nomittally.

    ¡°I see. Well, you should take two days to rest, then I have another portal raid for you. Dismissed.¡±

    ¡°I have a quessstion.¡±

    This time, Ragnarok sat in her chair. Nestra found her expression to be unreadable.

    ¡°What was it?¡±

    ¡°How did they n to take Valerian of House Nephrite out?¡±

    ¡°Well, the original n was to wait before facing the guardian so harvesters could get to work on this world, remember?¡±

    Ragnarok gave Nestra a pointed look. It was true that by rushing to save Sheryl¡¯s remains, the two of them had sacrificed quite a bit of money. All of the money that came with clearing up a portal world but leaving thest guardian alive so the local resources could be harvested. It was a massive loss, especially since it would have been split two ways. But Nestra had no regrets. Killing the boss had made her much stronger and the task had felt¡­ right. A good challenge for a noble cause.

    ¡°One of the harvesters was an aplice of the fated trio. He would have picked Valerian¡¯s restrained body from a designated spot before hiding him in a crate, which would have been shipped immediately while the surviving raiders imed young Nephrite had been dragged off by some monster. With no bodies to be found and Valerian¡¯s¡­ known tendencies to put himself at risk, no one would have found anything strange. The trio¡¯s subsequent departure from the city would have made perfect sense since BaiHua cklists those who allow their scions to be killed. No one works with corpo pariahs unless they¡¯re really valuable.¡±

    ¡°Well prepared,¡± Nestra allowed.

    ¡°The Kitsune is nothing if not dedicated. Was there anything else?¡±

    ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°Then go and rest. I will transfer a bonus to your ount for service rendered. Oh, and your share of your victims¡¯ belongings, of course. Assassination and kidnapping attempt are ss three felonies. We have confiscated everything.¡±

    Asset forfeiture was a bitch.

    ***

    Since this was going to be a ck tie event, and it was clearly advertised as such, Nestra needed a cocktail dress that didn¡¯t look like it came out of an outlet¡¯s bargain bin. That meant an actual fitting, and ire was only too happy to drag her to a baseline shop she favored herself. Nestra ended up falling for a gray dress with a scale pattern that left her shoulders bare, revealing a few faint scars. It reminded her of the kind of high-tech mail armor fast gleams favored since it was flexible. It was a statement, as were her exposed muscles, and maybe people would stop assuming she was somebody¡¯s sidepiece. She raided on the day of the exhibition on Ragnarok¡¯s suggestion though it was a D-ss world filled with ents and she barely got any benefit from it. A stylist did her hair in the afternoon, then she enjoyed the ride in a luxury hover limo.

    Watching Threshold sh below her was a spectacle she couldn¡¯t get tired of. The walls and the hints of green behind them always added to the grandeur of the arrogant megapolis. The city didn¡¯t just thrive, it did so on the world¡¯s most hostile and monster-infested continent. The afternoon sun reflected on the steel and ss of towering skyscrapers and arcologies rising in defiance of the new reality of the, works of technology and cooperation powerful gleams could never hope to match alone. The smooth journey ended with a slow, downward slope towards a t rooftop half-covered in greeneries. The limo doors opened without a sound. A pleasant chime confirmed she had arrived.

    Nestra stood up ready for social battle. She walked out with grace, on ts she¡¯d bought for the asion and were specifically designed forfort. A pair of gleams in tailored suits approached her at a sedate pace. D-ss but well-trained, she judged. The left one was a manakic like Fox Mask which made her blink. He touched his visor and smiled at her.

    ¡°Good evening Miss Padian. Please take the steps down, someone will be waiting for you.¡±

    ¡°Oh, thank you.¡±

    The rooftop doors opened smoothly, white stairs leading down to a zennding showing a single, breath-taking mural of massive proportions. The handmade painting depicted a collection of towering trees dominating a colorful forest, each one a titan with its own structure, leaf pattern, and unique hue. The arrangement felt very familiar, and it took her only a few seconds to realize this was the Threshold cityscape as seen from the sea, with each arcology and major structure reced by a colossal growth. The Baihua dome now spread as a willow bearing white flowers while the Gidung megastructure stood like the pir it had chosen as a symbol. After watching the fascinating work for all of thirty seconds, Nestra¡¯s gaze finally moved to the side, where letters painted on the wall with reflective paint announced the name of the collection.

    <em>¡°The Metropolitan Gallery of Arts presents</em>

    <em>Threshold: Between Two Worlds</em>

    <em>A Collective exhibit¡±</em>

    Osciting between green and gray through some low mana bullshit, the message shimmered in the air like a promise. It was, she had to admit, a very nice touch.

    ¡°Impressive, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°AH!¡±

    Nestra almost jumped out of her skin. She¡¯d been so captivated by the work and its many intricacies down to the tiniest detail that she had failed to see that there was someone in the room. The short, ck-haired anglo stood in Nestra¡¯s blind spot on her right, next to a door. The woman raised both hands to show she was harmless. Mostly, she was smiling very smugly, yet also quite warmly.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to surprise you.¡±

    ¡°Sorry, I¡­ Sorry. Just not used to people managing to sneak up on me.¡±

    Goddamn stupid. Why worry about an borate trap? Someone could just put a nice painting and a bowl of stew on a chair and Nestra would just rush forward like a damn lemming.

    ¡°To my defense, I was just standing still. And I can hardly me you! This amazing mural is a pivotal piece of this collection. I am delighted that it would speak to you like this. You are a visual appreciator, are you not?¡±

    ¡°I¡­ guess?¡±

    ¡°Hahaha, well, allow me to offer you a bted wee, Miss Padian. My name is Lucille Harrington. I am the assistant curator for our gallery. It is my great pleasure to wee you here tonight.¡±

    ¡°Thank you. I apologize for the poor showing.¡±

    ¡°No harm done and as I said, I am pleased that it would speak to you so, for is it not art¡¯s very purpose? Ah, I digress. Would you allow me to give you a quick tour?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d appreciate that, actually.¡±

    The two moved through the ss door to arger room of minimalist design. The subdued yet warm notes of white and brown allowed each work of art to shine. Lights centered on the exhibits and nothing else so that the rest of the room was plunged in semi-darkness. A gleam couple in exquisite matching clothes walked hand in hand. They both tasted of wood and growth. Nestra averted her eyes when the woman gave her a cold nce.

    Nature and metal merged in the various works ording to different visions, but Nestra had to admit that they looked great. She leaned in, seeing a price tag near a magnificent statue.

    Ouch.

    ¡°Over here are the contributions of the Collective¡¯s most prolific artist, such as this livingmp by Dolores Concepcion.¡±

    A mana-altered bonzai grew fruits that shone in the penumbra. It was fancy as hell. Unfortunately, Nestra regrly failed to keep cacti alive.

    ¡°The third floor hosts the most unique exhibits. On the second floor, you will find the hall of the applicants where the finalists will battle for the right to call themselves members of the Collective. You will find our handpicked permanent collections on the first floor.¡±

    ¡°Actually, I had a question if you don¡¯t mind.¡±

    ¡°Not at all!¡±

    ¡°Do you, I mean, is it possible to find out¡­ who invited me?¡±

    Curator Harrington blinked, clearly not expecting the question.

    ¡°Oh, you were not contacted? Hmm. I¡¯m afraid I cannot tell you because the Collective handles their own free VIP invitations, however, if someone did invite you without revealing themselves, then perhaps they will contact you here?¡±

    ¡°Unfortunate.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid the Collective counts many anonymous contributors. I simply cannot help you in this regard, but perhaps you would like some Champagne? As constion.¡±

    ¡°Yes please.¡±

    With a smile, the curator guided Nestra to a secluded room in a corner of the third floor. Groups of gleams watched here in like a bunch of sharks but their mana didn¡¯t even ripple. A smile from Harrington was enough to make them return to their conversations.

    The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

    There were a few powerful raiders here, but mostly the mood was one of discussion andments. The groups were tight and mobile, indicating that those people knew each other well. There were no baseline guests here. The room smelled of expensive cologne and exclusivity. Nestra felt a wall of indifference m all around her.

    That was probably better than hostility. And the best she could hope for.

    A waiter approached, a baseline this time. He solemnly offered her a cup of fizzling alcohol. Nestra had a sip.

    Sweet, a little bit acidic. Very fruity. The bubbles tickled her nose. It was nice, but definitely not worth the pain of carrying it across Eurasia.

    ¡°Is this your first time attending such an event?¡± Curator Harrington nicely asked.

    Obviously the canny woman knew the answer, but she still pulled Nestra to the side near a table filled with finger food. The woman happily talked about the collection for around fifteen minutes, dazzling Nestra with exnations peppered with funny anecdotes. It was clear the curator loved her job and her passion wasmunicative, somunicative that Nestra forgot to eat. Unfortunately, all good things had toe to an end.

    ¡°Oh, another VIP isnding. I¡¯m afraid I must take my leave, but please feel free to roam the grounds! Let me send you a data package I brought together so you can appreciate and understand each work. Or don¡¯t use it and take the art in raw, as you prefer. Goodbye, Miss Padian.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, Curator Harrington. Take care.¡±

    The short woman departed with some pep in her step, a sure sign that she belonged to the rare subspecies of homo sapiens who enjoyed gleam parties and meeting a ton of new people. Somehow. Nestra could also read between the lines: she was an outsider here and would probably be enjoying her evening more if she let her visor guide her through the exhibition. She was about to do that when a bubbly voice drew her away from her funk.

    ¡°Miss Padian, what a pleasant surprise to see you here! This is thest ce I expected to meet you.¡±

    The owner of the voice was a brown-eyed gleam in a colorful dress, her hair hidden under a wide-brimmed hat. Nestra knew she¡¯d met her before but couldn¡¯t ce her for all of two seconds during which the woman strutted forward, lips twitching with amusement. She wiggled her eyebrows.

    ¡°Oh, we met at my brother¡¯s party.¡±

    ¡°Yeeees! Well done, well done.¡±

    ¡°You are Miss. Teneru. An artist.¡±

    ¡°Good memory! Indeed, you have found me in my den.¡±

    Of course it must have been her, not some serial killer thing. Just someone she¡¯d met before trying to draw her out for¡­ some reason or the other. Maybe she needed a favor. Or she was just being contrarian by inviting a reject to the cool kids haven.

    ¡°Sorry to ask but¡­ are you the one who invited me here?¡±

    ¡°Meeee?¡± the woman replied with high-pitched, and what sounded genuine, surprise.

    The boisterous interaction was gathering some attention, and what started as cold disinterest slowly turned into predatory curiosity. Nestra spotted a few people activating their visors. Possibly scanning her face to find out who she was. Theck of reaction told her little about what to expect.

    ¡°No, no! I gave my free spot to a nice Touhei fellow, against a box of Akamaru whiskey. Twelve years old. His loss! I was just thinking that whoever invited you made a good judgment. After all, you¡¯re between two worlds as well¡­¡±

    Shit shit shit Nestra thought, how does everybody know I¡¯m an Aszhii?

    ¡°¡­ Baseline and user, civilian and military, the poverty of the outskirts and the wealth of the Padians.¡±

    Nevermind. Also, the mystery was stillplete as to who brought her here.

    ¡°Ah, but I digress. No. Are you sure they didn¡¯t leave a message?¡±

    ¡°Pretty sure.¡±

    ¡°Hmm. Curious. But how could I judge my brethren for originality here, in this home of the muses?¡±

    ¡°I am just happy to be here, and grateful for the Champagne. I¡¯ve only been on the third floor so far but I have to admit, it¡¯s rather impressive.¡±

    It made Nestra really tempted to steal.

    ¡°Oh yes, did youe in through the roof? You saw the Treescape?¡±

    ¡°The mural? It was fascinating. I really enjoyed the arcologies tranted as trees.¡±

    ¡°I painted it!¡±

    ¡°Then you¡¯re a damn genius,¡± Nestra admitted.

    ¡°Ah, genuine, truthful appreciation. How rare. How refreshing! Come, let¡¯s go walk around a bit. Have you been to the second floor yet?¡±

    ¡°I just arrived.¡±

    ¡°As a gesture of wee, please let me show you what our young candidates have brought for us in the hope of joining our hallowed ranks.¡±

    The woman carefully grabbed Nestra¡¯s elbow, guiding her to the door once it was clear Nestra was ok with being touched. She babbled all the way down to a much more crowded second floor. There were also a lot more baselines. Security guards marked the third floor as exclusive without invitation.

    ¡°And over here is the globe as wood and steel intertwined.¡±

    Teneru¡¯s exnation fell on deaf ears. The only thing Nestra could do was watch a certain painting standing in a corner, gathering a lot of attention despite its unfavorable cement.

    It was an eye surveying an oniric, sometimes nightmarishndscape made of scraps and bones. The wild color palette made the work a dizzying fantasmagoria, but it was truly the eye that drew Nestra¡¯s attention. It was that of a human, in, not even gleaming, yet it was the most vibrant part of the arrangement.

    Nestra was absolutely certain she¡¯d seen that style before. The same wild colors. The same focus on eyes.

    In the mausoleum where she¡¯d found the dead pyromancer. The serial killer¡¯s first site.

    It was them. Her instincts told her this was the killer¡¯s work.

    ¡°Who¡­ made this?¡±

    Teneru blinked, caught off guard by the non sequitur. She moved past to peek at Nestra¡¯s object of attention.

    ¡°Oh, that? Sorry darling, this onees from an anonymous contender. How mysterious! How exciting, I know. The unknown artist only joined the list of candidates this year, I believe.¡±

    ¡°Are they not anonymous?¡±

    ¡°Darling, I can recognize someone by their style and this person? It¡¯s the first time they have joined the race.¡±

    Teneru¡¯s eyes narrowed, though she was still smiling.

    ¡°Dreamy, but with something fundamentally disturbing. It¡¯s the eye, I think. The baseline eye, separate from the magical chaos. Hmm. Do you like it?¡±

    ¡°I, errrr, dunno. It¡¯s certainly remarkable. Are pictures okay?¡±

    ¡°Probably not, but as long as you don¡¯t post them somewhere then it should be fine. Is something the matter?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure.¡±

    Nestra paused.

    What the hell was she even doing? Her knowledge of art was so rudimentary, she had no reasons to be sure the painters were even the same. Ah, but then, who had invited her? Was it the killer? It would be unfathomably cheeky.

    In the end, signaling the eerie similitudes was still easy. Let the brass decide what to do. Nestra selected a screenshot, wrote a short message to Kim and then left off. The worst that could happen would be her boss thinking she was too bored.

    Teneru led Nestra through a few more rooms, but she found it difficult to focus. If the person who had invited her was indeed the killer, then she was deep in shit. Super deep in shit. Thest thing she needed was the attention of a serial killer capable of taking out C-rank raiders. Why even target her at all? She wasn¡¯t a gleam! Was this about her finding the first body? Wait, no, maybe she was just imagining things, really, and just trying to find connections at all costs. She wasn¡¯t the universe¡¯s main character and everything didn¡¯t revolver around her. But then, who invited her? Aaaaargh!

    She apologized before deciding to take an early leave. Anxiety was ruining her mood.

    ¡°I can tell you are spooked, friend. I understand,¡± her new guide allowed.

    ¡°Can I ask you a question?¡± Nestra said on a hunch.

    ¡°Why, yes. Several even!¡±

    ¡°Why are you being nice to me?¡±

    Teneru nodded, unsurprised.

    ¡°Aaaah but that is the thing. Am I being nice to you? Or can it not be expected, as an acquaintance of your n, that I would wee you here after seeing you arrive alone?¡±

    ¡°Ah, ehm, I had never considered the question.¡±

    ¡°If you were a gleam like me there would not be a question, but you are not, and somehow everyone is making it a problem. It is not fair to you. It is also a stark reminder of the sort of society we live in. Discrimination and an increasingly rigid social structure, even among us gleams. I, as an artist, am weak. If I were not rich and famous, those people would not give me the time of the day. I am merely treating you how I would wish to be treated.¡±

    A part of Nestra cynically noted that they only knew each other because Nestra was from a rich family. The worst thing was, Teneru was still being nice and openpared to the others, just by being willing to be seen with her and by guiding her around. That was the state of things. Drabs ought to be grateful if treated as equals.

    ¡°Thanks,¡± Nestra said half-heartedly.

    ¡°There is no need for gratitude. I hope you find your peace of mind soon.¡±

    They split then, Teneru moving to speak to a journalist who had hailed her earlier.

    Nestra made her lonely way back to the third floor. The guards didn¡¯t stop her once more, and she was soon near the rooftop exit before remembering she had to call the limo before it coulde pick her up. Curses. For the next fifteen minutes, she trawled through the collection.

    The VIP social gathering had spread throughout the floor by then. High gleams and their entourage moved in small groups, exchanging words in hush whispers. They moved around Nestra like fishes swimming around a rock. For all intents and purposes, she didn¡¯t exist, except as a vague obstacle. They didn¡¯t even look at her. Now, the fancy gray dress felt like a silly and unnecessary expense because no amount of nice fabric would ever make her anything but a drab.

    A beep in her visor grabbed her attention. It was Kim, with a one-line message.

    ¡°I ran the painting through a predictive AI. There is a usible chance for a match. Be careful.¡±

    FUCK.

    Thest two minutes before the limo arrived were some of the longest of her life. Finally, she jumped into the hover car and only breathed a sigh of relief after the doors closed. No weird mana constructs around. No presence. She was fine, for now.

    Maybe she needed some sort of protection detail?

    The limo rose through the night air. It was dark now, and though human Nestra¡¯s night vision was decent for a human, the city was still an ocean of darkness dotted with tiny inds of light as the limo flew away from the center and towards the¡ª

    <strong>BEEP BEEP BEEP</strong>

    Nestra¡¯s heart jumped against her ribcage. A screen lit in the t pane in front of her.

    <strong>CONNECTION LOST. Emergencynding initiated.</strong>

    She checked her visor.

    ¡®No signal¡¯

    Oh. Oh no.

    She pressed on her ¡®oh shit¡¯ button on the spot, but she was mid-flight and knew help would take some time toe. Gah! She¡¯d probably been hit by some sort of jammer, and whatever it was, it was not good.

    Quick, think.

    Ok, if a hovercar with no driver lost connection with Threshold¡¯s ground control for any reasons, it would always be forced tond for safety reasons. Midair collisions were often fatal, even to gleams. But someone wanted her down and the timing was suspicious. She needed time. Time and distance.

    ¡°Passenger request. I am requisitioning this vehicle as Nestra Padian, Officer with the Threshold Police Internal Affairs.¡±

    <strong>CONNECTION LOST. Request logged. Opening control panel. Impersonation of a police officer is a ss one felony.</strong>

    The panel slid open to reveal an extremely basic joystick control thing a child could use. A screen showed the ground and the front of the car in ck and white because of the basic night vision. Her attempt to go up failed. She was restricted by both speed and altitude. The car was still steadily going tond, the only choice she had was where. Right now, the projectednding spot was in a small green spot in the middle of mid-sized office buildings.

    There was an unmarked van parked there.

    ¡°Fuck that.¡±

    Nestra smashed the buttons, managing to curve the trajectory. The only building she could reach was a vertical parking lot with big empty spaces where windows ought to be. It was mostly deserted now in the evening. Warnings and proximity alerts screeched in her ears but she managed to stop on the concrete roof without scratching the paint.

    ¡°Passenger request. Open the fucking door.¡±

    <strong>Suggestion: stay until help</strong>

    ¡°NOW!¡±

    The door obliged, and Nestra was out and sprinting in an instant. She ran parallel to green space, looking down to street level.

    Four figures were running there under the pale blue light of the streemps. Augs from the speed and rtiveck of grace.

    What the fuck?

    Nestra didn¡¯t even try the elevator. They would be here before she reached ground level. What to do? She raced along the edge of the roof, searching for solutions. Seconds ticked.

    There, two floors below. A covered passage between this building and the next.

    Nestra crashed against the nearest stairs thankfully open. She considered activating the fire rm but it might lock stuff. Her visor went back online. She immediately shared her location and her feed.

    Just needed to stay ahead. Riel, they might even give up. And who the hell were they anyway? She raced down, hearing the distant pangs of metal soles battering concrete. In front of her, the lift turned on.

    No time.

    Nestra breathed deep. Augs could climb very fast with the right tools. She didn¡¯t have the time to wait. Veering left, she approached the edge of the building. The thick windows in front of her were dark and foreboding. The evening air burnt in her lungs.

    Nestra jumped, first on the ledge, then over the passage. Her feetnded heavily on the roof. She rolled to offset the shock, thanking past Nestra for buying good shoes. A maintenance ess beckoned in the distance. She tried it.

    Locked.

    Nestra looked around for a solution. Rungs lodged in the outer walls of the passage allowed her to lower herself just as an aug raced along the slope of the parking building, back where she came from. She saw chrome shimmering from under a ratty hoodie. The leg model was familiar. Military grade but¡­ ancient?

    The aug disappeared out of sight. Nestra didn¡¯t wait. She lowered herself to the side of the passage and found an unlocked window, which she pushed open with her fingers and enough swear words to make a sailor blush. Inside, the temperature was colder. The next door led to the inside of the office building. Bright neon letters announced that this was the headquarters of TianWu Avionics. A huge drone took half of the lobby. There was no one behind the wee desk.

    Behind her, she heard a bang. Like a locked door being mmed open. An rm started to ring.

    How did they find her? Whatever, no time. She rushed towards the nearest door, finding it locked. Another one led to a back office filled with supplies. There was a fire extinguisher there, which she grabbed.

    If only she¡¯d taken her car, dammit! She could have stashed her Window Maker and shot the assholes. Another door, leading to stairs. Noise in the room she¡¯d just left. She heard a click click she could recognize anywhere. A DNA tracker.

    That shit cost at least forty thousand cred a unit. Someone really, really wanted her. She raced up, but she knew it would be over soon.

    An aug jumped on thending she¡¯d just left, tracker exposed. He was holding a stun baton in his other hand. Their eyes met. He was wearing an actual bva like it was 2030, dark skin visible in the holes. Military augments peeked from behind his clothes. Ancient Kang actuators and a Gidung mesh from two decades ago merged in some sort of unholy matrimony of intellectual property vitions. Nestra pulled the pin and sprayed him with fire-retardant foam. He swore. She threw the extinguisher in his face for good measure, but his raised arm blocked most of the impact. A resounding bong reverberated in the narrow staircase. The man fell with a yelp.

    Nestra raced up. A bang made her flinch. Firearm? No, not loud enough. Fluttering conversations in anguage she didn¡¯t know fused. Her visor struggled, jammed once again.

    Another bang. A hit in her leg, like being pped. She fell to the side. Her eyes searched the wound with panic but there was only a bruise there. Soft rubber bullet then? They really wanted her alive, but why?

    Two of the four augs stopped in front of her. They were short, she decided, and professional, but not used to kidnapping or they would know how ridiculous they were being.

    ¡°You guys are idiots.¡±

    The left aug, the leader, grabbed her arm. He ced manacles on them.

    ¡°Shut up,¡± he replied in broken English.

    They dragged her down.

    ¡°Took too long,¡± she said. ¡°Now you won¡¯t escape. You should have run when you could.¡±

    ¡°Quiet! You keep quiet. Or else.¡±

    ¡°Or else what. I hope you were well paid to get me. Do you even know who I am?¡±

    ¡°You are target, and you quiet or you die.¡±

    They pushed her through the lobby. The rm was still ringing. Not that the police would be there on time anyway.

    ¡°Nu-uh, you were told to capture me alive. Or else you wouldn¡¯t have bothered.¡±

    ¡°You very expensive girl, but your legs not.¡±

    The second man warned off the first and Nestra¡¯s next barb didn¡¯t get her an answer. Too bad because she was sure she could get some answers while they felt in control.

    ¡°You know I¡¯m a Padian, right? You know what it means? It means you¡¯re already fucked.¡±

    They were back in the passage. The man pped her. Not too strongly. She still felt that sting very keenly, probably because no one had dared to do it in a decade.

    Her demon self growled beneath the surface. Nestra kept herself in check with a reminder this was a game, and if she came out of this free with her Mask intact, then it was her victory.

    ¡°You¡¯re gonna regret this in three seconds.¡±

    ¡°Shut up. You are jammed. You have no hope.¡±

    But they had not jammed magic. And Nestra¡¯s beacon, lit by her oh-shit button, that one was magic.

    Mana rose. Earth mana, specifically. The end of the passage was right here.

    Then it was not.

    The wall folded like a flower and a woman in dragon-decorated scale armor stepped in through the petals. Magic like a wave crashed against the two augs like a hammer. It froze them in their tracks. Two orbs like boulder-tossing hurricanes found the poor fuckers. The high gleam breathed in, a hiss that promised violence. Her seething rage made Nestra gasp. It was so powerful, so raw and intense it was almost solid. There was now more mana in the enclosed space than human Nestra had ever experienced.

    Aunt ire punched the nearest aug¡¯s head clean off. One moment, she was standing there, the next there was a ghastly crunch and bits of brains on the wall. The B-ss raider was already pulling the second aug¡¯s arms off their metal sockets before Nestra could even speak. The shriek of tortured metal drilled her ears.

    ¡°ire. Aunt Clecle!¡±

    ¡°WHAT!¡±

    ¡°We need to interrogate them! We need them alive! Riel dammit.¡±

    The aug was babbling incoherently by now. Nestra checked her dress. No brain bits, at least, or the evening would have been ruined for good.

    ire snarled. She tossed the mangled, but still breathing, aug away. The body bounced on the ground once beforeing to a rest.

    ¡°Did you get the others?¡± Nestra asked in a hurry.

    ¡°There are more?¡± ire replied with the face of a child being promised a second Christmas.

    ¡°At least two. Please keep¡ª¡±

    A woosh and ire was gone.

    ¡°Keep your temper in check,¡± Nestra finished telling the wall. ¡°Riel dammit, Clecle.¡±

    ¡°I got them!¡±

    ¡°Ok great. Seriously though, what took you so long! You were just a minute away.¡±

    ¡°I¡­ got lost.¡±

    ¡°Seriously?¡±

    ¡°Look, I¡¯m not supposed to run through the damn walls in a straight line and my flying license is suspended due to¡­ a certain incident. But whatever, you¡¯re ok. Oh, those brutes pped you! I¡¯m going to tear them apart.¡±

    ¡°Noooo let my colleagues handle it, please?¡±

    ¡°Oh fine. My distrust of cops notwithstanding, I want answers just as much as you do.¡±

 (40)

    (40)

    Nestra changed in a nicely provided changing room that smelled of old sweat, under the baffled gaze of a couple of army gleams. Her Wellington suit was nice and familiar, even after some time out of it. She felt protected in it. Funny how the human Nestra loved armor but her Aszhii self disliked anything touching her skin that wasn¡¯t some eldritch symbiote out of hell. She next walked to the ¡®antechamber¡¯, a vast bunker with medical and storage facilities designed as an airlock between the base and the monster-infested wilds. There were plenty of auged and gleam soldiers here; most of them very young. They made no secrets about their curiosity.

    She found r near the gate arguing with a NCO, and by arguing, she meant that the NCO talked in a cially polite tone and r was quite obviously ignoring him. The old man still tried his best.

    ¡°And although the path you picked should not have C-ss creatures, it does not mean there won¡¯t be C-ss creatures. Those travel. I don¡¯t care how good your crunchie is, the odds just aren¡¯t good. Hell, I wouldn¡¯t send a full squad there without backup.¡±

    ¡°Your objections are duly noted, sergeant. As I said before, you are absolved from any responsibility should a problem ur.¡±

    The sergeant¡¯s dark mustache bristled with anger. He found Nestra, focusing his attention on her withser focus.

    ¡°You are putting yourself at major risk,¡± he said.

    ¡°I know.¡±

    He red. She shrugged.

    ¡°Dammit woman, you¡¯re not some green idiot. Don¡¯t do this.¡±¡°It¡¯s already decided,¡± r insisted.

    ¡°By you,¡± the sergeant grumbled, but he gestured anyway. Therge, enchanted steel door nearby opened with the slow clunk of heavy machinery.

    ¡°Please enter the airlock, check your gear onest time, then give the signal and we will let you out. Your goal is the nearby Zhongdian elevation, three and a half kilometers due north-west. You will travel here, enter your name in theputer at the base of the g, then return before nightfall. Should you need extraction, just send a signal to¡­ ah what the fuck am I saying? You¡¯ll be dead before we get a grav out of the base.¡±

    ¡°Sergeant¡­¡± r growled.

    ¡°Yeah yeah whatever. Good luckdy. You¡¯re going to need it. We¡¯ll monitor your progress by drone so if you¡¯re really hurt, we¡¯ll try to help. Just hold on, ok?¡±

    Nestra nodded. She entered the antechamber¡¯s antechamber, as it were, to finish her prep.

    Nestra pulled her suit¡¯s hood over her head. It sealed with a light hiss and a click. The entire front lit up until she had a perfect field of view. Temperature regtion cooled her stressed body while the ear protection cycled to her favorite mode: amplifying surrounding sounds while muffling gunshots. The smell of damp concrete filtered through the rebreather, unfiltered since it wasn¡¯t toxic. Wellington believed that the sense of smell was a good warning so their suits reflected that. She shivered when several of her senses were amplified.

    The map ovey activated, showing her the distant peak through the wall. She tested thermal and night vision sights. No issue. Ast check of the Windowmaker followed. Safety on, and into the holster. She attached her tactical shotgun to the suit-provided sling, then carefully loaded her mana shells. Six in the magazine, one in the chamber. The bolt slid back with a satisfying click. The holo-slight activated. Her Wellington had a shooting assist but she didn¡¯t like it.

    Safety off.

    ¡°I¡¯m ready.¡±

    The gates opened. r whispered ast good luck, then she was through.

    ***

    The first two minutes were just more of the pitted hellscape that surrounded Threshold¡¯s walls. Nestra assumed the military cleared the ce regrly just so squads of greenhorns wouldn¡¯t get jumped the moment they stepped foot outside. She still checked all around, including up. There were flying things out here.

    Just beyond that no-monster¡¯snd, the jungle spread out like a green curtain, with the tiniest gaps where beast and infantry trails snaked into the vegetation. She picked one at random.

    The forest closed around her like the jaws of a trap. Immediately, light dimmed to a semi-darkness punctuated by bright rays piercing through the dense canopy. It smelled very strongly of sap. Fresh tracks on the wet dirt showed a group had gone through there a mere few hours before. She paused at the entrance to let her helmet and eyes get ustomed to the strange light conditions. Demon Nestra didn¡¯t have to contend with this but whatever.

    Now what was the walk again? High steps, then toes first to test the ground and push twigs aside, then slowly to the balls of her feet. Slowly at first, then with more ease as she grew used to that strange gait, Nestra moved deeper into the death trap. Visibility was terrible here since grass climbed above her head on both sides. She had to rely more on her ears and nose. Fortunately, the Wellington visor helped with that. There was even a function to show her destination in the distance.

    For now, Nestra followed the path, forcing herself to rx her shoulders. Her fingers still gripped the handguard of her shotgun. Maybe she wouldn¡¯t get to use it.

    Oh, who was she kidding? Better be ready.

    ***

    Spiders climbed on half-rotten trunks. Above, birds tweeted or chirped with every step she took. Nestra was forced to stop with every bush rustling in the distance just in case something tried to jump her. Her suit had already proved itself useful by pinging dangerous flora, including a leafy nt that sprayed the armor with a sap that created a powerful allergic reaction for up to seven days after contact. She¡¯d avoided those. There were also a few suspiciously mana-rich growths that were not in the database. She had avoided those as well in case they tried to grab her with lianas or something. It happens.

    Once again, the path was blocked by a fallen tree. It was the third time, but this one was very recent and she didn¡¯t see a path through that someone had already cut. With a sigh, Nestra let her shotgun hang from its sling while she carved a path with herbat knife. It was the emotional support knife from MaxSec, the one you held while a monster ate you if you ran out of bullets. At least, it was useful to cut branches. With onest muttered curse, Nestra pushed through, stopping immediately after.

    There was movement in the distance. She heard it in her helmet. One thing. Two things, at least, far in front, left and right. She brought her shotgun up, moved to the balls of her feet. The holographic sight provided a red dot dancing across the foliage with the promise of crushed mana stones at muzzle velocity. She switched to thermal with a click of her tongue. Nothing. She waited.

    A sh to her right, but the sound on the left was closer so she aimed there instead. There, a sh of heat.

    In the city, MaxSec were forbidden from taking shots at hidden targets in case the exposed piece of flesh was a scared kid hiding under a desk. Here? Everything went.

    If it was someone trying to ambush her, they had iting anyway. Nestra tensed. She aligned the sight.

    She pulled the trigger. The shotgun pushed against her chest. Thump! Something screeched. Loud. She rxed, letting the gun return to firing position. Another shot. Missed?

    Nothing moved.

    Nestra reached for her side pocket which Wellington called a ¡®tactical pouch¡¯ which sounded better than ¡®integrated fanny pack¡¯. She grabbed shells and pushed them into the magazine, keeping the gun ready. One in.

    Movement. From every side. Her thermal caught the one on the left more clearly thanks to a wide streak of what had to be blood. She shot it, dropping the shells on the ground to grab the barrel. Another screech ending in a terrible gurgle. She swiveled to her right. Movement in front as well. Thump. Something concealed screeched again. Another thump and it fell in a crash of breaking twigs. The one in front was racing ahead. She saw scales, a crest, mostly green mixed with a haze of other colors. Neosaurs, the same monsters who¡¯d killed Shinoda. It dodged the first shot, but not the second, which almost tore its arm off. It kept going. She shot it again. Last shell. Movement on the right from the wounded creature. Noise at her back. Nestra dropped and rolled just as something crashed through the branches over her head. ws scratched the edge of her armor. She rolled and dropped her gun, pulling her Window Maker in the same fluid motion. The massive st caught the neosaur in the back before it could recover from its jump. It fell, dead on the spot.

    Thest neosaur crawled from the underbrush with piteous cries. Fresh portal monsters then, or they would have retreated. She shot it in the head.

    No more movement, but something up ahead. Something massive. She grabbed her shotgun back from the sling and reloaded as fast as she could. A creature emerged from the path at a distance. It looked like a cross between a tortoise and a dinosaur the size of a SUV, probably a powerful D-ss creature. Dark beady eyes fell on her from within a scarred shell. Not good. She finished reloading without breaking eye contact.

    Slowly, the creature grabbed the corpse of the farthest neosaur before retreating. Each of its steps echoed Nestra¡¯s thundering heart.

    Only after a full minute of quiet did she allow herself a moment of calm. That beast had probably been earth-born to act rationally instead of like a rabid idiot. Lucky.

    Well, it looked like it was over. Time to pack up. She reloaded her Windowmaker before returning to the spot where she¡¯d dropped her shells. At four hundred creds a pop, might as well recover them all. As she bent down, she caught a whiff of mana. Human this one. Too exotic to be a local monster.

    It might have been r. She wasn¡¯t sure. Maybe he was keeping an eye on her to make sure she didn¡¯t die? Whatever.

    With onest disappointed sigh that she couldn¡¯t loot the neosaur for their skin, Nestra set off.

    ***

    Nestra kept walking, eating a Seth-made energy bar to make up for the adrenaline dump. The fantastic taste buoyed her spirits, and she was almost whistling by the time she started climbing. Arge predatory bird tried to dive at her but a shot turned it into a feathered red mist. Nothing else attacked her afterward. She proudly added her name to the long list of cadets who¡¯d made it to Zhongdian summit. Maybe it was a rite of passage? The trip back was considerably easier because she found a trail that led right back to base. In total, it took her barely over four hours toplete the course.

    The sergeant weed her back with a smile of relief.

    ¡°Well paint my ass blue and call me a grape, you made it. And you killed some neosaurs too. Not bad, crunchie, not bad at all.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, sarge,¡± Nestra replied before her brain could react.

    ¡°You military?¡±

    ¡°MaxSec. Retired.¡±

    ¡°Well you can always sign up if you get tired of trash spiders. Now get out of here, and don¡¯t forget to go by the armory to clean up your shit. Some nts spray you with irritants. You don¡¯t want your face to look like a three-day old scarlet balloon. Trust me.¡±

    ¡°Will do.¡±

    ***

    ¡°You did well. We are suitably impressed,¡± r said.

    He frowned. Nestra might have been a tad more impressive than what would be usible for a mana-juiced baseline. Was she making a mistake by being too cool?

    Well, it beat getting bitten.

    ¡°I will immediately request a transfer from IA to my division, although it will be months before we leave. Such things take time. You will be our first and only baseline field agent. You should be honored.¡±

    ¡°Before you do that, and because I know they will agree..¡±

    ¡°Indeed since you have been on leave for weeks,¡± r noted with a pointed nce.

    ¡°There is onest thing I need to do as part of IA. My superior was wrongfully arrested and I intend to get her out of there.¡±

    ¡°This is not a negotiation,¡± r stated.

    Nestra stood up, so did r. He wasn¡¯t amused.

    This book is hosted on another tform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.

    Slowly, she grabbed her ID.

    ¡°It definitely is.¡±

    ¡°I warned you what would happen if you made things difficult.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re cklisting me for employment, right? Now look at me. Look at me well. Do you think I give a shit?¡±

    r stopped himself before he could say more. For the first time, Nestra could tell he had stopped and was actually thinking.

    ¡°I don¡¯t need the city to give me a job. Riel, I don¡¯t even need a job. I¡¯m loaded. My family is immensely more loaded and they won¡¯t let me down, especially if some cunt¡¯s trying to strong arm me into traveling to a fucking enve.¡±

    r didn¡¯t react, so Nestra waited.

    ¡°Perhaps your contribution isn¡¯t required after all,¡± r whispered in what might have been a dangerous tone.

    ¡°Good! Then I¡¯m off. See you.¡±

    ¡°Hold!¡± he said as she turned. ¡°I think you don¡¯t quite realize the importance of our work, or the situation you risk putting yourself in if¡ª¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have leverage,¡± Nestra said, and she meant it. ¡°I don¡¯t need money, I don¡¯t need influence, I don¡¯t value my career and I don¡¯t give a shit about your opinion. I don¡¯t have kids who need to go to a good school. I don¡¯t see gleams as all that superior. You have nothing on me.¡±

    Well, there was physical violence but that was the thing with violence, it only worked so long as you were the strongest.

    r wasn¡¯t the strongest.

    ¡°I see. Hmm. I believe I owe you an apology for being cavalier. It is as you said. Perhaps spending too much time with users has led me to see baselines as too¡­ amodating.¡±

    r sat back but he wasn¡¯t looking at Nestra. Curious, she sat as well. He was looking for words.

    ¡°Yes,¡± he finally admitted, ¡°I am doing what I abhor the enve formitting: considering people who are not users as lesser people.¡±

    ¡°Wow, never thought you¡¯d actually admit it.¡±

    ¡°In private, of course. If we were in public I would have had to send you to go through the disciplinarymittee on your way out just to keep my image.¡±

    ¡°Charming.¡±

    ¡°Out of curiosity, tell me about this ¡®wrongful imprisonment¡¯ of yours?¡±

    Finally, someone to bounce ideas off. Someone who was obviously savvy. Nestra had shared half a story before realizing r might be looking for the leverage she said he didn¡¯t have, but it was toote by then. Instead of being coy, r seemed¡­ sympathetic. In a bad way.

    ¡°And I assume you will want to conduct a counter investigation? Contest the findings?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    r was speechless. Nestra felt a certain doubt in her ability, which pissed her off even more. Ok, she was out of her depth¡­ but people should be helping instead of giving her the ¡®oh you poor thing you¡¯ll hurt your widdle head¡¯ looks, dammit.

    ¡°Look, I want to give it a good try, at least. If it were you, would you not want a work friend to stand up for you?¡±

    ¡°In ¡®work friends¡¯, the operative term is ¡®work¡¯. Otherwise they would just be friends,¡± r replied in a soft voice.

    ¡°Thanks for the nice quote, I''ll put it on my mug.¡±

    ¡°I see you have made up your mind,¡± r sighed. ¡°That is fine. I will be sure to keep an eye on things and contact you in two weeks, when things will havee to a head one way or another. As I said, it will take months before we are ready to depart due to red tape, ongoing negotiations, and the enve¡¯s tendency to go back on the deal just before signing. They do it every time to get onest concession.¡±

    ¡°Right. Was there anything else?¡±

    ¡°You may leave at your convenience.¡±

    That meant now.

    ***

    Nestra checked her messages on the way back. There was one from Baatar with a name and address alongside the expected warnings that all her endeavors were futile yadda yadda. Nestra didn¡¯t care because, one, she had no other options at the moment and two, she¡¯d gotten a ton of stuff by just being too obnoxious to ignore. It was much easier to throw her a bone than to argue with her for hours. Case in point: her iing transfer to Special Affairs.

    She hoped they would give her a raise. And a promotion! Being obnoxious made promotions impossible without some bullshit anyway.

    Nestra hurried to the office of a certain Yun Sangah, someone so above her grade she might be a god. She was an Internal Affair high officer on par with Deputy Chief Ito, though her domain was corruption. Nestra understood there was some ovep between the two departments which exined some friction. A brief check of IA¡¯s organigram showed Yun¡¯s department was significantlyrger than Ito¡¯s own. She wondered if it counted for something.

    Nestra had no way to y this smart, mostly because she had zero cards in hand right now. She needed to force it. Yun could take the bait or she could see it as Nestra reaching out far above her station, thus threatening hierarchy and order. Some people preferred peace over justice. Nestra had no way to know in advance and she didn¡¯t care that much anyway. Might as well go for it.

    In person.

    It was past seven when she arrived at the bottom of the Beacon, in central. The building was so massive she almost parked in the wrong parking, and the trip up to IA¡¯s floor took another ten minutes. Office hours had officially finished more than an hour before but that didn¡¯t mean shit in the beating heart of Threshold. The government was jam-packed with ambitious overachievers. There would be meetings running until 1AM every day. Nestra found the lobby empty however; the secretary having gone for the night. Her ID let her get in anyway.

    ¡°Should have stopped for dinner,¡± Nestra grumbled. She was hungry. And angry. And hangry to boot. What a day.

    Nestra almost erred making her way through thebyrinthine corridors but fortunately, she still had enough of a brain to pull out a map and find Yun Sangah¡¯s office. It was one floor above her. The Beacon was not just a maze, it was absolutely massive.

    She came across quite a few people in the standard uniform of government drones in Threshold: ck suits for the men, ck tailleurs for the women, white shirts, makeup, stic surgery. Nestra stood out like a sore thumb. It didn¡¯t help that East Asian people formed the overwhelming majority of the staff. Eventually, she found the proper corridor. It was obviously the right one because there was only one door. It was locked. No one answered her knocks.

    ¡°Shit.¡±

    What if Yun wasn¡¯t here tonight? That would be bloody stupid. On a hunch, she retreated to the nearest open office, easily finding several people workingte onrge monitors.

    ¡°Excuse me? I¡¯m looking for Deputy Chief Yun Sangah. Would you happen to know if she will be around tonight?¡±

    The employee went through several stages of disbelief, first checking her face, then her clothes, then her badge, before kind of doing a full reset. It was like she¡¯d asked him to calcte a satellite¡¯s orbit.

    ¡°Hello?¡±

    ¡°Oh, ah, yes, Yun sunbae-nim. She might be here tonight? Who is asking?¡±

    ¡°Clytemnestra Padian, with the Financial Crime Division. I am in need of¡­ guidance.¡±

    He looked at another employee who eyed him with the measuring look of someone watching someone else make a mistake that would erase them from the rat race.

    ¡°I am not certain.¡±

    ¡°I see. I will wait a bit longer then.¡±

    She returned to the office¡¯s door. The drone would definitely phone his boss first thing, and Nestra would soon have her answer one way or another. People moved quickly here. The stone had sessfully been tossed into the pond. Now she would see those ripples.

    It didn¡¯t take long.

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid Yun Sunbae-nim is unavable tonight. Could you leave your contact information please? She will call you as soon as she is avable.¡±

    Darn. That meant a soft no, at the very least. Nestra gave her number just in case, not that they needed it, and left, but there was someone waiting for her near the entrance.

    ¡°Miss Padian?¡± a smooth woman asked with a smile that didn¡¯t reach her eyes.

    Nestra noted the intentional omission of her title.

    ¡°Mr. Ito would like to see you.¡±

    ¡°Lead the way then,¡± Nestra said.

    The woman walked, turning back several times to look at Nestra like she wasn¡¯t believing what she was seeing. Or not. Maybe Nestra was projecting a little, and also running out of patience.

    Nestra¡¯s guide knocked and let Nestra in. She took a moment to look at her surroundings. Her nominal boss¡¯ office was an oasis of serenity in a desert of office decorations provided by the lowest bidder. Blue light fell from the ceiling over mushroom terrariums ¡ª or whatever those were called. Some were fluorescent and came with faint traces of mana. Paintings on the wall depicted underground caverns and the likes. It was pretty nice, cozy even.

    ¡°Take a seat.¡±

    Ito was a tall, lean man of middle age with an intelligent face. Graying hair at his temple gave him a look of respectability. His suit was deep blue and as spotless as the rest of his person. He looked thoroughly unamused. He leaned back in his seat with quiet annoyance on in disy. Nestra did so. It was a necessary step to get out of here.

    He studied her in silence for a while. Nestra knew what he wanted to do. Most people hated silence, but she didn¡¯t. She enjoyed silence very much. Especially when it was going to be filled with an annoying voice any time soon. There was an ephemeral beauty to silence.

    Some of those mushrooms looked really weird.

    ¡°Officer Clytemnestra Padian, officially attached to my unit, though we both know that is a convenience.¡±

    Nestra returned her attention to the man, though she didn¡¯t reply. He hadn¡¯t asked questions yet. The way he talked was slow and deliberate to the point he was even marking themas and periods with a small pause.

    ¡°You know why I have called you here.¡±

    ¡°I can hazard a guess,¡± Nestra replied.

    Again, silence returned to the room.

    Sometimes, she felt like there was a script to human interactions or human confrontations she was supposed to follow, like a sheet with directions everyone else had that let the conversation flow forward, and every time she talked, the person with the direction had to check again because they were lost. Sometimes it was annoying. Other times, there was some sort of vindication to it.

    ¡°You havee here out of sympathy for your superior Kim Soo-Young.¡±

    Something in the way he watched her reaction told her he was fishing. He might have just learnt she was working against him. That meant that Baatar might not have thrown her to the wolves which was a good thing to know.

    ¡°You have never been truly punished for your conduct. You believe your family will protect you. That is why you came here to find someone to champion your efforts to overturn my judgment. You believe the worst you risk is to be fired.¡±

    He nced at his screen. It was short but enough for her to guess her file was disyed there. She really wondered what it said.

    ¡°You are wrong. There are many things a police officer in your position will do to secure an edge, especially in the challenging environment of District Fifteen. I am getting more and more curious as to what those measures were.¡±

    He leaned forward, cing both hands on the desk. It felt like she had his full attention now.

    Nestra had to admit, he was really good at conveying messages through posture. It was fascinating, really.

    ¡°There is a due process. A way of things. You are hitting your head against the walls, Miss Padian. Your skull will crack first.¡±

    ¡°Just to rify, the due process to look into Kim¡¯s imprisonment is to check with you?¡±

    Ito remained silent.

    ¡°Because you sent her there, then you sealed all records so people couldn¡¯t get a better look into things sooooo¡­ that sounds like a waste of time.¡±

    ¡°You are hereby suspended pending disciplinary action. Leave your badge and your gun here. You should have known better than to test me.¡±

    ¡°You can have the badge but the gun¡¯s mine. MaxSec license.¡±

    ¡°You are no longer MaxSec.¡±

    ¡°Still got the license though,¡± Nestra said, knowing this was one of the things he couldn¡¯t touch. Gun licenses were extremely hard to revoke in Threshold.

    ¡°Here,¡± she said, leaving her ID on the table. ¡°Was there anything else?¡±

    ¡°I do not want to waste another minute of my time talk¡ª¡±

    ¡°You know there is one thing you didn¡¯t even mention,¡± Nestra interrupted.

    It was so obvious Ito hadn¡¯t been cut off in a while, because anger prevented him from reacting.

    ¡°You never insisted Kim was guilty. Didn¡¯t even cross your mind.¡±

    ¡°Get out.¡±

    Nestra gave him onest look, but he wouldn¡¯t be provoked further. Not like she could catch that snake incriminating himself even if she could record him without him knowing. None of this mattered in the grand scheme of things. It was all posturing, but there was one thing that she knew for sure now. Kim was innocent. Someone as angry as Ito would have been outraged that someone like her could question his methods of investigation. The fact he hadn¡¯t even mentioned it was a sign, and she was under the impression he hadn¡¯t tried to act innocent to throw her off because she was too insignificant to matter. Not worth the effort. She showed herself out. She seethed all the way to the parking lot, having to ask a guard to let her out on two asions since her credentials were already revoked.

    Just at the entrance, she came across a familiar figure. Well, it ought to be familiar but Nestra couldn¡¯t quite ce her. The East Asian woman strode past in a beautiful white kimono that would look at home in a g. Strands of mana clung to it, making it shine from a ghostly inner light. She gave Nestra a knowing smirk.

    Nestra blinked. That felt¡­ no, it was personal. Her instincts told her it was on purpose. It was a message. A really weird one. What?

    Nestra turned to the elevator as its doors closed, but the woman had her back turned.

    Familiar but not too much. Who was that? Someone she¡¯d met recently. Someone rich. Japanese, probably. A rich Japanese woman who could have something against her. There was only one who could fit the bill and even then¡­

    ¡°Oh.¡±

    Nestra gasped. She knew who this was. She remembered, thoughst time, the woman had been wearing ck. This was¡­. Shinoda¡¯s widow.

    The person who had a burning hatred of Kim. Nestra blinked. That sounded like a ridiculous conspiracy but¡­ that timing, that smile¡­ Holy shit. It couldn¡¯t be¡­ could it?

    Ito and Shinoda¡¯s widow working together to fuck up Kim¡¯s life?

    Nestra breathed down on her anger. Sending someone to the Red House for two decades because you were shown up at a funeral? Who the hell did that? No, it was simply too obvious. No one could be that ridiculously petty. No, she refused to believe it. This was just¡­. too many assumptions in a row.

    But then what was that bitch doing here? Nestra scratched her head. Better not to dwell on it too much.

    ¡°I¡¯m going crazy, seeing schemes everywhere.¡±

    What if it were true, though? What if Shinoda¡¯s widow goaded Nestra because she knew Nestra was powerless to help Kim? The poisonous thought seeped into her mind, stoking her anger. Her heart raced until she was in her car and her visor rang to hopefully provide a distraction. Unknown number. Nestra picked up immediately.

    ¡°You have courage, child, I will grant you that. And integrity. But not much else,¡± a mature woman said.

    There was no visual. Nestra didn¡¯t need it though. She knew who she was talking to.

    ¡°Should I call you sunbae-nim even though I¡¯m pretty much fired?¡± Nestra asked Deputy Director Yun.

    ¡°No need. This is an informal discussion. As I said, I am as impressed by your loyalty as I am by yourck of foresight.¡±

    ¡°Look, I got nothing, ok?¡± Nestra snapped. ¡°No proof, no lead, and the only person with ess to everything also happens to be the culprit. You tell me what I¡¯m supposed to do.¡±

    ¡°Lie low?¡±

    ¡°Very funny. What is Kim looking at? Twenty years in the Red House? Thirty?¡±

    The person on the other side sighed, a heavy sound filled with regret.

    ¡°It¡¯s not unusual for high management to clean house on asion, though I agree, this seems rather¡­ excessive.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Nestra hissed. ¡°Excessive? Ruining someone¡¯s retirement n is excessive. This is destroying someone¡¯s life, dammit!¡±

    ¡°I get your point, Miss Padian. It appears your reputation is well-deserved.¡±

    ¡°I have a reputation?¡±

    ¡°One does not take Gidung down a peg without earning some attention. You also tend to be¡­ loud. I shall cut to the chase then. I cannot help you in a meaningful amount of time.¡±

    ¡°Ito is rotten.¡±

    ¡°I have my suspicions, yes, but I cannot prove it in any significant manner. Now that Kim has been arrested, he might be able to pin everything on her.¡±

    ¡°Wait, you¡¯re saying he actually stole stuff? I was assuming he¡¯d drummed up false numbers just to get Kim arrested, but that it was false.¡±

    ¡°No, he is rotten. Unfortunately, only he knows what he¡¯s doing and I suspect he merely skimmed off the top. His department is the only one that does not cost money to the taxpayer because he salvages and reemploys so much of what he seizes. As far as the director is concerned, he¡¯s an important asset.¡±

    ¡°I see. Untouchable, is what you¡¯re saying?¡±

    ¡°You, as Clytemnestra Padian, have no way to touch him.¡±

    ¡°But you do.¡±

    ¡°I will not jeopardize my career for such a slim chance of sess. As I said, he has ess to, and is the only one who understands, all of the evidence. Your only chance of sess is to go even higher.¡±

    ¡°You just said that talking to you was ack of foresight. The director is even higher. What am I supposed to do, crash down his gates and set myself on fire?¡±

    ¡°Your family, Miss Padian. Your only hope is to find someone influential enough to make a request, as unlikely as it is. That would be just to get the case open, not even solving it. Your father is not popr but he is respected. He might have the ear of some of the more righteous members of the government. Who knows? I certainly don¡¯t see another way.¡±

    ¡°I feel like I¡¯m being thrown from a desperate gambit to just grasping at straws.¡±

    ¡°This is your doing, Miss Padian. Most other people would have given up long ago. Should you fail, you will most likely be cklisted and likely expelled from civil service, but I will continue to look into Ito¡¯s wrongdoings and when I do, I will make sure Kim is freed.¡±

    ¡°When will that happen?¡±

    ¡°I do not know. People like him believe they are so smart and above the rest of mankind that nothing can ever affect them. He will keepmitting crimes until he is caught.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not waiting.¡±

    ¡°And I shall not stop you, Miss Padian. As I said, if you want to free Kim now, you need the word of God. Good luck.¡±

    She hung up. Nestra sat back into her seat, giving herself a minute so the anger would fade away.

    She knew what she ought to do. It was time to choose but¡­ was there really a choice? Seth was going to be so mad.

    Fuck it.

    ***

    ¡°Crescent,¡± Ragnarok said.

    As usual, the old woman faced the window away from Nestra. The light of dawn cast the city in a favorable light, but all Nestra could think about was corruption.

    ¡°Ragnarok,¡± Nestra hissed.

    ¡°I am curious as to what you want. My secretary mentioned a favor?¡±

    ¡°It rtesss¡­ to my civilian identity.¡±

    Ragnarok turned. Her cold eyes bore into Nestra¡¯s own, a measuring look. Nestra hadn¡¯t been sure but, for some reason, Seth had not objected to Ragnarok linking her demon and human self. That still expanded the list by one.

    Ragnarok waved her hand. Shutters locked over the windows, then a background sound made Nestra¡¯s ears buzz. A very high privacy screen then.

    ¡°You are aware that the many measures in ce to protect your identity are of no use if you voluntarily share this information, right?¡±

    ¡°I know. Only you. Worth it¡­. I think.¡±

    ¡°What could possibly justify you lowering your mask?¡±

    ¡°There is an innocent in the Red House. I need help saving her.¡±

    Ragnarok turned to fully face Nestra. The old monster had to look up towards herrge demon form, yet it was Nestra who felt judged.

    ¡°Does this rte to Kim Soo-Young?¡±

    ¡°How did you know?¡± Nestra gasped.

    ¡°It is my turn to be honest with you. I already guessed you were Clytemnestra Padian.¡±

    ¡®WHAT?¡±

 (41)

    (41)

    The next morning, Nestra walked into the Beacon¡¯s archives with a team of mooks and Stibbs who had been hired for the asion. It felt good showing her temporary ID to a baffled worker.

    ¡°I will need unrestricted ess to Internal Affairs¡¯ servers.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Now,¡± Nestra insisted.

    The office drone hesitated, undoubtedly because Nestra didn¡¯t fit the bill for high level management. Too many scars, not enough stic surgery, and clothes that didn¡¯t cost eight thousand creds. That hesitationsted only long enough for her credentials to appear in the man¡¯s imnts.

    ¡°Ma¡¯am, the Internal Affairwork is fully isted.¡±

    ¡°Yes, which is why I need physical ess. You will guide me.¡±

    ¡°Right away.¡±

    Nestra led her goon convoy through austere alleys, passing several security gates with all the speed of a motivated social climber. The Internal Affair data ess point was in a secure box, but Nestra¡¯s codes unlocked everything and Stibbs had no difficulty pulling the data.¡°What do we need?¡± she asked in a subdued voice.

    This was the holy sanctum for a born cop like her, even if she¡¯d left the force.

    ¡°Everything Ito altered over the past 4 years. We¡¯ll also need all relevant files that belong to Kim. I also want the backups. There is a backup, right?¡±

    ¡°Several¡­¡± Stibbs said after a while. ¡°Let me check the archived files as well.¡±

    It didn¡¯t take very long to get everything. Although Nestra had requested a ton of stuff, the size of the files wasn¡¯t that massive. It was mostly sheets and the asional image. Understanding the data would be the real issue.

    ¡°I have everything,¡± Stibbs said.

    ¡°Good, then we move to the security center.¡±

    Once again, Nestra marched through the bowels of the Beacon but this time, people stepped out of her way with the lowered gaze of people who knew someone was going to have a bad day and they didn¡¯t want to be caught in the crossfire. The main security office issued her with a badge with unlimited ess after a lot of triple-checking and, as far as she could tell, at least two phone calls. The second one was extremely brief and ended up with dozens of officers scrambling to get her what she wanted.

    Ito arrived five minutester with his secretary, so the first call might have been to Internal Affairs.

    ¡°YOU!¡± he bellowed.

    Nestra barely spared him a nce. A concerned auged guard in an armored vest did his best to ignore him.

    ¡°What the fuck do you think you¡¯re doing?¡±

    ¡°Now and for the next five days, exactly as I please. Sergeant?¡±

    ¡°Yes ma¡¯am.¡±

    ¡°Captain Ito Junpei is hereby suspended. His ess is revoked.¡±

    ¡°Fuzakeru na! This woman is mad!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry sir. She has executive privileges over your division. Her word isw.¡±

    ¡°This is impossible. By whose order?¡±

    The security guard gulped before answering in a subdued voice.

    ¡°General Ragnhild Lidstrom, sir. Countersigned by Shinran.¡±

    It was as if the local temperature had suddenly dropped to freezing. A deathly silence spread throughout the office as those who knew they ought to obey but not why suddenly realized Nestra might as well have been sent by God almighty for what it implied for them and their careers.

    ¡°Escort Captain Ito out, please,¡± Nestra said in the ensuing silence, trying her best to be only mildly smug about it.

    ¡°Wait a moment. You said five days. Five days is all you have,¡± Ito said.

    His aristocratic demeanor devolved into animalistic rage. He was barely in control.

    ¡°That is correct.¡±

    ¡°After five days, I¡¯ming for you. I will make you pay for this¡­ this humiliation!¡±

    ¡°That sounds like a threat to a temporarily superior officer,¡± Nestra calmly stated. ¡°Sergeant, lead Captain Ito out. He is not to return to his office.¡±

    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t dare! Wait¡­ wait, at least let me get my car keys.¡±

    ¡°I guess you¡¯re taking the subway. Goodbye.¡±

    Nestra had seldom watched someone being escorted out with this much satisfaction.

    ¡°Holy Riel, Nes, did you have to?¡± Stibbs whispered with a mix of terror and awe.

    ¡°Yeah I mean what kind of car can¡¯t be opened with visor ess? It was obviously a lie.¡±

    ***

    The mook group visited Ito¡¯s office next. It was just as neat as Nestra remembered. She walked around, breathing slowly as she did.

    Her true self was just there, beneath the surface. her instincts were muted but¡­

    There, near a painting, fingerprints made of ink. Spilled, probably. Ito was so old school.

    ¡°There is a safe here,¡± she dered. ¡°You,¡± she told Ito¡¯s secretary. ¡°Do you know how to open it?¡±

    ¡°No¡­¡±

    ¡°Get a safecracker here,¡± Nestra said, and one of her helpers left to make the call.

    Nestra sat in Ito¡¯s chair just because she knew the secretary would tell him she¡¯d done it, and that would send him over the edge. She wasn¡¯t above a bit of pettiness.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you think you¡¯re going¡­ too far?¡± the secretary blurted with clear disbelief.

    She was loyal to Ito. Interesting.

    ¡°Ito thinks he¡¯s Riel¡¯s gift to everyone else. It doesn¡¯t matter what I do now. He wille after me with everything he has no matter what,¡± Nestra exined for Stibbs¡¯ benefit.

    ¡°What about basic decency?¡± the secretary insisted.

    ¡°That went out of the window the moment an innocent woman was sent to prison. I don¡¯t abide people who do the nastiest shit before hiding back under ¡®decorum¡¯ and ¡®prestige¡¯ once the boomerang of consequences returns unlubed. Maybe don¡¯t be a slimy piece of shit from the start and I won¡¯t stoop to your level, right?¡±

    Nestra let the secretary choke on her outrage. The safecracker arrived an instantter. It was a drone, actually, and it opened the safe with a beep.

    ¡°The safe came with the building, ma¡¯am,¡± the mook exined. ¡°Security can open them all.¡±

    ¡°Good to know. Now what¡¯s this?¡±

    Nestra foraged through piles of paper and other mementos. There were medals and other shiny awards she set aside, some printed e-mail rted to promotion and internal politics, but it was the contents of a red file that attracted her interest the most. There were printed copies of hotel reservations and a fundraiser voucher.

    Now why would he keep this?

    Nestra wished she could search Ito¡¯s apartment but the special warrant she had didn¡¯t cover that. An oversight, in her opinion, but whatever.

    Still, this had to mean something.

    ¡°What next?¡± Stibbs asked.

    ¡°Now we start unpacking.¡±

    ***

    The Beacon kindly provided Nestra with a crisis response suite. Those were temporary headquarters that could be activated in times of emergency so ad hoc teams could gather and have everything ready to proceed. They were fully equipped withputers,s; the works. They¡¯d been designed in case of major catastrophes so resources could be redirected from other departments in an instant. Floods, breaches, earthquakes; if it existed, Threshold had a contingency for it.

    While many city fortresses had associated enves that could absorb some disasters, Threshold was the lone true city on an otherwise wild subcontinent. Local enves were too small and sparsely spread out to matter. There was no strategic depth to thend. Monsters only had to cross fifty meters to find the nearest civilian, and things would go downhill from there. That was why such facilities existed.

    It was just a shame it wasn¡¯t aired out more often.

    ¡°Smells like rank air and old coffee,¡± Stibbsined. ¡°Someone spilled their java on the desk.¡±

    ¡°Right. Let¡¯s just unpack, then I have to leave for the Red House.¡±

    ¡°Nestra?¡± Stibbs asked as the helpful mooks spread out to get started. ¡°What happens if you don¡¯t find what you need within five days?¡±

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll never work in Threshold legally ever again, and I¡¯ll possibly get a stint in jail depending on what Ito gets his hands on. Don¡¯t think about it. Think about what we can do. I need to get a better read on the situation.¡±

    ¡°Nestra, you know I¡¯m on your side but¡­ this is foolish. Even for you.¡±

    ¡°Oh ye of little faith. Alright, what have we got?¡±

    It turned out to be a lot. The specific files on Kim¡¯s case consisted of one legal brief and a ton of transactions validated by Kim. The team read through it and it was as Ito had warned: they didn¡¯t get it. The presentation was airtight, thews that were broken were meticulously quoted, and the documents all appeared genuine. Checking them against backups showed no obvious alterations. It waspletely beyond Nestra, but that was ok. She didn¡¯t need to prove Kim was innocent if she managed to show that Ito was guilty, and she was pretty sure he was.

    Next came Ito¡¯s files. Nestra started by discarding all management, HR, and admin-rted stuff but even then, they had gigabytes of data to work through. The financial stuff consisted of bnce sheets, risk assessment analysis, bills of sale¡­ the list was exhaustive. It wasn¡¯t difficult to understand what was done but it proved impossible to determine why. All of the notes pertaining to decision-making used shorthand and sometimes even just codes that didn¡¯t link back to anything Nestra or Stibbs were familiar with. Essentially, they could see when Ito sold something but not why, or why at that specific price. Or how things were valued.

    ¡°We expected that much. If there is any crime, it will probably be linked to real world money flow so get me a list of all actual transfers, for how much, and to whom if possible.¡±

    Next, Nestra did some research on the contents of the safe.

    ¡°Do you think it¡¯s important?¡± Stibbs asked.

    ¡°Ito is meticulous. He wouldn¡¯t just keep receipts for no reason.¡±

    ¡°But a hotel? And a fundraiser?¡±

    ¡°I think it¡¯s not the event. It¡¯s who went there.¡±

    It only took an hour for Nestra to get ess to security footage thanks to Threshold¡¯splete disrespect for privacy. In both cases, Ito had gone alongside a beautiful woman wearing sunsses and what looked like a wig.

    ¡°It¡¯s definitely Shinoda¡¯s widow,¡± Nestra said.

    ¡°You can recognize her? She¡¯s wearing a lot of makeup.¡±

    ¡°Run it through the AI. The gait and bone structure will match.¡±

    It did.

    ¡°It really is her. With a 99.7% uracy rate.¡±

    ¡°Yep. So she¡¯s involved, somehow, and Ito kept those to make sure she would be nailed if something happened to him¡­ but how?¡±

    ¡°You should interrogate him.¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t get anywhere,¡± Nestra said. ¡°He¡¯s simply smoother and a better conversationalist than I am. And I don¡¯t have anything on him. He¡¯ll just send me packing. No, I think it¡¯s time for me to see Kim. I''ll go alone. I don¡¯t think I can get clearance for anybody else.¡±

    ***

    There was someone waiting by Nestra¡¯s roadster. Several someones, in fact. Shinoda¡¯s widow leaned with a ghastly smile in an elegant blue cocktail dress alongside a pair of auged bodyguards who looked like rentals. Nestra barely slowed down because intimidating her was one thing, but what that bitch was doing was unconscionable.

    ¡°Unglue your ass from my passenger door right this instant,¡± she threatened.

    When Shinoda smiled, Nestra used the remote parking AI to move the car forward by ten centimeters before stopping. It was enough to make the woman slip.

    For one instant, her face turned into an expression of devilish rage, features twisted by a burning hatred too intense to make sense. She regained control so fast, anyone slower could have imagined it.

    ¡°Say what you want to say then sod off. I¡¯m busy,¡± Nestra huffed.

    She was ready to leave then and there, even if it meant driving over a bodyguard.

    ¡°I see that you¡¯ve managed to make yourself the empress for a limited time. Five days. That¡¯s all you have to prove that Ito Junpei, your T+3,mitted fraud.¡±

    She smiled. It wasn¡¯t nice. Nestra was losing patience.

    ¡°Why are you really here? If it does concern you, it would be wiser for you to hide, no?¡±

    ¡°Because you imply you have a chance of changing something. I¡¯m here for the satisfaction of telling you that you do not. There is a certain order to things that most people understand; yet you have repeatedly failed to do so. Kim also failed to do so. The rule is, when you are at the bottom, you ought to be quiet. If you are not quiet, then you ought to be backed by your betters. If you are not the mouthpiece for a better, then you are the nail that sticks out, yes? I always find it entertaining when a nail is hammered down, and the nail next to it decides to stand out as well. It is as if people like you could not believe they could be mmed down as easily as the rest until it happens. It is like watching a herd of beasts fall off a cliff. You see the warning, yet your mind cannot grasp that the warning is for you, and so you are next. I havee to see you now just as you have begun to stand, and you somehow got a small window that willst only long enough for you to realize howrge the world is. How full of bigger, better people. I havee to tell you good luck though it will make no difference. If you do not present proof of fraud in five days, you will be expelled and quite possibly sued. I will return then and see what you have aplished. I honestly cannot wait.¡±

    ¡°See you there, then,¡± Nestra replied.

    She wasn¡¯t willing to engage. Kim was waiting.

    ¡°I wille to find you. Goodbye.¡±

    The woman left with a graceful walk that didn¡¯t belong in an indoor parking lot but whatever. Nestra checked her car for bugs and explosives just in case. When nothing popped up, she sat on the driver¡¯s seat and reyed the meeting on her visor. She paused the recording just as Shinoda¡¯s face broke into an expression of unbidden fury. She leaned back into her seat.

    ¡°Am I attracting all the female nutcases of the city? Seriously, this is so statistically improbable.¡±

    There weren¡¯t even that many female psychopaths. Maybe it was bad luck. Or her attitude. Probably bad luck.

    Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

    ***

    This time, Nestra was alone and this time, the Warden granted her ess on the spot. His mask tilted to the side.

    ¡°You are a persistent person, Miss Padian.¡±

    ¡°Thanks.¡±

    He approached her in the receiving room while her gaze was drawn to the vending machine. She kind of wanted chocte. It was only just 10AM.

    ¡°There is also something odd about you. I have a very, very good instinct for danger.¡±

    She returned her attention to him, all thoughts of energy bars evaporating. He was suddenly standing very close. Space around her warped in her perception, and the pocket where her real body hid shifted like a ship bobbing on a wave. She could swear he was sniffing her from behind his borate mask.

    ¡°Something very curious indeed.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m definitely above baseline but I am confident I cannot beat you, if that¡¯s anyfort,¡± she joked.

    And rightly so because he was a B-ss, albeit a new one, not to mention he felt like a very experienced fighter to her instincts. His affinities and the home advantage meant she absolutely didn¡¯t stand a chance.

    ¡°And you believe it as well, it seems. Just a warning. Do not try to free Miss Kim.¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t, unless it¡¯s done legally.¡±

    ¡°Because,¡± the man continued, ¡°I will kill her myself before I let her escape.¡±

    ¡°Hey!¡± Nestra protested.

    ¡°Red House rule, my dear. No one escapes, one way or another. But enough unpleasantries. I will have one of my colleagues show you the way while I attend to other visitors. Please excuse my absence. Unfortunately, I have other guests ¡ª the temporary kind ¡ª and visiting raiders take priority.¡±

    ¡°Hmmm I don¡¯t mind. Thanks for seeing me.¡±

    He nodded. Nestra was left wondering if perhaps the Warden had something akin to space mana, and if yes, then perhaps he was sensing that something was wrong with her. Arger imprint than she should have, maybe? Riel couldn¡¯t be the only human with a space affinity.

    It was interesting but not immediately relevant, so she followed a drone through thick corridors.

    ¡°Are you the warden¡¯s colleague?¡± Nestra asked the drone as a joke.

    To her surprise, a modted voice emerged from the machine.

    ¡°Due to security reasons, we do not physically approach visitors, ma¡¯am, but the Warden decided that a human guide would help answer relevant questions.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m honestly surprised it¡¯s not all done by an AI.¡±

    ¡°It was decided during the creation of the Red House to mix human and AI elements, in case users ended up with mana affinities that could defeat programming, somehow. The redundancy allows us not to depend too much on a single set of defenses.¡±

    ¡°Ah, I see.¡±

    ¡°The Warden also believes that humanity should not be fully stripped out of a prison. Ah, here we are.¡±

    They paused in front of a fortified door that could probably stop abat walker.

    ¡°Prisoner Kim Soo-Young has been brought here. Since she is considered a low-risk asset, she will not be quarantined. You are not authorized to give her anything.¡±

    ¡°Oh shit I should have brought her a bagel or something,¡± Nestra btedly realized.

    The drone operator waited a few seconds before continuing.

    ¡°The meeting willst for up to thirty minutes. It will be fully recorded, and its contents can be used in a court ofw should a request be made and epted. Please be aware of safety h h aaaaah ¡ª¡±

    Nestra barely paid attention to the long list of disimers designed to absolve the Red House of any legal responsibility should an eager journalist interrogate a cannibalistic serial killer and stay for dinner, as it were, for example. Nestra wasn¡¯t in any danger here. She was the cannibalistic monster for Riel¡¯s sake.

    ¡°Do you understand?¡± the drone finally repeated.

    ¡°Oh? Yeah yeah.¡±

    ¡°... Very well. I will open the door for you. Knock or just say you are done when you are ready to depart.¡±

    ¡°Thanks.¡±

    Inside, she found a bare room with just a table and two stools designed for maximum difort. They were bolted to the ground. Kim was already sitting. She was looking frightful.

    Gone was the confident elite civil servant. In her stead was a tired, broken woman with hunched shoulders and deep pockets under eyes reddened by tears and a deep, crushing despair. Even after seeing Nestra, her expression only went from despondent to surprised, ashamed, then desperate once again.

    Honestly, it was a little bit annoying.

    ¡°Oh no. No no no tell me you didn¡¯t get involved in this.¡±

    ¡°Toote. I have five days to prove you¡¯re innocent, so let¡¯s get started.¡±

    ¡°Aaaaa. AAAAAAAAAAAH.¡±

    Kim gently bumped her head against the desk. She breathed hard.

    ¡°Padian. Nestra. Nestra Nestra Nestra. You fool. Now we shall both end up here.¡±

    Nestra didn¡¯t get it.

    ¡°I would really appreciate it if you spent less time treating me like I¡¯m a fucking moron and more time on helping me solve the problem. We have a small window, so unless you fancy looking at paint fade for the next two decades¡­¡±

    ¡°Miss Padian, this has been a very long week for me. Please give me some time.¡±

    She gulped some water while Nestra checked for messages. Stibbs was moving forward with tracking money transfers. Ito¡¯s financials had alsoe and from the mook¡¯s analysis, the man was clean. Incredibly so. He even kept receipts for his coffee. His wealth came from a high ie and some wise investments. He had been audited every year, apparently, and quite seriously too. That was perhaps why he was so trusted.

    If Ito had stolen money, he¡¯d either stashed it, or used it in a way that couldn¡¯t be detected. Of course, things wouldn¡¯t be that easy¡­

    ¡°Miss Padian,¡± Kim said. ¡°The truth is that¡­ I do not know what crime Ito is guilty of, exactly.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Nestra said, appalled. ¡°I thought you were onto him and he threw you into the tide?¡±

    ¡°No, the real world is not a vid. I was not ¡®onto¡¯ him, though I did notice he was spending a lot of time out at prestigious functions. The condemnation fell like thunder from cloudless heavens. I was as surprised as you no doubt were.¡±

    ¡°Wait¡­ then what did he use you of? And why target you?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m used of fraud. He ims I sold stocks and options at reduced costs and then, I pocketed the difference. It is a lie, of course, but he doesn¡¯t need to prove I have the money, only that I may have stolen it, and since he is the lead expert for this sort of crime¡­¡±

    ¡°Hmm, then it¡¯s back to square one.¡±

    Nestra still shared what she¡¯d found so far, including the connection to Shinoda¡¯s widow.

    ¡°That bitch¡­¡±

    For the first time since seeing her again, something of the old Kim breathed back into the tired woman¡¯s demeanor. Her shoulders straightened. Her gaze, which had been full of hesitation, now burnt with a singr focus.

    ¡°Yes. Ok. I get it. So. Shinoda is a politician and like most politicians, she offers power and asks for money. That is our angle. It is also likely that Ito threw me under the bus for a dual purpose: to please Shinoda¡­¡±

    ¡°Is she really that spiteful?¡±

    ¡°You have no idea. She is infamous city-wide. Her reputation is such that few people dare to cross her outright.¡±

    ¡°But that makes no sense,¡± Nestra protested. ¡°Why would Ito associate himself with a known snake? He seems risk averse, and a control freak to boot. I don¡¯t get it.¡±

    Kim¡¯s mouth opened and closed a few times before she finally managed to enunciate what was on her mind.

    ¡°She is¡­ widely considered to be very attractive.¡±

    Nestra blinked.

    ¡°So?¡±

    ¡°It is quite possible he has been seduced.¡±

    ¡°Ooooooooh.¡±

    Damn, those unfortunate allosexual people falling for the old honey pot. Sex ruined their judgment, obviously, the poor things. Nestra had to shake her head here. Ito really wasn¡¯t as smart as he thought he was.

    ¡°Moving on, the second reason would be to muddy the waters for simr operations he would have conducted. I can¡¯t get out of here or ess confidential information, but here is what you can do¡­¡±

    ***

    ¡°Stibbs, is there a record of the times Ito overrode the monitoring AI?¡±

    ¡°Yes, overrode or reprogrammed. Actually, I can pull it rather easily. Hmmm, those are mostly vtile assets sold at less than the official market value. Why?¡±

    Nestra clenched her fists. This felt like muddying the water.

    ¡°Have any of those sales been made to a third party, rather than on the stock market?¡±

    ¡°Let me check. Hmmm. Yes, quite a few. To various funds.¡±

    ¡°Alright, here is what we¡¯re going to do¡­¡±

    ***

    The rest of the day passed quickly. Shinoda¡¯s finances were surprisingly easy to ess considering she was rich, however Threshold¡¯s citizens voted and they valued transparency, so most of it was public record. The rest wasn¡¯trge enough to bother. Like Ito, Shinoda was rich and didn¡¯t spend much thanks to the advantages that came with a public office. An agent of the Integrity Bureau that kept an eye on politicians confirmed she didn¡¯t have piles of money stashed away that they suspected. So if they really had stolen so much, where had it gone?

    ¡°Any info on those third party groups that purchased the vtile assets below market price?¡± Nestra asked.

    ¡°On it!¡±

    By then, it was quitete but Nestra intended to work until midnight, for once. This would be a marathon.

    Just then her visor beeped.

    ¡°Yes?¡±

    ¡°This is District Twenty-Three¡¯s fire department, ma¡¯am. I¡¯m terribly sorry to inform you that there was a fire at your house.¡±

    ¡°Oh no they wouldn¡¯t,¡± Nestra whispered.

    ¡°Ma¡¯am? Are you alright?¡±

    ***

    Night had fallen over the city, and Nestra contemted the melted hole where her kitchen used to be. She could see her living room¡¯s couch through the gap of scorched, foam-covered furniture. Even her damn pots had melted.

    Of the oven area, there was nothing left.

    She felt numb.

    ¡°Miss, I gotta ask you something. Sorry, the timing is a bit iffy, but¡­¡±

    She turned her attention to the firefighter, a tall anglo with an impressive eye aug.

    ¡°Yeah. Sorry, distracted.¡±

    ¡°Understandable. So, do you happen to have enemies?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Why?¡±

    ¡°Ok so don¡¯t take it as a court-valid expert opinion, right? But you don¡¯t get this sort of damage without an elerant. Hell, we had the first drone here in less than a minute, and the truck in five so the damage was fairly contained¡­¡±

    It really was. Nothing had been lost except the kitchen. It was just so¡­ weird.

    ¡°But the way the fire zed? Look, if it melted your cutlery to puddles like that, it had to be burning off something. I think someone may have started it. I already notified the police.¡±

    ¡°Damn.¡±

    Shinoda was a real piece of work.

    Oh, there was no way it wasn¡¯t her, though Nestra doubted they would find any definite proof. It was more a psychological attack than a real murder attempt anyway, something to distract her while also taking revenge for the slight. It would remind her she wasn¡¯t out of danger just because she was still within her grace period. Nestra wondered what pushed someone to take so many risks just to be that much of an asshole. It wasn¡¯t fear, that was for sure. her arrogance oozed from every pore.

    ¡°Also, sorry to say but the house¡¯s structural integrity ispromised so I¡¯m dering it a hazardous location. You can¡¯t stay here. It might copse.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡±

    ¡°Will you be fine?¡±

    ¡°If you ask if I have a ce to stay then yes. If you ask if I¡¯m alright with someone trying to burn down my house, the answer is no. I mean, technically it belongs to my aunt¡­¡±

    ¡°Who should make a police report and insurance im as soon as possible.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll tell her. And I don¡¯t know. It¡¯s been my ce for so long. I just don''t know.¡±

    Nestra felt like she should feel furious, or vited, yet it was difficult to do so because the house was a lie.

    She would need to deal with thister but damn, did the consequences of her actionse to roost at supersonic speeds.

    She needed a ce to stay. Who would she call now? If she tried her mom, Nestra was pretty sure it would lead to some sort of ident ¡ª like Shinoda mysteriously falling on a frozen puddle onto a stack of sharpened metal stakes. With a sigh, she called Sereth.

    That ce wasn¡¯t getting burnt down any time soon.

    ***

    The work continued. Nestra mentioned the house incident to her colleagues but otherwise didn¡¯t dwell on it. The local criminal police had taken the case and that was it. Maybe she could let it go because it had never been her den at all, or perhaps it was associated with only one part of her. Nestra decided that after this was done, she would get herself a real cave. The priority was still to corner those two assholes before they put their filthy hands on any more of her belongings.

    It was Stibbs who found the next piece of interest.

    ¡°Shinoda is running for mayor.¡±

    The group paused. Nestra could scarcely believe her eyes.

    ¡°Wait. Is she in the opposition?¡±

    ¡°She is. They¡¯re running primaries in three weeks, and she is a strong contender.¡±

    ¡°This might be rted. Politicians need a ton of money to run. That could be it.¡±

    There was a knock on the door. Everyone looked up from their work towards Nestra. A quick check of the security camera revealed a familiar face. She opened it.

    ¡°Detective Baatar?¡±

    The bearded man stood in the alley alongside a group of spooked detectives of various ages. They all looked extremely ufortable.

    ¡°Hello, Officer Padian. Or do you have a temporary title as well?¡±

    ¡°Nope!¡±

    ¡°Well then¡­ I¡¯ll be brief. I heard about your house. I am sorry.¡±

    He introduced the other detectives, who were all members of the Contraband and Property Damage Bureau which handled anything from illegal augs to arson.

    ¡°That¡¯s nice but¡­ what¡¯re you doing here?¡±

    ¡°On the public level, I went to them as a member of the rat squad to inform them that their case and yours might be linked. I think we both know you¡¯re being targeted on purpose. Normally, I wouldn¡¯t have the authority to act as a liaison but it so happens that my boss has been suspended for a couple of days and that gave me some leeway¡­¡±

    He wiggled his brow.

    ¡°And on the personal level?¡± Nestra asked, a bit suspicious about the change of heart.

    ¡°On the personal level, I¡¯ve been a coward and can¡¯t stand myself. My wife also gave me an earful so it is with my family¡¯s blessing that I shall sabotage my career in the name of justice.¡±

    ¡°He is exaggerating,¡± a no-nonsense man said nearby. ¡°Should the good detective be fired for doing his job, we will dly offer him a transfer. Please let us in and let¡¯s work together, Officer Padian. We of the CPB don¡¯t like being taken for idiots.¡±

    ¡°It was really sloppy work!¡± a short woman with scarred hands added with a slightly concerning smile.

    ¡°I understand if you want me out,¡± Baatar added. ¡°But at least work with the CPB. They mean business.¡±

    ¡°Are you kidding? Wee aboard.¡±

    ***

    The CPB team worked fast. They fully agreed with Nestra¡¯s opinion that Shinoda could have done it by proxy, and a brief search of the monitoring AI¡¯s records pinged the suspicious death of a political militant, found with a broken neck and traces of elerant on his fingers. It matched the molecule found in Nestra¡¯s house. Then, it was merely a matter of minutes before the AI found the militant and Shinoda in the same general area, proving a meeting had taken ce. It happened near a dingy mallplex really out of the way.

    ¡°Lots of folks think meeting in person is safer than using a phone because calls can be monitored but that¡¯s not the case, especially in Threshold with all the cameras. You¡¯d be surprised at the number of people who realize when someone doesn¡¯t fit,¡± The CPB captain said.

    ¡°Some people don¡¯t talk to the police though,¡± Nestra said.

    ¡°Not about locals, but corrupt rich women? That is a different story.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s still not enough to nail her.¡±

    ¡°Not by itself, but it¡¯s enough to call the Bureau of Integrity.¡±

    Nestra blinked. Was she going to collect more goons? Damn, this wasn¡¯t a squad anymore. It was a TASK FORCE.

    ¡°Can you call me task force leader?¡±

    ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°Aw.¡±

    ¡°But I¡¯ll call you boss for¡­¡± he checked his visor. ¡°Three days, neen hours.¡±

    ¡°Yesss.¡±

    ***

    Over thirty people nowbored in the overcrowded emergency response unit. Nestra¡¯s main role was to talk to everybody to get updates and give her credentials when they needed ess to something or someone special. It felt weird and fun to walk the cubicles with a cup of cappino while people kept her up to speed, and three days into the work, the finance section finally identified who owned thepany that had bought the vtile assets at a steep discount.

    A few hourster, the Bureau of Integrity recovered the dead militant¡¯s phone record, and then it was time to decide.

    ¡°We have enough for a solid case, but I¡¯m not confident we can pull it off,¡± the CPB representative said.

    The other team leaders discussed the case for a little while. Most of it went above Nestra¡¯s head since it wasn¡¯t her specialty. It was mostly about casew, what judges had decided before. Unfortunately, Threshold was a recent city with a recent justice system and very few, if any, simr cases. This made the others nervous about their chances.

    Nestra knew that anyone else would already be looking at an interrogation chair and three life sentences in this situation, but arresting an opposition politician was an extremely risky, high-profile decision with plenty of implications so she couldn¡¯t me them.

    ¡°How about offering Ito a deal?¡± she suggested.

    The others paused to look at her. They¡¯d been focusing solely on Shinoda earlier, mostly because she was the big fish to catch, but Nestra was here for Ito and, by extension, for Kim.

    ¡°He might be confident about the financial stuff but if you add the arson, and considering it¡¯s a conspiracy¡­¡±

    ¡°Then under the Threshold mobw, all participants would be considered guilty of all crimes. Yes, that¡¯s a great idea. Let¡¯s flip him.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s¡± Nestra added with a smile.

    She was so smart!

    ***

    It was the sixth day, and Nestra sat on a park bench below the imposing form of the Beacon waiting for the inevitable. The air smelled crisp and clean with a bit of the nearby Pacific Ocean spicing it with iodine. It was a beautiful, sunny day. The only thing missing was a good meal.

    Shinoda approached her from a long winding path, mostly devoid of runners at this time. The nearby leaves had barely started to turn yellow. Her bodyguards arrayed themselves at some distance while the regally dressed woman sat next to Nestra ¡ª without invitation, of course.

    ¡°Here, I got you something for the trip¡­ if you decide to leave the city, of course,¡± the elegant woman told Nestra in lieu of greetings.

    It was a take away bag from one of Threshold¡¯s most exclusive steak restaurants: the Burning House.

    ¡°Oh, thanks,¡± Nestra replied without anger.

    ¡°It looks like five days have psed. You have failed to report a financial crime so I suppose this is it. Ito will be reinstated within minutes. It is all downhill from there, ne?¡±

    Nestra savored the moment as she ced the bag at her feet. Shinoda was so confident. It was a little bit cute. The time hade, however, so Nestra served her her best condescending expression.

    ¡°You are correct that I did not fill out a financial crime report on time. That is because there was no need. You see, I know that Ito overrode the monitoring AI to sell confiscated vtile assets at a steep discount to third party shellpanies controlled by you. Thosepanies then liquidated the assets and pocketed the difference, which they sent to your party. You may have used an intermediary to set them up but that intermediary needs to record the name of the person who authorized the transfer if it¡¯s a donation to a Threshold political entity¡­ like your party. An unfortunate oversight on your part.¡±

    It was really hrious to watch Shinoda go from cocksure to concerned, then to horrified.

    ¡°So Ito filled your electoral war chest in exchange for¡­ your favor, and future benefits.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t know that!¡±

    ¡°I do, because he talked.¡±

    Nestra let her smile fully bloom this time.

    ¡°And we have recordings of you going to the same fundraisers and hotels together, which corroborates his story. That would have been enough for the financial crime. Unfortunately for you,mitting fraud rted to elections in Threshold falls under the purview of the Integrity Bureau¡­¡±

    The way her face fell meant Shinoda knew exactly how deep in it she was. the Integrity Bureau didn¡¯t fuck around. Their usual fare was gleam-rted power grabs. Byparison, dealing with Shinoda would be punching down.

    ¡°They were obviously very interested in knowing you donated yourself quite a few million credits in illegal funds, and that would have been it¡­ except you asked someone to burn down my house¡­ and may have had him assassinatedter but that case is still ongoing. You were smart enough to contact him via a burner phone, but you see the issue is that his phone was not secured. Kind of pointless to take all those precautions when the other side does not, don¡¯t you think? If you had waited for two weeks before being a petty bitch, then the call recordings would have been erased from the servers, but of course you had to get your revenge immediately. You used a voice modtor but you gave enough detail for him to identify you, and then we have the both of you at the same spot four days ago: in the Europe Spring mall. That means that the Contraband and Property damage Bureau is also involved¡­ and that means you are the head of a conspiracy. Very ambitious of you.¡±

    ¡°You have nothing. You have nothing and you¡¯re bluffing.¡±

    ¡°The funny thing is, if you¡¯d simplyid low, I may not have had the time to find everything I needed before the deadline.¡±

    ¡°I am leaving and you are going to jail.¡±

    Nestra signaled. Groups of men in police uniform including white-d city gleams moved in from the nearby paths, blocking every ess point. Shinoda snarled like a trapped tigress.

    ¡°You are going nowhere except the Red House, and you¡¯re going there for a very, very long time. Don¡¯t worry, Ito is already waiting for you. I suppose this is farewell, Miss Shinoda. I¡¯ve got to say, I really preferred your ex.¡±

    Nestra thought she could use some popcorn to watch her nemesis fall from haughtydy to screaming victim. Her bodyguards hesitated, but not for long. Threshold¡¯sw enforcement was notoriously short on patience, as Nestra knew very well, having been the person with no patience at all. She leaned backfortably while Shinoda was dragged out.

    ¡°I¡¯m the next mayor! You can¡¯t do this! Help!¡±

    The birds sang, the sun shone, and Nestra had concluded her hunt without even having to change into her true self. What a wonderful time to be alive. She stayed there a good twenty minutes, watching the screaming harridan get shoved into a hover truck, then studying the two despondent bodyguards moving around like lost dobermans wondering what to do with their lives. After five minutes, she opened the food bag.

    It was a sd.

    ¡°That bitch. Joke¡¯s on you, I¡¯ve started to eat more healthily.¡±

    ***

    The morning was bright. Nestra stopped her pink roadster in front of the Red House¡¯s entrance with a smile. She made sure her leather jacket and sunsses were in position to give her the perfect old-school road bandit look. She resisted the urge to grab her coffee.

    The doors opened right on time.

    Kim came out with a nk hoodie, hands clutching the stic bag containing her meager belongings. She blinked owlishly in the bright light. Her hair was held in a tight ponytail that revealed her angr features.

    As soon as she spotted Nestra, she hurried towards her.

    ¡°Wee back from the mmer,¡± Nestra drawled in her best thug voice. ¡°I got ya¡ª¡±

    Kim mmed into her. The shorter woman pushed her head against Nestra¡¯s shoulders with muffled sobs. Nestra awkwardly patted her back for the minute it took for Kim to find her voice again. Oh yeah, maybe the perspective of spending a lifetime behind bars had scared the poor girl so much she wouldn¡¯t appreciate Nestra¡¯s specific kind of humor. She should have guessed.

    ¡°Thank you.¡±

    Kim sniffed so Nestra handed her a clean tissue.

    ¡°I really thought I was done for,¡± Kim confessed. ¡°I thought I was going to spend my life in prison for something I didn¡¯tmit, after everything I¡¯ve done for the city. I thought my life was over. I looked back and I saw no real friends, no lovers, just work and the belief I had made a difference and then it had all turned to ash and¡­ and¡­¡±

    ¡°Shh it¡¯s ok, I get it. I would have been terrified as well. Hey, let¡¯s not stay here. I got you coffee and a bagel. I assume you wanna go home?¡±

    ¡°Home? No. I¡¯m alone there. I want to get out and drink.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s 9 AM.¡±

    ¡°Soju. And barbecue.¡±

    ¡°Aye, now you¡¯re speaking mynguage. Let¡¯s go!¡±

    ***

    ¡°And you should have seen her face when the Integrity Bureau nabbed her!¡±

    ¡°Uhu.¡±

    ¡°Like she couldn¡¯t believe I did it!¡±

    ¡°Uhu.¡±

    ¡°Second best after Ito¡¯s resigned mug.¡±

    ¡°Uhu. Pass me the sauce please.¡±

    ¡°Here. I¡¯m telling you¡ª¡±

    ***

    ¡°¡ª people keep underestimating my intelligence but see? See? I got them anyway! Hah!¡±

    ¡°Way to show them!¡± Aunt ire enthusiastically said through her bandages. ¡°Stick it to the man.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not stupid. People assume I can¡¯t do shit because I¡¯m a muscle head. Well, who¡¯sughing now?¡±

    ¡°I always knew you could do it!¡±

    ***

    ¡°Well of course I know I can do it, but do the others? No! It¡¯s always Nestra¡¯s too wild, she doesn¡¯t show respect and so on yadda yadda like I can¡¯t do it. I just can¡¯t stand assholes, is all.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m aware, girl,¡± Stibbs insisted as she grabbed some more coffee. ¡°I was there the whole time.¡±

    ¡°But you see what I mean? It¡¯s not because I¡¯m not the most social bird around that I¡¯m dumb.¡±

    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s because you¡¯re a battle maniac with no interest in anything else except for food?¡±

    ¡°But it takes intelligence to be good at fighting! Well, a certain form of intelligence, anyway.¡±

    ¡°Should we order cake again?¡±

    ¡°Naturally. Anyway, they will remember the day¡ª¡±

    ***

    ¡°They thought they could underesssstimate me,¡± Crescent told Ragnarok.

    The general was impassive in her chair.

    ¡°I am delighted that you triumphed. I admit that I thought you might have difficulties and I was ready to step in, but you have proven me, and everyone else, wrong. Congrattions.¡±

    ¡°Yessss!¡±

    ¡°And I am going to assume you have been absolutely insufferable over it?¡±

    ¡°...No?¡±

    ¡°Your inted ego has notpelled you to proim your victory to absolutely everyone?¡±

    ¡°No!¡±

    ¡°Not even my secretary while you were waiting for me?¡±

    ¡°Errr.¡±

    ¡°Then if everything has returned to normal, I assume you are now free topensate me for the favor I have provided.¡±

    ¡°Ugggggghhh.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll take that as a clear yes.¡±

    ***

    The Threshold Guild Fair took ce in arge conference center where the new generation¡¯s best and brightest found out which guild recruited and at what cost. The guilds, conversely, did their best to find high-potential sheep they could shear for years with dubious contracts. Even in this age of flowing information, everyone still preferred that personal touch of awkward handshakes in crowded booths. It was one of the few events where both sides of the recruiting table stressed out. As a result, the air smelled of rancid sweat, deodorant that failed to mask the rancid sweat, fear, shit coffee, and anxiety. There were more moist armpits than empty coffee cups on disy and that was saying something. Nestra pushed back the urge to scream.

    Acting as a chaperone for young prospective raiders sucked.

    ¡°Booth 76,¡± a voice in her visor said. ¡°Abusive contract. The Blue Dancers guild is trying to get two recruits into servitude via predatory loans, ording to the AI. You are clear to escort them out of the building.¡±

    ¡°On it,¡± she growled.

    Atst, she would make someone else suffer for her woes.

 (42)

    (42)

    The recruiter smelled the blood in the water. It was that pivotal instant when the fear of the unknown overwhelmed the hope for the future. The young man in front of her didn¡¯t have perfect grades. His track record in the raider exam hadn¡¯t been too good ¡ª half of it because of another outshining him, half of it due to bad luck. He was good but not that good, and the poor performance had sunk his confidence.

    He wasn¡¯t prime raider material but he could be part of the solid core of support that made them shine, and she would be getting it for peanuts. Every A-profile striker neededpetent line-holders like him. It would be up to the guild to grow his confidence again.

    ¡°It might not be the best offer you could get here,¡± she said softly, a kind smile conveying her concern.

    She was an aug, but with minimal imnts, and they were non invasive. She was beautiful and more mature, a guide, someone harmless yet full of wisdom. He could definitely get a better offer, especially fromrger guilds. He wouldn¡¯t do too badly as a frencer either, but there were already seventeen guilds that had closed applications and it was barely 11AM. He knew it. Time was not on his side.

    ¡°You can always have a look around, it¡¯s just that I can¡¯t guarantee we won¡¯t take someone in the meanwhile.¡±

    ¡°I know, I know, it¡¯s just¡­¡±

    He winced.

    ¡°It¡¯s really not much.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. This is just the standard sry scale for someone of your profile. As I said before, our guild offers verypetitive raises after only three months¡­¡±To A-profile raiders, not him.

    She sat back to let him stew, fiddling with a half-filled coffee cup. She knew she already had him. Some people just needed a moment to digest their own expectations. That was fine. She just wanted him to hurry a little. She needed another support mage at all costs to offset letting that pink-haired girl going to Bright Security instead. The guildmaster would have her head otherwise. Maybe she could get ¡ª

    Amotion outside made her frown. What was going on? The booth was partly soundproof for the calm it offered, so she shouldn¡¯t have been bothered.

    The door mmed open.

    ¡°You can¡¯t!¡± a voice said.

    But the person could. The woman who entered was the most obvious gleam the recruiter had ever seen. She was more than two meters high, the horns on her stylized mask scraping the ceiling while two abyssal eyes red at her. It was even more impressive because those windows into the void had no iris and yet the recruiter could still tell they were aimed at her. Animalistic instincts told her to run but she silenced them. It wouldn¡¯t help.

    The only reason the recruiter didn¡¯t go into full panic was the Threshold-made bodysuit and the very obvious ID pinned to it. Otherwise, she might have believed this was a monster.

    ¡°Thissss interview is over. The Blue Dancers license is hereby revoked. You will vacate the booth within the next ten minutessss.¡±

    It didn¡¯t sound like a suggestion.

    ¡°What?¡± the young man said.

    ¡°Excuse me?¡± the recruiter replied.

    ¡°Hey!¡± the guard interjected.

    The security gleam made for the tall woman¡¯s forearm. The next instant, he was pinned against the wall by the throat. The woman wasn¡¯t even looking at him.

    He was C-ss.

    ¡°Asssaulting aw enforcement officer in the line of duty. Misdemeanor. Up to one year in prison. Up to 15,000 credits in fine,¡± she hissed.

    The security guard raised both hands in surrender. She dropped him.

    ¡°Contractual breach: Thresholdborw, section six: a guild may not offer contractual terms that pushespensation below the city¡¯s Raider Sustainability Index.¡±

    ¡°It does not,¡± the recruiter insisted through her fear. Cold sweat made her shirt mmy. This could cost her her job.

    ¡°Monitoring AI¡¯s checked your terms and the subject¡¯s student debts. The city¡­¡±

    She leaned forward until their eyes were level. It was a vertiginous drop.

    ¡°...disagreessss.¡±

    The giant raider pushed a finger in her chest. It was painful, like being poked with a crowbar.

    ¡°Out. Now.¡±

    ¡°We will object to this arbitrary decision!¡±

    ¡°Feel free. Out. I will not¡­ asssssk again.¡±

    This time, the recruiter knew the stress on ¡®ask¡¯ was intentional. With all the dignity she could muster, she gathered her coat to depart.

    Now she had to call her boss to exin his recruiting team had been chased out of the convention. They might not be allowed inside again. She had nobody to deflect the me to since it was her project from beginning to end. It might be her looking for a job soon.

    ***

    Back in the room, the giant raider faced the young recruit. He looked a little lost.

    ¡°Those who don¡¯t know their worth are prey,¡± she said. ¡°Raiders are not prey. We are hunterssss.¡±

    The young man breathed deep. He mmed the rest of his coffee, then stood up, grabbing his printed resume back.

    ¡°Well, back to it, I guess.¡±

    ***

    Nestra felt better after having manhandled that low rung goon who thought he could intimidate an agent of the mighty government, and also an Aszhii. The fool! She almost wanted someone to try her for real. She hadn¡¯t pushed anyone through a wall yet, but the day was young. After all, one could not spell defenestrate without Nestra!

    She still kind of wanted a real fight. And she was getting hungry, in the mana hunger kind of way. Just mana food wasn¡¯t cutting it. She needed the real deal. A week without hunting was far too long!

    A whiff of something familiar got her attention. Her eyes widened. She moved through the vapors of mana left by nervous raiders with ack of control to find arge group of teenagers who looked like they wanted to be anywhere else but here. They walked from booth to booth under the supervision of a gleam teacher with a stern attitude who, incidentally, also looked like she¡¯d rather be anywhere else. Nestra walked by. One of the students spun, revealing Helena¡¯s dark eyes. Nestra winked.

    Helena smiled which made her the ss¡¯ only happy person. Nestra wondered what she was doing here. Probably some school outing to impart the importance of good preparation and instill that lingering existential dread the teens might not have gotten from the state of the world so they could contemte their young adult years of job hunting and shiver in fright. Nestra winced under the mask. It was behind her now, and besides, it hadsted only long enough for her to get epted in the police academy.

    ¡°Booth 36. A negotiation is getting heated. Can you go have a look?¡±

    Nestra turned and shook her shoulders. Maybe this time she¡¯d get to fight.

    ***

    ¡°SUFFER!¡± Valerian screamed.

    The snail creatures wriggled in agony. Electrical arcs scoured the rocky ground, leaving ssy tracks behind. Nestra waited for the monsters to exhaust their attacks before moving in. She easily sliced through their heads while smaller arcs sought her flesh. It barely even tingled.

    The battle was over in a moment. Valerian breathed hard. It was still difficult for him to cast the spell, though Nestra had to admit that for a control spell at that level, a new one at that, it was remarkably effective. She let Valerian know.

    ¡°Thanks. I think I got it now. It took a while for me to get into the right mindset when casting it so it would work at full power. I mean, the glyphs themselves were easy to arrange.¡±

    ¡°I thought they would beplex?¡±

    ¡°Not really. Pain receptor activation is easy. It¡¯s the pain management side that¡¯splicated. We¡¯ve had a lot of time to research body magic over the years so we can actually do a lot. You don¡¯t use sigils?¡±

    ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°Wow. Free form. Pretty impressive. Soooo¡­¡±

    He waved at the dead thunder snails.

    ¡°Wanna eat those? I know French people do.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the consistency they seek. Otherwise it just tastesssss like garlic butter. The antennae are valuable, and so are the shells. I¡¯ll harvest those and we can sell them.¡±

    ¡°Ok. We should get a porterpany to do the harvesting for us.¡±

    ¡°This world is not valuable enough.¡±

    She waved at the cavern they were in.

    ¡°No ore. The water is amazingly pure but nothing Threshold¡¯s filtration can¡¯t achieve. That¡¯s why this repeating world is in low demand.¡±

    ¡°Any specific reason why you picked it?¡±

    Nestra wanted to say electricity resistance but she preferred to keep that one secret.

    ¡°The guardian has a core. I want it.¡±

    ¡°It would be valuable indeed.¡±

    It would mostly be a long overdue snack.

    ¡°There is one more thing,¡± Valerian said. ¡°I¡¯m making tremendous progress recently. My family has noticed.¡±

    Nestra nodded. Honestly, Valerian was a littlete considering the family he was in, but perhaps it was rted to the fact he hadn¡¯t found his path until recently. The art of progression for raiders wasn¡¯t fully understood yet. It was generally agreed, for example, that in order to progress to C-ss and form a physical core, a user had to have unlocked at least one of their affinities and worked hard but as far as how it worked exactly, nobody was sure. Humans grew stronger with time and practice, faster if they raided. The rest varied from person to person. Mana types could y a role. Talent and hard work definitely did. Mankind¡¯s understanding of mana was still in its infancy.

    Stolen novel; please report.

    ¡°Congrattions,¡± Nestra said with conviction.

    She was d to see that other people were progressing fast as well. Helena was the prime example but others were moving forward. She was pretty sure her dad was approaching A-ss quickly as well.

    And Sashimi too. She was so big already. More food for Nestra!

    ***

    Nestra remained very proud about her sess against Shinoda. She categorically refused toe down from her pedestal for a grand total of four days. By then, some of her so-called friends were trying to drag her down kicking and screaming withpletely irrational arguments such as ¡®You already told me¡¯ or ¡®I was there¡¯ or ¡®yes yes okay can we move on¡¯ and some other trite bullshit. Only Sereth showed understanding, and he recounted a few other times he¡¯d outwitted someone without removing his disguise. The way he did it was with little people he¡¯d made out of cookie dough (they ended up very tasty) who yed roles that were recognizable from history books. Nestra got the impression Sereth had grown up in some sort of Imperial court with a great number of children, and wherepetition for survival matched that of the fiercest jungle. Her boasting streak ended when her mom found her in Aunt ire¡¯s hotel lobby.

    ¡°Mom! I did a thing!¡±

    Nestra was d she¡¯d found a new person to share her glory, but her hopes were dashed when she saw the face of her mother, and in there, she found only fury.

    ¡°Someone blew up your house? And you didn¡¯t deem it important to tell me?!¡±

    ¡°Uh oh.¡±

    ¡°CLYTEMNESTRA PALLADIAN.¡±

    Nestra¡¯s flight was immediately interrupted. She didn¡¯t really want to run away in the middle of a stunned fancy hall but the prey and small child part of her brain had taken over. Curse her refined instincts.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine! I wasn¡¯t there!¡±

    ¡°An assassination attempt on my child!¡±

    ¡°Intimidation only! I swear it¡¯s fine! I only lost a Home-Chef BaiHua Deluxe cooking robot of thetest model and my knives. And some mana-rich Mexican beans. Dammit.¡±

    ¡°Our homes, burnt! Our territory, vited! My daughter¡­ SILENT!¡±

    ¡°I am so sorry aw...¡±

    Deborah Padian was the most angry Nestra had ever seen her. The temperature dropped to freezing and she was handily dragged out to a waiting car.

    The ride home was very awkward.

    ***

    Mom grounded Nestra. It was difficult grounding a mature adult, Nestra thought, but the fact remained that Deborah Padian didn¡¯t need to be influential, or a powerful raider, or indeed have thew on her side to be obeyed. It was sufficient that Deborah Padian was Nestra¡¯s mom and quite angry. Fortunately, Nestra found herself between positions at the moment ording to her visor.

    It came as an email from Kim herself, along with a personal promise to talk about it over dinner. Essentially, Kim had been unofficially ced in charge of Ito¡¯s position which Nestra gathered was unusual. Standard practice when a department went through a shitstorm was to get a talented outsider ¡ª usually a dedicated problem solver ¡ª to clean house, then get moved after two years. The fact the finance department was a sanctum of hermetic financial knowledge was probably a factor. Sliding the imminent promotion onto Kim¡¯sp was another. The mayor was up for reelection soon, and though it looked like he would snatch a fourth mandate, this fiasco was best left forgotten. Along with the promotion came a reshuffling of the department. Kim had approved Nestra¡¯s reassignment to Special Affairs under r, not that she had much of a choice. Nestra being part of IA was a temporary assignment anyway.

    Now, Nestra was a special agent! It sounded fancy and it was. The job came with a higher sry as well as a slew of benefits including an interesting clearance. Training would be arranged very soon. In the meanwhile, Nestra had some time she intended to dedicate to raiding. There were three major resistances she hadn¡¯t managed to develop at all yet: sensory, toxins, and cold. Sereth knew and he was looking for a cold portal, but for toxins, Nestra already knew where to go. It would be another illegal raid. The resistance situation led her to a realization, however.

    The Aszhii had no weakness.

    Most monsters could be defeated with specific strategies, or they were specifically sensitive to a type of mana. Not so for her. The only real issue she had was that she was an alien and alone, so she could always be swarmed or identified and tracked down, but otherwise the only way to defeat an Aszhii was to pile on and hope teamwork could defeat incredible martial might and a drive for excellence and constant battle. It was¡­ a daunting prospect. As far as she could tell, Aszhii were loners and possibly entric as well, if Sereth was any indication. What happened if they got pissed off though, as a species? If they could create their own passages as Sereth imed, did it mean no ce was safe from an Aszhii war party?

    What if they found Earth worth ying with? A team of Aszhii couldnd and kill every A-ss raider on the as a threat before leaving, rendering mankind bereft of its best fighters.

    She had to learn more about the Aszhii. Right now, the only people she cared about were all on Earth so seeing the ce thrashed didn¡¯t sound appealing at all.

    ¡°Nestraaaaa!¡±

    Helena rushed in the room with a mischievous smile.

    ¡°Come to see the prisoner?¡± Nestra drawled in her best bandit queen voice.

    ¡°Mother hase to inform you that dinner shall be ready forthwith, and that father has prepared his best Tajine.¡±

    ¡°Oooh! And speaking of slow cooking, how was the job circus?¡±

    ¡°Meh!¡±

    Helena shrugged.

    ¡°Not wired?¡±

    ¡°We just say limp. It¡¯s mostly for people who don¡¯t have connections yet. Or to scare us, maybe? I don¡¯t need to worry too much about it but it¡¯s good to make contact with other guilds anyway. What were you doing there?¡±

    ¡°I was a glorified bouncer. It was heaps of fun. I got to escort two guilds to the door for shitty contracts.¡±

    ¡°Outrageous. I wish I could have seen it.¡±

    ¡°How¡¯s school otherwise?¡±

    ¡°Good! I got a lot more popr since people figured out I¡¯m an absolute beast in the portal worlds. Like no shit, I don¡¯t have to hold back in there so what did they expect? I still can remember the team looking in awe when I dismembered our first guardian. Hah!¡±

    Nestra nodded. Helena looked better. Now that her chronic pain was managed, she¡¯d filled out a bit too since her appetite had recovered.

    ¡°I think one of my teachers kind of guessed this wasn¡¯t my first time, but with our family, it could have been anyone bringing me as an extra for a low level raid. Anyways. We sneaky raiding more?¡±

    ¡°Actually, Crescent is legit now so I can just legally raid a ce and secretly bring you. I think it¡¯s possible. I¡¯m going to ask my boss. She knows who I am¡­¡±

    ¡°What? Really? Are you in danger?¡± Helena erupted, rmed.

    ¡°Hey, she doesn¡¯t know what I am. She thinks I¡¯m some kind of secret gleam that uses transformation powers.¡±

    ¡°Oh, oh good¡­¡± Helena said.

    Nestra could tell she had more to say, but Helena was hesitating.

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°So¡­ could you tell mom and dad?¡±

    ¡°Helena¡­¡±

    ¡°Why not? We could raid like a family! Brother dear could even get off your ass!¡±

    ¡°Ragnarok doesn¡¯t know what I am, probably because she¡¯s not aware gray demons are a thing¡­¡±

    Nestra moved forward to exin. It was a bitplicated.

    ¡°Ragnarok hasn¡¯t seen me without a mask. People who don¡¯t know me haven¡¯t seen my skin, because if they do, and if one of them has ess to the Pandora database, they can figure out what I am. I¡¯m already taking huge risks having so many people aware of my identity. The only reason knowledge about the gray demons isn¡¯t more spread is because the thought of having a monster randomly showing up in portal worlds and thrashing the world¡¯s best team is not just scary: we, I mean, humans can¡¯t do shit about it. I can¡¯t take the risk, Helena. I can¡¯t have mom figure it out. They¡¯re first gen. Just imagine¡­¡±

    ¡°Yea¡­ yeah, ok.¡±

    ¡°Maybe when I¡¯m strong enough to leave the. I¡¯ll tell them before I go.¡±

    ¡°But then it will be toote! Also you¡¯re leaving? When?¡±

    ¡°Not any time soon you little twerp, rx. And I¡¯ll return. I care about all of you.¡±

    ¡°Fiiiiine.¡±

    Mom picked this moment to ask them why they were still out. Nestra didn¡¯t have the heart to tell Helena that with void mana eating her, Nestra had to find a way to save her. Even if it meant sharing her precious Kero Nuts.

    ***

    With her boasting spree doused, the next important item on Nestra¡¯s list was to find a new home.

    There wasn¡¯t any real problem with the previous one. It was just that herck of outrage at its partial destruction only went to show she didn¡¯t care about the ce that much, and now that she¡¯d figured it out, it bothered her on a fundamental level. Aunt ire owned the ce. She¡¯d left it for Nestra to use as a favor, and Nestra was so buried in her pain and resentment that she¡¯d never really asked herself what she wanted from life. The home was a ce to sleep and hide in, and her stuff was there, but it wasn¡¯t hers. Not in the visceral way she now realized she wanted.

    Also, she could afford it. Crescent money plus the settlement meant she could at least get a down payment for an okay ce. A call with Aunt ire sorted everything out.

    ¡°It¡¯s alright, dearie. I needed a break anyway. Renovating that posh den will provide a nice distraction. Hell, I might keep it for myself after all. I¡¯m getting tired of sleeping in thepound.¡±

    ¡°Is that why you spend so much time at hotels?¡± Nestra asked. ¡°Finding the presence of the others a bit stifling?¡±

    ¡°No, I just love to have sex in a luxurious setting.¡±

    ¡°Forget I asked.¡±

    The thing was, when Nestra thought about her ideal spot, the only thing she could think of was Sereth¡¯s ce.

    It was weird, but it made her feel¡­ at home. Cozy. The very tall ceiling, the open space, yet all of this secure in a single contained domain just resonated with her on a fundamental level. Luckily, she knew how to get it and not just easily, but at rock bottom prices too. The city also didn¡¯t care where people lived so long as it was up to norms.

    She bought a warehouse slightly out of the way for roughly 120,000 credits. It was slightly smaller than Sereth¡¯s own. Theck ofrge drone bays and the distance from major transport hubs made the ce undesirable. The real estatepany didn¡¯t even bother to check her profile; they were just delighted to see that asset go. Threshold¡¯s poption was still converging into arcologies with the birth rate too low topensate for now, so the edge of the city remained cheap. Once this was done, Nestra dished out another fifty thousand credits for renovation and security, plus a little bit more for furniture. It took two weeks to finish everything, mostly the security aspect. Thresholdpanies worked fast. Corpopetition meant that productivity and efficiency were pushed to the max.

    Nestra had a security console and a host of sensors and rm systems on the outside. On the inside, there were no cameras for obvious reasons but there was ast defensive measure. On top of that, she got cleaning bots and a sound-activated reactive AI. The kitchen and bathroom covered the back side of the warehouse. She had her resting and storage space on the right, couches and her coffee machine on the left, and the front had workout equipment as well as an armory. Having piled on all of her belongings, Nestra decided that she needed something more: some decorations. The cecked some life.

    It took her a long time browsing the inte to find something suitable: wall panels with vines growing on them. The good thing was that they barely required anything, so she could leave them for days and nothing would happen. The bad thing was that they required sunlight to survive, but that was easily fixed with special lighting.

    Add a few swords and her weapon lockers and there, she was done. The warehouse was vast and a little empty but that just made her feel more rxed. It was well lit. There were vine paths crawling to the ceiling. She had her food and weapons and quite a few pillows as well. There was a TV if she didn¡¯t want to use her visor. There was a reading alcove. All that she liked doing alone was there.

    Sereth was the first to be invited. She wasn¡¯t sure why she¡¯d picked him. Probably because she wanted an Aszhii opinion. It was obviously a strong opinion because he froze in the doorway.

    Nestra waited, then waited as his gaze went to the vines. He smiled wistfully.

    ¡°Seth?¡±

    ¡°It is nothing. Just¡­ impressive. The vines are a very nice touch. How did you get them?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll send you a link. Is everything alright? Is there a problem with my ce?¡±

    ¡°Not at all. Very cozy, I like it. You will understand my feelings muchter. If you were looking for my approval, you have it. This is a very nice den.¡±

    ¡°Thanks.¡±

    ¡°I have to ask though, what is that strange robot on the pir in the center? What a strange dome and is that¡­ a gun?¡±

    ¡°Oh, Gorge found it for me! It¡¯s a dmissioned navy point defense robot.¡±

    ¡°What? Why?¡±

    ¡°So I can use my visor and the external cameras to fire at intruders really quickly, either inside or outside! It can aim well and pierce through walls. It would even give a B-ss pause. The theoretical range is 2km, easy, but I reckon it won¡¯t get through more than two other warehouses before getting stopped.¡±

    ¡°You have a naval gun in your living room?¡±

    ¡°Well no it was performance locked for civilian use so the rate of fire is only 600 20mm tungsten rounds per minute but hey, anything it can¡¯t pulp would probably be something I can¡¯t stop anyway. I think I can chew through abat walker, at least.¡±

    Seth kept quiet for a little while, which was frustrating because Nestra¡¯s chicken soup was done and she wanted him to sit down at her table.

    ¡°I wonder if all human-born Aszhii will be like you.¡±

    ¡°That didn¡¯t sound like apliment. No soup for you.¡±

    ¡°I recant.¡±

    ***

    Nestra entered her mind pce for the first time in a while. The main hall still looked like a castle¡¯s reception room but it was darker in a more soothing way, with a high lunar light descending on the pedestal where her human core ought to be. It remained desperately empty. She made for thearium.

    Where once there were a few small orbs, now globes asrge as she was danced an intricate waltz around the ignited sun of her true core, over theke of her mana reserves. They¡¯d all grown tremendously since she¡¯dst been here, yet she still remained at the lower end of her ss, or at least that is the impression she got. That was fine for now since she needed some time to get used to her progress. Her priorities lie elsewhere.

    The tethers between the orbs were ethereal bonds that represented her innate Aszhii abilities. She didn¡¯t think that she had the power to add more yet. She still had <em>momentum </em>to teleport, <em>precision </em>to strike true, <em>passe-muraille </em>to go through walls, <em>immovable </em>to block blows, and <em>danger sense</em>. Her picks were that of a warrior and infiltrator, or maybe even an assassin though she wasn¡¯t that. The fact it took so long to develop those tethers made her wonder exactly how much those early choices determined how an Aszhii would grow. She didn¡¯t regret her path. It was mere curiosity.

    Maybe Sereth could tell her more.

    Nestra left that room without worry. She had just gotten to C-rank. There was no rush since she was merely discovering some of her abilities. The false cores were next, one for electricity, one for shadows. The shadow one remained atrophic despite her best efforts which wasn¡¯t unexpected. Interestingly, the electricity core looked like a pulsating steel ball bearing scoured by sparks while the shadow core was a slightly tattered yarn ball made of a material that swallowed the light. She wondered if she would get the third soon.

    The final room was that of resistances, and there were a lot more now, with room for more exotic expansions at the back. Nestra¡¯s mind showed them as shields and armor sets. Shields were for elemental mana resistance, and armor represented physical resistance. The bone and blunt damage armor was pretty borate in an old knight sort of way, but scale armor representing her skin was basic and the sensory armor, a helmet, remained minimal. Those would need some work. The electricity and heat shields hung on the wall like mighty bs, one showing sma arcs and the other glowing softly red. Interestingly, there were no radiation or mental mana shields and there would never be, ording to Sereth. The reason was that radiation fed the Aszhii. Even flossing with uranium wouldn¡¯t do anything to her. As for the mental resistance, the Aszhii mind apparently read very alien to those rare users who worked with their brains, or at least they did when the mask came down. Sereth had indicated it was almost always fatal.

    Nestra remembered how her Skin broke geometry every time it fed. If that could make people ufortable, then a deep dive in an Aszhii mind might make things considerably worse.

    Nestra thought it was weird. She felt perfectly normal, so why would touching her mind cause anguish? She was a very rxed person.

    Sereth¡¯s revtion hinted that humans also had mental users, yet Nestra had never heard of them. That meant they were either extraordinarily rare or government-controlled. Or controlling the government. Now that was a thought.

    Nah Shinran would never tolerate it. But maybe in some smaller enves¡­

    Nestra recentered, and her mind focused on the greenish shield dripping with violet liquid. Very clear image. This was her resistance to toxins and it was garbage, which she was going to remedy next.

    A part of her felt under pressure. She absolutely needed to get stronger just in case something happened, maybe not her identity revealed but Helena getting into trouble or something that would require more strength than just that of a C-ss. It was bound to happen at some point. Another part remembered that she¡¯d only be a user for a bit over three months? Fuck, time had gone by fast and she¡¯d done so much, always feeling under pressure. Her need to grow strong quickly conflicted with her desire to explore everything, fight everything, taste everything. It was frustrating.

    Well, at least she could start with toxins.

    ***

    Giant ants congregated over the fallen form of a scout. Its powerful pheromones screamed at them that there was an intruder to kill, something that they needed to hunt. The trail led deeper under the thick canopy of the primeval forest, below massive boughs covered in creeping vines and colorful fruits. Smaller insects skittered when they moved through, the only sound that of scraping legs.

    A shadow fell among them.

    The foe was fast, and it killed a warrior on the spot. The rest of the group converged on the invader, but it slipped away from them. The ants were not very inventive in the way they fought: corner, bite, overwhelm. They were, however, very good at working together. The foe was equally good at fighting groups. One by one and once with a burst of electricity, the intruder dispatched all of the warriors as they faced it, and the acid spitter as they tried to get some ground. There were no wounded ants left behind to spread the smell of an enemy, because it left nothing alive. Once it was done killing them the outsider used a clean wipe to remove ichor from its de, then it was gone, and so was the scent. An instantter, a small vial shattered near the pile of corpses, spreading a sickeningly strong stench of peppermint.

    The next patrol didn¡¯t fare much better.

    She was learning.

 (43)

    (43)

    Nestra reveled in the ughter. She tore through soldier ants while they were stuck maneuvering to box her in. She knew how they fought. If the foe was fast, they would first try to position themselves better toe on from all directions. She knew it, and yed with it, but they didn¡¯t. They couldn¡¯t learn. Theycked the reason that made fights with Fox Mask so fun. It was the second patrol now that didn¡¯t require her to use <em>momentum</em> because they were just that predictable. The next acid ant aborted its attack rather than hitting itsrade, which let Nestra close in for the kill. She dodged the charge of a bulldozer ant before striking its abdomen. Blueish lymph exploded from the wound.

    She wasn¡¯t sure what to call those. They were the size of a minibus and armored at the front. Charger ants? Siege ants? Brute ants? Maybe charger ant was okay. She dodged its awkward mandible strike as she killed thest two warriors. Chargers really struggled withteral attacks.

    She dropped under another strike, then jumped on the beast''s head. A downward execution destroyed its brain.

    It fell dead with a loud thud. Once again, victory was hers. It wasn¡¯t a very good one but that was fine. Dyed gratification!

    ¡°Now where was that scout?¡±

    The deep jungle of Varang guild¡¯s portal world buzzed with activity. The smells were all over the ce, but at least the stifling heat didn¡¯t bother her at all anymore. She batted arge red wasp to focus on her quest.

    She needed herself some of that stinky pheromone for her master n.

    ***

    The hive was under attack. The ants knew it because of the many trails carrying the scent of rm. Scents were their speech, and the words carried by many trails spoke of death. Many deaths. A few subtle touches spoke of a bipedal intruder with a very sharp tooth, who wielded magic. Other details were scarce.Like a single entity, the ants left their tunnels to wage war upon the invaders. They gathered in legions of warriors protecting squads of acid throwers, in turn supporting mighty chargers. Their paths carried them out of the dense forest and into the ancient section, where the sun could almost be seen above the giant boughs of ancient trees. The light gained a grayish quality. Sometimes, the bark of those titanic trunks bore deep w marks.

    Still, the stench of scout hemolymph nudged them forward. Eventually, they came across a strange shape covered in thick air. Snores made the ground vibrate. It was huge, several times as high as arge charger while still lying on its side. Humans knew that creature as Deathpaw, one of the city¡¯s deadliest sub-guardians.

    The pheromones led here.

    The ants attacked.

    ***

    Nestra watched the battle unfold from her hiding spot far above ground. Chargers managed to catch the massive owl bear creature in the small of the back, and the cataclysmic shock made her think it might have been rendered paralyzed. It was not. The creature, though in pain, bounced to its feet. With a roar of fury that could be heard across the portal world, ity into its attackers. Limbs flew. White ichor covered the ground as the creature carved a path of devastation across the open ground.

    Nestra wasn¡¯t getting any energy despite being the instigator here. That was fine. She¡¯d been maxed out after the fourth patrol anyway, though interestingly, each ant subspecies had brought something different. Awareness for the scouts, acid resistance for the acid ants, power and physical resistance for the chargers, all of the ants also provided some measure of toxin resistance as she¡¯d been expecting. This part of the jungle had a lot of poisonous stuff in so she¡¯d been hoping they were poison rted. If not, she would have just looked for another species.

    But not the whip scorpion. Fuck that thing. Ambushes were fine, but throwing its babies at her face? Gross. Rude. They weren¡¯t even cooked yet.

    Speaking of sub-guardians, the owl bear was absolutely wrecking the ant army. Nestra judged it was a very weak B-ss, yet even covered in foes and bleeding through its resilient fur, she knew it could just squish her down with a hand. She wasn¡¯t fast enough to reliably avoid it yet.

    It was kind of exciting. She really wanted to kill it, though she was taking a big risk sneaking into portals nowadays. She would return here though, one day. Maybe even legally if the guild epted. They tended to be very protective of their portals, but it was the second time in a row both of those sub guardians had been ignored. Maybe there was a possibility here.

    Nestra turned and raced towards the nest. She already had her target for this raid.

    ***

    Finding the nest wasn¡¯t that hard considering it was a massive earth mound in the middle of a gap in the forest, all the nearby trees having been reduced to dry, mangled trunks. The sky above was blue-gray. Its strong light had baked the packed earth into a cracked mountain covered in strange excretions. It was half a daunting, gothic citadel and half a huge pile of shit.

    Now to get inside. From her vantage point near a ruined branch, Nestra could spot several monumental entrances even now swarming with workers and variousbat models. If the entrance portal was south west of this here and the exit far to the east, then the anthill¡¯s main entrance aimed south while the eastern gates saw the most activity, as that was the direction of the owl bear¡¯sir.

    Meanwhile, the north and western sides had much less traffic and Nestra knew why: that was where the boundaries of the world made foraging more difficult. Maybe. She wasn¡¯t sure about portal ant ecology. In any case, that was as good an entrance path as any.

    Nestra cloaked herself in shadows, her Skin growing a diaphanous cloak to blur her form. It would help but not much. Ants relied too much on their sense of smell. ording to manuals she¡¯d found online, there were only two ways to assault a hive: the turtle mode with an earth mage as support, or the sudden strike option. That was practically Nestra¡¯s middle name. Nestra Sudden Strike Padian, the top-level financial auditor and ant hunter extraordinaire.

    Very pleased with herself, Nestra slowly moved across the clearing, making sure to stay high to avoid being spotted. She progressively moved lower across deste branches. Fortunately, the ants didn¡¯t seem to have good eyes, or at least they didn¡¯t react to her presence. Theycked flying predators, for sure, or they¡¯d be more careful.

    Nestra found the entrance she wanted. Even though the traffic was as slow as it would get, there was still a regr stream of creatures heading in and out, carrying anything from fruit and carcasses torge leaves. This was it. As good a spot as any.

    Nestra jumped. She hit the dirt at a dead sprint, pushing forward past the stream of workers. Most of them seemed to ignore her but she didn¡¯t stay to check. This world¡¯s sun beat on her back like a physical weight until she dove into the cavern. Immediately, darkness returned, and the air smelled of the pungent musk of ants rather than dry dust. The walls were wet dirt covered in secretions that adhered to it like glue, solidifying into an organic mortar. It was mildly disgusting. She didn¡¯t slow down. There were warriors in the next chamber, but she was past them before they could react, down a path that led down.

    She just kept running. Eventually, there was some sort of rm with workers scrambling here and there, but by then she¡¯d found what she was looking for: an egg.

    Arge, bacille-shaped transparent orb asrge as her arm. A shadow rested in its crystalline depths. It was carried by a worker emerging from a downward tunnel. This was it: the grand prize of her resistance-grinding expedition.

    The path to the queen.

    Nestra rushed ahead. The tunnel she was following descended in a slow spiral into the bowels of this world. It was narrow enough that she only came across workers and the odd surprised warrior, but soon a new problem emerged: a green mist that covered everything. It left a sour film on her tongue. Strangely, the shadows seem to grow deeper. Her stomach lurched.

    Poison, for sure. She soon came across a chamber filled with workers waving their abdomen in the air. A greenish liquid emerged from a nd situated near the butt. What an interesting defense mechanism! Wouldn¡¯t help them, though, Nestra thought as she blitzed past the gathering and into the deeper tunnels. It waspletely dark now, but that wasn¡¯t an issue for her. Narrow paths meant thatrger specimens like the chargers couldn¡¯t get in. She only stopped when she came across a butt.

    Arge butt.

    Technically on ants, it was called an abdomen but whatever. That butt was glowing and pointing in her direction. It was also sorge it covered almost the entire tunnel. She ran back just as the thing lit up like a Christmas tree, all in greens and reds.

    ¡°Shit.¡±

    With a massive pop, the ant sprayed the tunnel with incandescent goo for several meters. A wave of intense heat washed over Nestra, who rolled and stayed near the ground. The hot wind and an acrid stench washed over her. Her eyes teared up.

    Then she was back again. The heat was nothing, really, and her body actively fought the toxins. It made her a little nauseous though, so it was time to get this thing moving. Nestra jumped between puddles of foul-smelling liquid before using <em>momentum</em>, reappearing beyond the blockade.

    The body of the ant was rather small. She killed it with one blow, feeling a fresh influx of power fill her. Toxin resistance and sensory resistance. A very nice haul. She kept going.

    Raiding high C-ss worlds was amazing! She wished she could bring Helena here so they could fight back to back against the horde, collecting power and possiblyrge cores as prizes. Another bombardier ant met the same fate as the previous one, though this time, Nestra didn¡¯t wait for it to fire. She used <em>momentum </em>to move past it before delivering another swift death.. Her steps carried her deeper and deeper, past panicked workers carrying eggs to branching paths. She was on the right track! Excitement filled her chest. This was it. Many of the defenders had been driven away thanks to the lure, and now she was going to kill another powerful sub-guardian. A near or at B-ss creature that would make her stronger. This was the life.

    The tunnel widened so she slowed down and coated herself in shadows. It opened onto a massive, artificial cavern of packed earth. Bioluminescent mushrooms bathed therge space in a deep blue glow. Workers clung to the walls and ceiling, moving food in and carrying eggs out. The hatchery; finally.

    The queen upied arge section of the room. Her abdomen was arge, distended white sack of grotesque proportions plopped like a fat pillow but the thorax and head were more menacing. Tendrils emerged from the back of her skull, an indication of mental power. It was pretty rare around here. It was also useless against her. Truly a good matchup.

    Unfortunately, the queen¡¯spound eyes immediatelynded on her. She wasn¡¯t fooled by the shadows. That was okay. Her bodyguards looked interesting. They were ck, thin, and upright on their four hind legs with scythe-like extensions instead of forearms. There were three of them.

    They charged her on the spot. They were pretty fast too.

    ¡°Hah! A challenge!¡± she said in Aszhii.

    Nestra blocked the first one. The shock of the des made her drift back in a shower of dirt. Strong! A wave of something crossed the cavern then. It felt like someone was screaming inside of her head. The bodyguard stopped moving.

    Nestra beheaded it. The other creatures had stopped moving as well, if only for an instant. She¡¯d most likely been targeted by a psychic attack. The queen screeched in rage. Did she expect Nestra to be debilitated by mind magic?

    ¡°If yes, you¡¯ll have to do better.¡±

    She was catapulted against the wall by an invisible force.

    ¡°Ooof!¡±

    Her back smashed against hardened earth with a resounding smack. The power was so intense it crushed her in. She couldn¡¯t breathe.

    Then the queen¡¯s psychokinesis released her. She dropped down.

    ¡°Okay,¡± Nestra wheezed.

    The two other bodyguards charged her. They relied on their speed to try and catch her in a hail of des. She had to avoid them and counter with violent blows in order to not to be caught by their speed. It was fun! Well, fun for a little while but it was clear they weren¡¯t really fencing with her. Instead, they were using one of three patterns they could perform very fast at random. It was a familiar technique for primitive creatures. Kinda boring.

    The air shook in front of her. Nestra used <em>immovable </em>to dig in, the wave of energy failed to pin her to the wall this time. She pointed her fingers at an attacking guard, triggering a void bolt.

    The dot of potential energy was swallowed, or rather, dispersed until it was nullified. Magic resistance? Huh. The air shook with another mental screech.

    Nestra infused herself with void electricity. Her brief burst of speed let her back one of the bodyguards into a corner while the other made for her back. She released the electricity just as it tried to strike, paralyzing it. Not negation then, more an ability to avoid directed spells? The brief opening was all she needed to cut a second bodyguard in two. Not super resilient, those.

    If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the vition.

    The third managed to slice her calf, using the strike as an opening. Nestra retreated with a hiss of pain. Smothering the bodyguard¡¯s head with shadows did nothing. Not reliant on sight? Interesting. Now that it was alone, though, she fought it fairly a little more. She was interested in the patterns. Blocking those ultra fast strikes by remembering them herself and countering afterward was thrilling. Soon, thest one¡¯s carapace showed several gashes leaking blue hemolymph. As it started pattern three again, Nestra countered,severing both forearms in one, masterful stroke.

    The thing tried to bite her. She punched it by reflex. Hah! A wide striketer, and it was cut in two. Just in time to be sent tumbling by another mental attack.

    Nestra stood back up under the murderous re of the queen.

    ¡°What next?¡± she goaded.

    The sybint Aszhii words resounded over the quiet cavern, and now Nestra could hear a deep rumble. It wasing from, well¡­

    Everywhere.

    ¡°Uh oh.¡±

    A torrent of flesh and chitin burst out from every tunnel. Workers. Warriors. Spitters. Chargers. Even those weird bombardiers. Every ant variant flooded the cavern, going straight for her. The tapestry of squirming flesh was so dense she couldn¡¯t even see the queen anymore.

    ¡°Right.¡±

    Nestra legged it the way she¡¯de. A bolt killed a charger blocking her path, then she bounced from side to side to avoid others as they smashed across the cavern, uncaring of anything in their way. The carnage was absolutely wild.

    Some of the workers tried to stop her by grabbing a limb and pulling to allowrger things to take a bite but it was easy to twist and send them crashing against other insects instead. Nestra used <em>momentum </em>to cross thest few meters and then it was aplex dance to carve through weak specimens while watching her back. Nestra fought like a whirlwind, each strike killing or maiming C-ss monsters, leaving behind mangled corpses. Ahead, a bombardier killed a dozen workers to block her path. She dodged the initial spray then pushed through the acid-covered path. Her Skin let her know its displeasure by wriggling a bit.

    She was where she wanted to be anyway. Nestra activated<em> pass-muraille</em>. Her body slipped through the walls of the tunnel down and back into the queen¡¯s chamber.

    Right on top of the queen.

    As before, the beast felt her. Nestra was smashed against the ceiling, but the furious attack also squished all the warriors and workers around her.

    But that left the acid ants. Terror spiked in Nestra¡¯s mind when the dangerous liquid arched through the air. It, too, was subjected to gravity, however, and it immediately sprayed the edges of the attack¡¯s area of effect, hissing against the carapaces of the trapped ants. A void bolt was dispersed as well. They were in a stalemate.

    Nestra struggled against the queen¡¯s will. She peered into those beadypound eyes with delight. The queen would tire soon. She couldn¡¯t keep that sort of pressure forever, and then¡­ even the mass of workers and warriors crawling over her form wouldn¡¯t save her.

    Sashimi picked that moment to portal in and bite one of the queen¡¯s brain tendrils off.

    ¡°Sashimi!¡±

    For once, Nestra was actually pleased to see the backup steakrder swimming through the eddies of reality. Good timing!

    The queen¡¯s surprise and pain sent the ants into a frenzy. They started attacking everything, including each other and, curiously, the queen who seemed disabled by the unexpected blow. Nestra fell on top of the beast. It took only one strike to carve the head in two. Power filled her, that of a sub-guardian.

    It was extraordinary. Nestra felt her mana control grow more refined from killing a magic-using monster. An excellent pick.

    Now for the celebratory meal.

    The ants turned on each other in an orgy of violence. Nestra enjoyed the following chaos, picking the most dangerous ones as targets while dodging the others. As for Sashimi, she hovered mid-air to take bites off the nutritious egg sac. The glutton.

    Soon, it was finished. Nestra returned to the queen¡¯s body, finding a core in its thorax. It tasted like nutty meat and ¡®having a good idea¡¯ which was a weird and exotic experience.

    Sashimi floated away. She¡¯d grown even further! She was definitely C-ss now, and leaner than before. Nestra felt like being lean was her more natural shape but every time she returned back to the void, she was so full that it turned her predatory grace into a chonky waddle. Not that Nestra could me her. It wasn¡¯t nice to waste food.

    Nestra decided to pick a chunk of a bodyguard¡¯s back leg. Those would be nice cooked like crab, she was sure. She¡¯d gotten food, improved speed and the resistance she wanted, as well as a few other benefits. All in all, an excellent raid. Now it was time to go back and celebrate.

    Sashimi stayed. She was just getting started.

    ***

    There were human patrols at the southern edge of the ant¡¯s territory, near the entrance portal. They were checking the corpses of the ants. Those, Nestra hadn¡¯t killed. They¡¯d torn into each other with feral voracity.

    Nestra didn¡¯t have her visor on her, so she wasn¡¯t sure what they were saying. Her Chinese was rudimentary at best. Maybe she should takenguage lessons instead of relying on trantion software. She picked up the words for ¡®cannot be¡¯ and ¡®queen¡¯. As she moved around them in the thick brambles of the deep jungle, she heard them call base.

    Hmmm yeah, so obviously they would find out someone had killed the guardian soon enough. Fortunately, void mana dispersed very quickly so there shouldn¡¯t be signs that would identify her in person, but the wounds on the queen and its bodyguards would show the use of a de, then it would only be a matter of time before someone came for her. Not good. Nestra was about to leg it to the portal when she spotted something weird: the wind had picked up. Air mana increased. Around her, the leaves fluttered.

    Trees and branches creaked in the distance. She heard a faraway howl.

    She remembered the leader of tonight¡¯s expedition: Varang guild¡¯s Yunlong, a B-ss wind specialist.

    Really not good.

    Nestra threw all cautions to the metaphorical winds. Yunlong was a close quarterbat specialist, a striker. His style was close to hers. He was by no means a mage but he was a B-ss and a B-ss could do anything. Worse though, wind specialists often had fantastic perception. The wind somehow found her. It blew in her hair, whistled between her horns. She could hear it whisper in the air. Her intuition chimed in rm. Something was looking for her, something diffuse yet unshakeable. Her speed redoubled. The light breeze intensified.

    In the distance, wild animals screamed.

    She couldn¡¯t get to the portal in time. The high gleam was tracking her and there was no way in hell she could outrun him. He couldn¡¯t find her yet, but if her memories were correct, wind specialists sense and track their targets by following the breeze. She had to hide, but where? The wind knew her now. It wouldn¡¯t let go. She had to trick it. <em>Passe-Muraille? </em>Maybe, but the wind covered a wide area. She needed a cavern. That might work. Maybe a burrow?

    Nestra rushed. Thick leaves and shiny lightbugs didn¡¯t stop the wind hounding her. She crashed to ground level and kept going. She was getting away from the ant territory by now. Was it good? Was it bad? Fear needled her. If that B-ss caught her, she was in a world of trouble. He might even just in kill her! The longer thissted and the closer he would get, and not even void mana¡¯s elusive nature would save her.

    She stopped by the remains of an ant patrol. One of them had its entire carapace peeled off, revealing the flesh underneath. There was a very small spot between it and a dead charger.

    She suddenly had an insane idea. If the wind could vaguely follow her shape and mana, then¡­

    Insane but¡­

    Nestra grabbed the carapace, set it as a door and then put her Mask on.

    Human Nestra was in the portal world for the first time in her life. Warm, pungent air filled air lungs, making her want to gag. The stench was abominable. It was as hot as a damn sauna and nowhere near as pleasant. Sweat immediately covered her skin. Dirt stained her city clothes, and the sounds of the jungle turned into a warbled mess. She could see nothing but a tiny spot of tree beyond the carapace. Her hidey hole was a foreboding dark.

    The wind died down. The leaves stopped shivering.

    She stayed there.

    Nothing moved. It was so damn hot but to be found now would be the end of her. At some point, she thought she might have heard footsteps, but that might have been her imagination.

    She pped a millipede away from her face. Damn it. The longer she stayed and the more likely scavengers woulde for a feast. A portal world of thisplexity definitely had a whole ecosystem. She had to stay put. The portal was far from being clear. The B-ss would likely go back topleting it. How long would it take? She had no idea.

    She stayed still. Soon, she was soaked in sweat. Thirsty too.

    After what felt like hours, she switched back to her true form. The world returned to normal around her. She immediately cloaked herself in shadows before moving on, then up a tree. Higher she went, to the upperyer of the forest where the intense light made the animals rarer. Nothing seemed to being at her.

    She made for the entrance portal. As soon as she was in range, she slipped back into the real world, appearing inside of a cubicle. It was deserted at this time.

    She escaped the Varang building soon after.

    ¡°Holy Riel, that was close, but hey, I think I lost a B-ss!¡±

    No more illegal expeditions for a while though. Not inside the walls, at least. This had been too close.

    ***

    Nestra¡¯s tionsted just long enough for her to check her messages. There were a few, starting with a very official one telling her to get a physical checkup before training could start. The five others were from a certain doctor Mazingwe.

    He hated having to call twice.

    Despite thete hour, Nestra called him. He picked up after three rings. If a powerful B-rank like Mazingwe didn¡¯t pick up quickly, it was definitely on purpose.

    ¡°Good evening doctor,¡± Nestra said to cate him, ¡°I see you called me several times. Sorry, I was, hmmm¡­¡±

    ¡°I can perfectly understand why you would be ¡®imunicado¡¯, Miss Padian,¡± Mazingwe replied, his voice velvety smooth.

    He pronounced imunicado like it was a treasure he was sharing. Nestra liked it. She could understand collecting pretty things although for her that was just food for now.

    ¡°I admit that I expected you to be still working, but I soon realized you were¡­ working instead. Please do not be rmed by my attempts. As for why I called, I have received a rather peculiar request from Special Affairs.¡±

    ¡°I am being transferred.¡±

    ¡°And I will congratte you on your promotion to special agent. Now, how about we meet tomorrow morning at 9AM? My office.¡±

    ¡°On a Sunday again?¡±

    ¡°Miss Padian, you know I prefer to have the building empty when we measure your metrics.¡±

    ¡°Are you going to throw knives at me this time too?¡±

    ¡°Of course, but that will not be part of the more¡­ mundane examination. Will I see you there?¡±

    ¡°There should bews against Sunday morning appointments.¡±

    ¡°Spoken like a true civil servant, Miss Padian. A good evening to you.¡±

    ***

    Nestra¡¯s human examination didn¡¯tst very long considering her body was the same as it had been when she awakened, down to the scars. She was curious if she could get new ones. The leg wound she¡¯d gotten from Cleaver had faded, but that could have been Valerian¡¯s fantastic healing. Despite her physical appearance remaining unchanged, her capabilities were growing.

    ¡°You are more or less at a low D-ss level, Miss Padian, and I would add that low D-ss users usually focus on one or two abilities such as strength and reflexes, or perception, yet you are a bit of a generalist. If you had a core, you would be quite terrifying for your rank indeed.¡±

    That made Nestra curious.

    ¡°Could it ever be fixed?¡± she asked. ¡°My human core, I mean. Apparently, it was there at some point. Maybe it¡¯s easier to fix or rece than it is to turn a baseline into a user.¡±

    ¡°I have researched the question, and indeed, there might be a possibility.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Nestra asked, suddenly very interested.

    ¡°A specialized European hospital in the Zurich Fortress has been researching core repair. Some B-ss monster can apparently damage them, and there has been a growing need to find a better solution than ¡®just wait¡¯. Unfortunately, replies to my inquiry have been inconclusive. You would need a core transfer. It would be prohibitively expensive just to research whether or not it can be done.¡±

    ¡°How much is prohibitive?¡±

    ¡°Miss Padian, you are a unique case. Literally so, I¡¯m afraid. I was given a figure of ten to twelve million credits.¡±

    Nestra¡¯s hopes were flung into a freezer.

    ¡°Ok yeah so nah.¡±

    ¡°Indeed. That said, if you work on your identity as Crescent for another decade, you may get started, at least. The estimate they gave me includes the ritual required to rekindle your core. It will apparently require a human core with a highpatibility. Very likely ice, or electricity for you.¡±

    ¡°Wait, how do they know that?¡±

    ¡°By inferring from their core-repair research, I assume? In any case, it is a distant prospect. Now, let¡¯s see how your Aszhii self is progressing.¡±

    ¡°By the way have you cooked with my brother?¡±

    ¡°Baked, and yes, and dying the knife-throwing will not save you.¡±

    ¡°Aw.¡±

    ***

    Mazingwe didn¡¯t spar with Nestra since it would have devastated the building, but he did push her to her limits. Reflexes with knife throws, mana perception, repeated uses of her skill, bench pressing and arm wrestling, the testssted for an hour and by the end, Nestra felt ragged.

    It was only okay because Mazingwe didn¡¯t look like he was enjoying himself.

    ¡°Please¡­ no more!¡±

    ¡°Perhaps a few more uses of precision? Try to hit my corneas.¡±

    ¡°No!¡±

    ¡°And here I had a maple syrup-zed doughnut with real Canadian maple syrup.¡±

    Hot damn.

    ¡°Three times and not one more,¡± Nestra offered.

    ¡°Agreed.¡±

    She had her prize with some really nice coffee. Mazingwe served it with milk, cardamom, and cinnamon. He called in Qahwe. It was very nice.

    ¡°Normally, I would add sugar, however the light bitterness of the unsweetened Qahwe offers a better match to the zed doughnut. In my own modest opinion, of course,¡± Mazingwe said.

    ¡°Hmph!¡± Nestra replied with much enthusiasm.

    ¡°I notice that you seem morefortable in your demon form than in your human one. Have you grown more used to it?¡±

    Nestra took a moment to reply since she didn¡¯t want to speak with a mouth full. Mazingwe was patient anyway.

    ¡°It is my true body. The human skin is nice, and I¡¯m used to it, but it¡¯ssss not me.¡±

    ¡°Your diction has improved a bit.¡±

    ¡°Yes. The teeth are very sharp. It took some getting used to.¡±

    ¡°Do you often stay in your true form then?¡±

    ¡°When I am with you, on a lone raid, or when I am with Sereth or my sister.¡±

    ¡®Hmmm. I see,¡± Mazingwe said, making a note on his datasheet. ¡°It appears your mental health has drastically improved following your awakening. We will keep monitoring it, of course. Raiders are typically under a significant amount of stress while the loss of friends always taxes the heart. It is no weakness to ask for help when it bes too much. The battle of the mind is just as important as the battle of the bodies, yet it is often neglected. Your family and I are here for you.¡±

    ¡°Thanks Mazingwe, it means a loting from a first gen.¡±

    The doctor nodded, swiping something on his datasheet.

    ¡°You may not be human, Miss Padian, but you are my patient. Now that you are in a good mood, let me quickly go over your test results. You are at the very top of C-ss¡­ in every category ording to human standards..¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good.¡±

    ¡°More than good, considering you are still in the early stages of C-ss if I understand correctly. It makes your people truly terrifying. Most humans specialize but you won¡¯t have to. You can y any role, even that of a tank.¡±

    ¡°Well there aren''t a lot of us so I guess it offsets our abilities?¡±

    Once again, Nazingwe nodded.

    ¡°I have the impression from Sereth that gray demons can be loners, however I have also noticed that you cooperate well with Valerian and your sister. It could imply that human-born gray demons conserve our species¡¯ pack bonding tendencies.¡±

    He leaned forward until Nestra felt the full weight of his attention on her.

    ¡°There mighte a day when it matters, for both of your species. You are the only one for now, Miss Padian.¡±

    ¡°Sereth also likes humanity.¡±

    Mazingwe marked a pause, and Nestra got the impression he was searching for the correct words.

    ¡°Sereth is¡­ not unlike a tourist. He likes mankind. He clearly holds great affection for his girlfriend, yet he remains¡­ a very old warrior. You do realize he¡¯s older than any human alive, right?¡±

    ¡°Oh¡­¡±

    ¡°Warriors like him canpartmentalize their emotions, and as sad as it would make him to leave in a rush or¡­ other options, he would probably do it. He is here for you.¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡±

    ¡°It might be up to you to represent mankind in the future. I am sorry for cing this burden upon your shoulders¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s ok. I like it here. All my friends are on this.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, and now for the second unpleasant thing¡­¡±

    Nestra felt blindsided. Bad news? With my doughnut?

    ¡°As you may recall, I have full ess to the Pandora database, the repository of all known monsters and all the information avable on them.¡±

    He hesitated.

    ¡°Except for the market rate or edibility of their body parts.¡±

    ¡°Bah. It¡¯s fine. I¡¯m always up for testing edibility.¡±

    ¡°Hmmm yes, perhaps you should improve your toxin resistance first. But I digress. The Pandora database records who¡¯s essed specific pages for the sake of helping team coordination. For confidentiality reasons, the option to check it is left only to those with the highest levels of clearance. I am one such person.¡±

    ¡°I knew you were famous as Dawn Spear but not that famous.¡±

    ¡°I fought alongside Riel, Miss Padian. In the evacuation of Mogadishu.¡±

    ¡°Damn¡­¡±

    It was like talking to a living legend.

    ¡°If you will stop interrupting me¡­ I wanted to inform you that another person recently consulted the ¡®cacodaimon anthropomimesis¡¯ page. Yours, if you recall.¡±

    ¡°Who?¡±

    ¡°Shinran.¡±

    Nestra dropped her half-eaten doughnut. Thankfully, itnded on her te.

    ¡°I mustmend you for keeping your mask and full body suit on at all times, however I suspect Shinran has identified Crescent as a gray demon. My understanding is that Seth made the cost of messing with you quite clear, but I would strongly advise you to expect some form of interference. Keep an eye out and expect him to do something.¡±

    ¡°Damn.¡±

    ¡°Do not be rmed. Shinran strictly respects his own rules¡­¡±

    Mazingwe frowned, which pushed Nestra to ask the burning question that had been on her mind for a long time.

    ¡°Why are all high gleams so scared of Shinran when he¡¯s a damn bonze that heals people for free?¡±

    ¡°Let us just say that while Shinran is a calm and contained person, nobody who ever saw him fight would believe that is all he is.¡±

    ¡°So he fights like a monster?¡±

    Mazingwe flinched.

    ¡°His¡­ brutality¡­ is something to behold. Hopefully, you won¡¯t. Not for a very long time. That was all, Miss Padian. Do not be afraid, but remain vignt.¡±

    ¡°Okay¡­¡±

 (44)

    (44)

    The fateful time hade. Nestra was summoned to attend preparatory training for the Sword King enve mission, and the first and most important one would be survival training.

    Well, summoning was perhaps pushing it. She could do some remote learning in a training center for military augs, or she could stay at home. Let¡¯s see.

    Remote training center: <ul><li>Have to travel.</li><li>Shit food.</li><li>Strangers who might initiate small talk.</li><li>Ufortable.</li><li>Protected by augs of dubious motivation.</li></ul>

    Her home:<ul><li>No need to move or, indeed, put on makeup or a bra.</li><li>Ster food.</li><li>Only the people she likes cane and they have to message her first.</li><li>Over fourteen pillows per Aszhii and climbing.</li><li>Protected by a point defense naval gun designed to take down small ships and cruise missiles.</li></ul>

    Yeah that wasn¡¯t even a choice, so wearing clean pajamas and with a cup of nice Qahwe within her grasp, Nestra set out to learn the basics of survival. It would definitely be more exciting than negotiation and cultural sensitivity training, also on the program. She wasn¡¯t a negotiator. When would that ever be useful? And the cultural sensitivity training was just designed to make her hate the envers less. The same guys who justified her participation by being so prejudiced against baselines that her existence offended them.

    Anyway, survival. Survival came first. Those lessons would likely help her beyond the scope of the enve expedition, especially with raids taking longer and longer.

    Some of the content was pretty obvious. The same basic precautions that were taught in MaxSec also applied in the wilderness, unsurprisingly. Others were more specific, like camping and orientation. Those would be expanded upon during the in person training, which would happen after shepleted all the online sses.

    During the first day, Nestra studied the basics. To her surprise, there was a lot of emphasis on mental preparedness, on how to stay calm and so on. It felt like a critical part of the program, though she was barely concerned. It helped to have a backup monstrous self if a problem arose. The rest covered shelter, navigation, water, fire, and food, with nice questionnaires and tests designed to help identify ws in her understanding. Nestra grew bored at 6PM, had an Aszhii nap, and then went raiding as Crescent in a rare low C-ss cold biome. The enemies here were weird creatures that were really good at blending into the environment, which would be more annoying if Nestra couldn¡¯t see their beady eyes following her as she approached. At least she got some cold resistance out of that.

    The next day, Nestra validated the safety and mental preparedness modules before moving onto fire, which she also validated before lunch. It wasn¡¯t very difficult considering all modern gear came with multiple ways of lighting fire. The difficulty was in building a safe firece that wouldn¡¯t block sight or send all the smoke into her eyes. Or attract predators. Water was quicklypleted as <em>well</em>, considering their new continent was rife with fresh water sources, which could easily be filtered even if they were not boiled or chemically purified. She worked on the shelter module before her nap, then it was time to meet Sereth.***

    Nestra pushed through the B-ss world¡¯s heavy atmosphere in her desperate bid to stab her brother in the groin. That fucker had finally managed to adjust his strength and speed to match hers so he could punch her in the face without killing her, and now he was going to pay for it. He was the Face of the Mountain: direct, powerful, overwhelming. She was the Scornful Crescent: vicious, precise, relentless. They knew each other well. It was an even match. Their dance carried them across the pitted surface of an alien world, past shiny crystals and the strange remains of monsters Sereth had killed before Nestra¡¯s arrival. Her feints and counters adapted to her foe just as he grew used to them while careful redirects dissipated the immense strength behind the older Aszhii¡¯s strikes. Two gray demons of vastly different styles locked in a hail of de and punches. Nestra elerated, charging herself with electricity before releasing it into a single burst. A wall of obsidian stopped the assault, but her next strike came with an unpredictable teleport.

    With a roar of triumph, she smacked her sword in the annoying man¡¯s thigh, missing the vitals by a finger despite the use of precision. His backswing sent her tumbling face first into a wall.

    ¡°Aiming for my genitals only makes you more predictable,¡± Sereth calmly said.

    ¡°FUCK YOU!¡±

    ¡°Do not let your anger drive you. The Scornful Crescent is the school of theughing predator. Again.¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes, you¡¯re right. I¡¯ll do better.¡±

    They fought some more. Sereth must have been frustrated because he never let her win, instead facing her with the full extent of his trickery. He was over two hundred years old, earth time equivalent, and he¡¯d been fighting for most of it. She was just a child byparison. At least this time, it wasn¡¯t her acting badly, but him simply being better.

    ¡°Uuhghgh.¡±

    ¡°Do not lose heart, little Nezhra. You are doing fairly well! Your drive is admirable, and not one we often see in the myriad worlds.¡±

    She shrugged. She was feeling a bit sore. And so was her pride.

    ¡°Is it a human thing, or a me thing?¡± she asked with curiosity.

    His ears wiggled a bit, which they did when he was considering aplex question. Nestra knew he felt self-conscious about it ¡ª apparently it was considered immature in his host species to do so ¡ª but it was also kind of cute and she didn¡¯t want him to stop.

    ¡°Human drive is singr, perhaps as a consequence of individualism and your short lifespans. You are driven, even for a human.¡±

    ¡°Really? But I also waste time doing human stuff like survival training andw enforcement stuff.¡±

    ¡°Nonsense,¡± Sereth huffed. ¡°Who decides what is time wasted? You are living your human life. The first life is important for every Aszhii. Those who have a miserable one¡­¡±

    He frowned, perhaps remembering something unpleasant.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you want to go home?¡± Nestra asked.

    ¡°Actually, no. I¡¯m having fun here. I will return so long as Stibbs tolerates me. We could even have¡­ children!¡±

    ¡°Ok.¡±

    Somehow, the thought of the two of them having kids scared her. She was afraid of things moving too fast.

    ¡°Oh, are there other human traits that qualify¡­ us? Or should I say them?¡±

    ¡°Both, since you inherited many of their traits. I would say¡­ pack bonding and fine motor control.¡±

    ¡°Fine motor control?¡± Nestra asked, bbergasted.

    ¡°Yes. Your muscles are not very powerfulpared to other species, but your finger dexterity is amazing! Very versatile too. Do you know how hard it is to wield a de with threerge fingers designed to crush vertebrae? Very hard. In case you were wondering.¡±

    She looked down at his fingers. He still had five.

    ¡°My species is rtively close to yours but even we are not that good. We were naturally good at magic though.¡±

    ¡°But you are a warrior.¡±

    ¡°And I am good at magic, but I prefer to punch things in the face. And I¡¯m good at that too!¡±

    ¡°That makes a lot of sense.¡±

    Nestra decided to clean her de in thefortable silence that followed. It was already cracking. She would need to change soon. Five thousand credits down the drain for this one, and she was going through them faster as her powers grew.

    ¡°Say, I don¡¯t feel like I¡¯m making much progress, style wise. I unlocked two steps of the Scornful Crescent: <em>Interruption </em>and <em>Counter</em>, but the next one eludes me.¡±

    ¡°Two steps is the work of a genius at your age. You are also integrating human and Aszhii fighting styles. We focus less on form and more on, errr, concepts. You will get used to it. You need to get used to it, in fact, for the next step is considerably more abstract. You just need more experience! You are already working very hard, don''t worry.¡±

    ¡°I miss Fox Mask¡­ Can you capture her for me?¡±

    ¡°Nope. Chase your own perfect prey,¡± he replied, ck needles showing with his smirk.

    ¡°I don¡¯t even want to kill her. She¡¯s too fun.¡±

    ¡°Then don¡¯t!¡±

    He shrugged. Nestra wondered if all Aszhii were that serious about staying rxed.

    ***

    Nestra spent the entire next day studying how to shelter oneself. It wasn¡¯t just finding a good, protected spot with water around to establish a camp, there were also plenty of safety precautions to take. She¡¯d never guessed a supposedly good ce could get flooded. She had also never guessed she was supposed to prepare and store food at least a hundred meters away from where she was sleeping, preferably in an airtight container on a tree. No enticing scents could be allowed near her shelter lest monsters find both.

    And also add her to the snack list.

    It didn¡¯t feel right. It didn¡¯t feel right! The food should be stored where she was, in case she got stuck in the shelter because of the rain. Or got wounded. It made sense; it just pissed her off.

    ¡°I fear NOTHING! HISSS!¡±

    Human Nestra ought to be afraid though. Ugh. And she would be tested. Whatever. Against her heart, shepleted the module by admitting she wouldn¡¯t keep any food where she slept.

    ¡°Alright, what¡¯s next?¡±

    It was food. There was aprehensive list of all of the edible stuff that had ever been found on the Threshold sub-continent as well as anotherprehensive list of all things that would kill her if ingested, with clear instructions on how to keep an updated database in one¡¯s visor before leaving for an expedition. Threshold had very little coverage because sending satellites up was harder than it used to be.

    ¡°Wait, there is Sichuan pepper out there?¡±

    Not just that apparently, but also a wild variety of earth and portal nts that had no business spreading so fast. The ce had ginger, garlic, scallions, some alien spices, even cinnamon. Tubers and fruits were abundant, and many of them were still in season for now. The continent had many rivers and secludedkes hidden across the rockyndscape. It was a treasure trove of tasty stuff. Nestra was suddenly super interested, and that was before it came to wilnd cooking. She could use a buried fire pit with an air intake under some cover to hide the smoke and also for efficiency. This would be super useful in so many of her raids! She had ideas on how to cook inside of them rather than dragging the food out to eat it at home.

    She validated the food module with a full score before taking optional sses in it. Hey, it was free. Unfortunately, the navigation module¡¯s final test waspletely stupid. Not only was she supposed to get a perfect grade on over 100 problems, but the questions were also ambiguous and the answers almost identical. Never had she wished she could strangle someone through a screen with more ardor.

    ***

    It was Monday again. Nestra experienced that special Threshold rush hour with all the baffled horror of someone who had never had to cross the entire city by car. If the driving AI hadn¡¯t taken over, she would have feared for her sanity. Thankfully, the traffic lightened as she approached the eastern gate that led to the Pacific Ocean and Threshold¡¯s lone port. The early morning light bathed the blue water and the titanic fortress ships in red, blurring the people until she faced a tapestry of lumbering leviathans attended by skeletal cranes.

    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

    The car then moved north towards a small penins. The road was carefully maintained but all around was wilderness, barely contained by barriers and fences. Private resorts lined the shore despite the risk of kaijus, probably built by people who didn¡¯t mind the cost. She spotted a few manors of painted concrete and sto, and once, parasols lining a ck sand beach. Gleam resorts, for only they could risk it.

    The farther she went and the more the concrete road felt like a shiny ck wound across a pristine world that fought it like an infection. She took back control of the wheel for the sheer pleasure of driving the speeding pink roadster on an empty road. Crossing the lond to the penins was an experience in itself, and the gawping armored car drivers passing her by only made it funnier. She soon arrived at a military checkpoint beyond which a fortified field camp waited. There were enough gun emcements and sandbags to stop a monster herd, but as to why they would build it somewhere a kaiju could easily reach, she wasn¡¯t sure. Maybe for territory control? The sentries barely checked her ID before letting her through. She was expected.

    Or rather, they were expected. Nestra was directed to a bungalow only to find an entire ss waiting for her. Those were augs, and not pushovers either but military augs with eye imnts. Nestra decided to be polite and smiled at the lot since they didn¡¯t look like they knew what to do with her.

    ¡°Hello! I¡¯m Nestra Padian, with Special Affairs.¡±

    Poker faces all around.

    ¡°Previously with MaxSec.¡±

    ¡°Really? I got a cousin who joined MaxSec. Where?¡± a muscr woman asked

    ¡°Twenty-First. We were dealing with mercenaries and dokkaebi, mostly.¡±

    ¡°Really? From portal breaches?¡± another asked.

    ¡°Only for mopups but we got the asional trash spiders as well. Leave a few eggs in a food warehouse and¡­¡±

    They collectively winced.

    ¡°Gooed up in six hours tops. Yeah. I made that face as well. What about you guys?¡± Nestra asked.

    ¡°We¡¯re Armored Infantry.¡±

    ¡°Walker pilots? Which model?¡± Nestra asked, suddenly interested. ¡°Rangers? Engineering?¡±

    ¡°Dragoons, actually,¡± a muscr man said.

    ¡°I love methrowers,¡± Nestra confessed.

    To Nestra¡¯s surprise, they had a very nice conversation and the group overall seemed to ept her. They belonged to the rare ss of muscle nerds, and when Nestra exined she was a kind of quirkie, they all epted it to exin her ownck of augmentations. She managed to snatch some coffee from a nearby pot before the instructor arrived. He was a scarred pinoy who had to be at least 50% military augs. The rest was brutal efficiency.

    ¡°I¡¯m Major Cortez, your wilnd survival instructor. It is my job to train you on how to survive should you get stranded. You will listen and you will listen well or you will repeat this course until you do. Now, I¡¯d like to know why youdies are not in your suits yet? What is this, a pic? Last one in line will help me with viscera disposal.¡±

    ***

    ¡°Padian, what¡¯s missing from this gear?¡±

    ¡°A shovel and regtion tarp, sir!¡±

    ¡°Could there be a brain between those ears? We¡¯ll find out soon enough!¡±

    ***

    ¡°Padian, build me a fire that can work on muddy ground.¡±

    ¡°Right away, sir!¡±

    ***

    ¡°Padian, can this mushroom be eaten?¡±

    ¡°Only once, sir!¡±

    ¡°For all of you blockheads, this is a blue dream amanite, and eating it will be thest mistake you¡¯ll ever make.¡±

    ***

    ¡°Padian, where is a good ce to shelter around those parts?¡±

    ¡°Under the stump of that upended tree, sir, but only for a while and not if it¡¯s raining.¡±

    ¡°And why is that?¡±

    ¡°Flooding risk.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. If it¡¯s raining, you can seek elevation in trees too. Now, for weapons training.¡±

    ***

    ¡°If youdies get stranded, you¡¯d better hope you don¡¯te across a D-ss monster or above. If you do, may your end be swift and may you enter the afterlife of your choice. If it¡¯s a dokkaebi, you¡¯d better be ready to send that thing back to hell. Today, I¡¯ll teach you how to do maintenance in muddy conditions¡­ Padian, what the hell is that thing?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s my shotgun, sir.¡±

    ¡°I can tell it¡¯s a goddamn shotgun, you damn blockhead. Where is your regtion gun?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s my gun per MaxSec clearance, sir.¡±

    ¡°Are you going to carry that thing all the way through the exam?¡±

    ¡°Yes sir. Because it can, in fact, kill D-ss monsters.¡±

    ¡°Are you sure about that?¡±

    ¡°Very sure.¡±

    ***

    Nestra had an unexpected amount of fun during training. The dragoon riders were a kind bunch who were more than eager to nerd out about their own gear. Major Cortez proved delightfully easy to deal with: if she knew the answers, he was happy. If she didn¡¯t, he was less happy and she learned. There were no games and no tip toeing around topics of conversation. It was kind of rxing, not to mention Cortez had a few ways of preparing ntain bananas in the wilds by wrapping them with special leaves.

    ¡°You can also add meat. Use the fattiest parts, white girl.¡±

    ¡°What about spice?¡±

    ¡°Whatever you can get your hands on. Aya, I told you you couldn''t bring your spice rack.¡±

    The two looked at each other in silence.

    ¡°It¡¯s very small,¡± Nestra stated.

    ¡°You¡¯re going to smuggle it in even if I tell you no, di ba?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d rather have salt than a pair of socks. I¡¯m a strong girl. Really.¡±

    The major left, swearing in tagalog the whole time but mostly Nestra was doing very well and he had other people to handle. Some of the dragoons were city birds to the core. They found guts icky. They could always find other stuff to eat but if Nestra had to be honest, it was a bit weird that people who drove me-spittingbat walkers could find entrails revolting. Maybe because they were supposed to char things to death first? Whatever.

    Finally, the fateful day of the exam arrived. In order to test their skills, the trainees would be dropped in the jungle alone for seven days, with gear but only three days worth of food and half a day of water. It was their goal to stay alive until evacuation. It meant surveince drones so Nestra would be limited to her human form for a longer time than what she was used to, but such was the price of good knowledge. It would be fine. Most likely.

    ***

    Nestra watched the thick jungle trail behind the gunship through its open back bay. Thick trees, gnarled and twisted to drink as much sunlight as they could, fought for every centimeter of soil and still, crags emerged between the canopies, showing the dark bones of the Threshold continent still uncovered after all of these decades. It was an endless tapestry, never the same but always so simr it didn¡¯t really matter. The ce smelled of damp air and the pungent scent of green things both living and dead, so overwhelming it reached even here. Half of the team was already on the ground, somewhere. She was next.

    The Silent Horn was a rather mysterious territory to Threshold¡¯s northwest, so called because it had very few portals to speak of. Even the air felt thin to Nestra¡¯s senses, the mana sluggish and sleepy. It didn¡¯t mean there were no monsters, of course, just that there were few and barely D-ss. The rest preferred to stay in livelier pastures. That was where the test would take ce to avoid unnecessary deaths. She looked at the drone that would monitor her life signs and possibly send a rescue request if she were in serious danger. It was a slow thing with sr panels at the back, designed for autonomy and not much else. It would stay afloat above her unless she gave up. She had no intention of doing so.

    ¡°You¡¯re up next, Padian!¡± the major yelled.

    She fastened her suit to the rope as the gunship slowed down. A quick look around showed her where the nearest vantage point was while she rappelled down. That would be usefulter.

    Her boots hit the ground and she released the rope. A momentter, the gunship flew off.

    The dronezily followed. Her Wellington suit beeped as she turned on the cooling and life support systems, then another beep confirmed she had no signal. She was alone.

    She took a deep breath. The smell here was just pungent, overwhelming her with its diversity. Trees fought for space alongside lianas, bushes, and even mushrooms here and there. Insects buzzed loudly. Nothing was really thriving here, not like in the carefully manicured parks of the city. Dead leaves, rotting wood, fading nts, the sickly and the dead mixed with the living and the strong to form a whole devoid of any reason or purpose beyond its own survival. There was so much to see, to feel, though for now, the Wellington suit offered a niceyer of safety against the outside world.

    Right.

    No immediate danger. She checked her shotgun onest time before setting out to the elevated outcropping, taking her time to do so. Effort consumed calories and water. She would need three liters a day to function optimally. Food was less important but still a factor. Everything cost calories. Now, they would be in shorter supply.

    Nestra climbed with measured steps. She stopped to drink at the base of the hillock even though she wasn¡¯t thirsty yet. Easy footholds led her atop t volcanic rock. A single tree struggled to take root in a shallow crack, roots seeking nourishment like grasping hands. The wind had turned it gnarly and starved, so fragile Nestra didn¡¯t dare use it for support. She surveyed the ce.

    She couldn¡¯t even see the gunship anymore. The wind brushed against the skin of her face, and the little hair that fell from her hood. Far in the distance, she spotted the shimmering azure of the sea. Birds flew low over the canopies now that the strange steel predator had left, and their cries echoed each other in high-pitched arguments. She looked for water and, at first, didn¡¯t find much.

    Pulling down the hood, she turned on the optics. The onboard AI found patterns consistent with rivers. A careful study showed a small brook nearby, but it was rather exposed. Arger river in the distance attracted her gaze. She carefully studied it. She found a bend where the water would flow more slowly, just what she needed. It would still be a trek of a few kilometers, but this was the first day. She had to pick a good spot.

    Using the Wellington¡¯s navigation made keeping track trivial. Unfortunately nothing would help her cross several kilometers of untamed jungle. Brambles got in the way. Trees got in the way, their branches jealously spreading to catch rays of sunlight. Rocks got in the way, some of them impassable. A distance that would have been a fifteen minutes walk in the city turned into an hours-long trek, forcing her to take out her emotional support knife just so she could cut a path through some of the denser patches. Even with the Wellington cooling her body, she was sweating heavily halfway through, and considering giving up on preventing mosquitoes fromnding on her nose.

    Her mind wandered, even as she kept looking around. Her weight seemed fixed now, but it ought to fluctuate just from water loss. Was the human mask drawing moisture and nutrients from her true self? Could she even get dehydrated? Sereth had said that even if the human mask were destroyed, her true self would progressively rebuild it. That didn¡¯t mean she would ck off now. Pain was still pain. Also, her pride wouldn¡¯t allow it.

    Nestra missed her destination by a hundred meters due to the vagaries of the ce, but it was fine. On the way, she¡¯d spotted and noted down a few promising foraging points. There were even mushrooms, though she wasn¡¯t super confident about identifying them. The promising bend of the river she¡¯d picked proved to be just as good as she¡¯d hoped. The river widened and slowed over a rare piece of t ground, gurgling happily as it moved downstream. Boulders cut through the cid surface at regr intervals. The water was surprisingly clear and she could spot fat fishes following the eddies. It was perfect.

    Her quest for a resting spot proved more challenging. The nearest rock was steep and smooth, offering no shelter. She lucked out by finding an overhanging rock a short distance away. Tufts of hair showed it had been used for shelter before.

    ¡°This will do.¡±

    Nestra cleared some debris, picked her shovel, and got to work.

    ***

    It took Nestra a whole morning to clear and prepare her shelter, but it would be worth it. Moss and Liana would make for a nice nest to supplement thefort of the armor. For water, she used arge gravity filter bag she hung next to her hidey hole. It was a nice piece of gear that took almost no space when folded, yet could filter five liters at a time. All the while, she kept her eye out for predators. This was a good spot to drink. If she thought so, then others certainly did, but nothing came to bite her ass.

    The weirdest part of it all wasn¡¯t the survival, because she¡¯d been drilled by the major. The weird part was being alone with her thoughts. She wasn¡¯t raiding or training, so the sensation of urgency was different. Here, she was just, well, surviving? No connection, just herself and her own mind. There were some basic media stored in the Wellington, mostly music, but she refrained from using them as it would needlessly drain the battery. It was just¡­ quiet here, and she wanted to experience that for a while.

    Nestra ate energy bars and had some fresh water for lunch, then she started her first project: building a fish trap. By using one of the boulders near the edge and quite a few rocks, she slowly built a sort of pool that fishes could swim into, but not easily leave without fighting against the current. It was a nice trick she¡¯d learnt from Major Cortez and she was looking forward to making it work.

    Next she built small snares.

    That carried her into thete afternoon. The sun set quickly in this mountainous region, even in thete summer. She would forage for those tubers she¡¯d spotted the next day. There was no rush.

    Even though she was tired, it took a long time for her to fall asleep. The next morning, she washed herself with fresh water then climbed down to check on her fish farm. As soon as she approached, she knew something had gone wrong. Blood and scattered gore stained a rock by the shore, the remains of a nightly buffet. Of her fish.

    ¡°WHO THE FUCK STOLE MY DAMN FISH!¡±

    First that stupid void squall thief, and now another? This would not stand.

    ¡°You¡¯re so dead. No one steals from Nestra. I¡¯ll find you, and I¡¯ll eat you.¡±

    ***

    Seven dayster.

    Major Cortez and his second dropped down from the gunship with some measure of apprehension. The girl wasn¡¯t at her sleeping spot, which wasn¡¯t unusual since the pick up was ¡®sometime during the seventh day¡¯, but still¡­ Most people just waited there. He climbed the gentle slope to her encampment with care. Some people didn¡¯te out because predators were around. His artificial fingers tightened over the handle of his rifle. His optics searched for heat bleeding through the dense vegetation.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be,¡± the lieutenant whispered.

    The girl¡¯s base was¡­ something. A well-trodden path led to a rudimentary fence decorated with bleached bone totems, and beyond that, a garden of carefully dug up aromatic herbs waited. Despite his advice, a tightly packed food container hung from a nearby branch. He could see a lot of meat there. Sichuan pepper dried on nearby leaves while a smoking pity quiescent to the side. He spotted her sleeping spot under a rock, past anotheryer of wooden fences. Moss and flower formed a thick bedding though it was more a den than a true bed. Of the girl, there were no signs.

    ¡°Signal says she¡¯s father north.¡±

    ¡°Hunting, maybe.¡±

    They had a look at the food. It was a stupid thing to do to keep meat around like that. Damn, that was a lot of meat. She had to have depopted the entire grid coordinate.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go. The gunship can¡¯t stick around forever.¡±

    They picked up the pace, using the ping provided by the surveince drone. The jungle was thick but they plowed through without much care, until they came upon a tiny clearing nestled between two sheer cliffs. There, a pile of steaming entrails greeted them, already buzzing with flies and all manner of insects.

    ¡°What the ¡ª¡±

    A noise. A roar. Angry fur and vering teeth emerged from the nearby patch, aiming straight for her. Major Cortez recognized a lesser mana ursus just as his gun automatically jumped up to acquire the target. A magical bear, dangerous, resilient¡ª

    BOOM

    Its head exploded in a shower of brains and skull fragments.

    ¡°GOT YOU!¡±

    The girl surged from behind a bush, screaming in triumph. She was wearing a sort of homemade ghillie suit that had made detection difficult. Only her furious eyes peered out from behind her hood. Fierce sigils were drawn in mud across the Wellington¡¯s camo, making his mind skip a beat. He averted his eyes. Probably just a glitch.

    ¡°That fucking thing kept eating my damn fish. Who¡¯s meat now, huh? Well yed, idiot.¡±

    ¡°Miss Padian, the gunship¡­¡±

    ¡°Sorry, yeah, sorry. Gotta go. No time to skin it, I suppose. We¡¯ll just swing by home to get my meat.¡±

    ¡°Padian¡­¡±

    The lieutenant¡¯s voice came in private convo.

    ¡°Sir, I think it would be faster and wiser just to y along.¡±

    The girl frowned, aware of something. Cortez got the feeling he was right.

    ¡°Fine. Let¡¯s hurry then.¡±

    ¡°Good! Oh, major, I got smoked river fish with fresh local pepper and salt. It¡¯s such a good snack. I got garlic and scallion rabbit liver skewers as well. And mangoes. I would kill for a beer though.¡±

    The major chuckled. He might just ept.

    Unfortunately for Nestra, the quarantine department seized her entire stash due to contamination risks, and it was destroyed at the base camp.

    ***

    The same evening, in a C-ss portal world.

    ¡°MY FUCKING MEAT,¡± a voice roared in Aszhii.

    Limbs flew through the air. Despite the portal lizards¡¯ programmed aggression, their primitive brains could not help but flinch before the onught. The intruder was a storm of de and magic tearing through them with vicious precision, and impable timing.

    ¡°MY FISH!¡±

    Thergest of them spat bolts of cobalt light. The intruder merely powered through as if it were merely an inconvenience. The beast fell from a devious thrust that caught it in its blind spot. Like a demon, the irate being tore through thest of the resistance with unbidden fury.

    ¡°THREE DAYS I SMOKED IT. THREE. FUCKING. DAYS!¡±

    Her bloodthirst still unquenched, Nestra raced up a volcanic path towards the arid teau where the guardian waited, under a sky as thunderous as her heart.

    Suddenly, a shift in space made her flinch. She turned, surprised. Something had juste through the entrance portal behind her, back into the pine forest. Surely, that wasn¡¯t right. The portal was reserved for Crescent and Crescent alone. An intruder? A cop? As a precaution, she reached for her mask.

    She didn¡¯t make it. The intruder was already here.

    He was a Japanese man of medium height,pletely shaved all over. A kind smile on his gentle face gave him a fatherly appearance, though the green and silvery eyes of a high gleam said otherwise. Muscr shoulders hid under an humble orange robe. In his hand, he held a staff. He was one of the only people on the who would never need to introduce himself.

    ¡°Oh shit,¡± Nestra squeaked.

    Shinran¡¯s response never began. His mouth, which had opened, closed shut. An immense pressure crushed Nestra then and there, forcing her to her knees. She couldn¡¯t stand. She couldn¡¯t even breathe. It took all her will to remember she existed. The ground shook with strange tremors like a breath, like a heartbeat, moaning with fear and anticipation.

    Something pierced space like a dagger pushed through thin paper. Nestra screamed from sympathetic pain when the world was gutted. A fist emerged from the breach, though she couldn¡¯t see it, couldn¡¯t even look up. She knew it because she felt the fist like one felt a mountain at one¡¯s back without a need to look. The thing that walked through the breach might have been Sereth, once, but now it was the mountain. Not the Face of the Mountain, as was its path, but the mountain, moving. A titan of hardened armor as unstoppable as time itself. The colossus¡¯ sheer presence warped reality around it. Nestra forgot to even fight for that missing breath.

    A-rank.

    Azshii.

    Warrior.

    Might, incarnate.

    The deadliest entity on earth by an order of magnitude.

    ¡°I warned you,¡± the mountain said.

    Its punch cracked the world like an egg.

 (45)

    (45)

    No time to run. The membrane that was this portal world exploded, spilling its contents where there was no room to spill them. Space bent in mind-defying geometries. Her mind reeled from the experience, but then she recovered almost immediately.

    This was just space. She knew space. Well, not her mind, but her body, her instincts did. Synesthesia merged space and sight to present rivers of ss melding and splitting in a tightly packed whole. She was¡­ not existing at the moment. Both her mask and true self folded together in the same personal space.

    It was weird. And fascinating. She didn¡¯t have the time to enjoy it though. There was the rather important matter of preventing a trans-dimension apex predator from ying earth¡¯s most powerful raider and dooming the city. Her city.

    ¡°Riel dammit, Sereth.¡±

    He wouldn¡¯t have endangered her. That meant that she was safe, or more likely, capable of saving herself. Through the depth of the worlds, she recognized each ss vein as ayer of existence. Small bubbles represented portals, stuck to their home dimensions like soap bubbles to the skin. Thergest and most imposing of them all showed skyscrapers and a sky of red. it also¡­ tasted¡­ familiar. Others were more distant. She almost opened her cocoon now so she could exist in space again, but felt flung into the real world. Images blurred in front of her. She saw a jungle.

    ¡°That¡¯s not right.¡±

    She couldn¡¯t allow herself to reappear out there in the fucking boonies. Her mind focused, sharpening her instincts. She redirected her cocoon towards the shiniest beacon, the most mana-rich ce of her native ne. There, again, the skyscrapers. She forced the bubble to close in with the ss vein. She merged both membranes. It was so easy. They wanted to merge.

    Nestra stepped in front of Riel¡¯s Beacon: Threshold¡¯s official town hall. Air filled her lungs. Noise saturated her ears. She could see again, smell the asphalt and taste the ambient mana. She could feel their air on her skin.

    Wait, fuck. ¡°My mask!¡±

    Nestra put it on, but not before a strident scream rose behind her. She tapped her Skin.

    ¡°Quick! Make us inconspicuous!¡±

    The symbiote growled with annoyance, but itplied. the veil-like shoulders and armor melted into a nondescript bodysuit.

    ¡°Please don¡¯t kill me!¡±

    Nestra turned at the unusual request. There was a corpo drone in a suit sitting on his ass, looking very scared.

    ¡°Crescent, with the army.¡±

    Nestra waved her ID in front of the man¡¯s face. It was really convenient to be able to store small items with her mask. Maybe one day she¡¯d be able to store an entire fridge.

    ¡°Oh, sorry.¡±

    rms red in the background. There were shattered pieces of windows littering the ground at her feet. Threshold was on lockdown.

    ¡°Get to a shelter instead of asssking monsters not to kill you. They won¡¯t listen.¡±

    ¡°Oh yeah. You were just on the way.¡±

    Nestra red, which was enough to get the corpo out of her hair. Things were bad. The streets were empty. Some of the concrete had cracked. Hover carsy unattended, doors still open, and the light, the light was so red.

    She looked up. The sky was bleeding. Angry, roiling clouds moved like waves over her head. Indigo bolts coursed through the heavens with thundering reverberations that caused rows of windows to explode in a crystal rain. A loud, booming noise tore through the abused city, and the ground shook. She almost expected to see shockwaves and the mana signs of massive spells, but all she could see was army gunships and, a bitter, a trio of fighter jets roaring through the hellscape, and she understood.

    Sereth and Shinran were not fighting here. This was merely a bleedthrough.

    ¡°Fuck.¡±

    Where were they? She had to stop them. If she even could. It looked like just being around might be fatal. Quickly, she raced towards the closest B-ss world she knew of: the one where she sparred with Sereth on asion. The entrance wasn¡¯t too far and it felt like a good candidate since Sereth liked the ce.

    The color of the sky didn¡¯t match, though. She pushed back the fear of what could happen if she got it wrong. Her feet pushed against the shivering concrete. She ran faster. Sereth, what the fuck are you doing?

    He just wanted to talk. It was clear as day. He wanted to talk, or she would have had her throat between his fingers!

    The ground shook again. A patrol of gleams in techno armor moved past her. They immediatelytched onto her presence, but she shook her ID in front of them and it destabilized them enough for her to continue. The headquarters of the Tiger guild was in sight. She ced her hands in front of her. This was the B-ss world. Heat. She felt heat. Good news was that they were fighting here. Bad news was that the spot she wanted to port into was probably destroyed, or damaged, at least. Nestra rushed along the street, feeling the world as she went. Something fell, crashing against a nearby building: a spot of superheated basalt. The remnants of a red crystal were still embedded into it.

    Better hurry.

    Nestra pushed where she felt it was safe, hoping she wasn¡¯t making a mistake.

    She appeared in the air over a massive chasm.

    ¡°Fuck.¡±

    Dangerous. Dangerous. Behind her, only rock. A panicked <em>momentum </em>sent her against it. It was the bottom of a floating ind. The basalt dug into her back when she hit it. Turning, she managed to grasp the rocks before she could fall.

    Stupid. Stupid. But she had no choice. She HAD to stop them. Sereth couldn¡¯t be that serious or the fight would have ended earlier.

    She crawled up until she reached the top of the floating ind, or rather what was left of it. The low bowl of the ind¡¯s natural shape was cut in half. Debris and shattered crystals were all that remained of the other half. In the distance, other inds were smashed to pieces. The skies were on fire, under the retion disk of the distant ck hole.

    Literally. The world was on fire. The heat that fell onto Nestra was enough to make her ufortable. A monstrous shockwave thundered through this portal world, but it looked like it was strong enough to withstand the blow. Nestra caught two after-images rushing above. They were gone again before she could process them.

    One, a colossus in blood-red armor and a mask reminding her of a demon, wielding a weapon she recognized as a naginata, a polearm with a sabre de at the tip. The second was Sereth. Only the buddhist demon¡¯s armor showed cracks.

    They appeared again, the buddhist demon flying.

    ¡°Hey!¡± Nestra screamed. ¡°HEY! HEEEEEEY!¡±

    It was like yelling at the clouds. How could they even hear her?

    ¡°One moment,¡± Sereth whispered in her mind. ¡°I¡¯m almost done.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t kill him!¡± Nestra yelled.

    ¡°Of course not. I am not stupid.¡±

    ¡°Oh¡­¡±

    It sure looked to Nestra like he was trying to kill the man. She huddled behind a rock while the apocalypse unfolded above her in a hell of falling fire striated by two dark shapes, each monstrous in their own way. What she got from the fight, she saw as afterimages because it never, ever slowed down. It would never slow down so long as Sereth was one of thebatants. She was aware of rank differences but she¡¯d never realized howrge it grew the higher one climbed. The A-rank raiders hurled themselves through the air, smashed inds apart with their strikes, and moved so fast she couldn¡¯t process it. The entirety of the heavens above her were still burning for some reason. They were like adult fighters smashing through a toddler¡¯s ypen. On one side, Shinran in the demonic armor she¡¯d first spotted. On the other, Sereth, in his bone-like te. As thebat progressed and Nestra could somewhat pay attention, she noticed his armor was regenerating. It was a mixed blessing considering what Sereth was putting it, and its owner, through, for the titan was winning. There were no doubts about that. No, not winning, Sereth was crushing him. Every fragment of the fight she could see implied it.

    Despite the cataclysmic battle ying out before her, Nestra allowed herself to rx. Sereth wasn¡¯t going to kill Shinran. The rest was entirely out of her hands. That meant she could just watch the storm unfold. Two A-ss raiders pummeling each other? This was a show like no other, and she was in the VIP lodge. It was just a shame that there wasn¡¯t much to see beyond pyrotechnics and the asional shockwave. She could taste it though, at the tip of her tongue. Sereth¡¯s mana, void and space mimicking other hues as grisly imitations of the original, but there was also Shinran¡¯s solid presence.

    Actually, he wasn¡¯t using any life mana, yet Nestra could tell he was healing very fast. And Shinran was not known to use any fire? What was going on? She would find out soon enough because thebat wasing to an end.

    Something told her the confrontation had gone on for an exceptionally long duration considering bothbatants were A-ss, but as soon as Serethnded on her half ind, she knew why. He had taken his time.

    The pile of meat the Aszhii dropped on the ground might have been a person once. Now, she had no idea how it could still live.

    ¡°You were foolish toe here,¡± Sereth growled in Aszhii. ¡°Either of us could have killed you by ident.¡±

    Nestra didn¡¯t believe it for a single second. Sereth could feel space.

    ¡°I am serious. It was dangerous.¡±

    ¡°I trusted you to be careful.¡±

    ¡°And it was a mistake. Never trust a hunting Aszhii, not even your own brother.¡±

    He hissed. He seemed¡­ off. Pissed off. Nestra suddenly felt like she was walking on eggshells.

    ¡°Errr, ok, sorry, I suppose I let my fear govern my actions.¡±

    ¡°Nothing is worth more than your life. If you had died, Threshold would have paid the price so I could have fun before the covens skinned me alive.¡±

    She was pretty sure he wasn¡¯t joking.

    ¡°Hssss. We shall stop here. I need a moment.¡±

    He disappeared, and secondster; something huge and distant roared in pain.

    Nestra returned her attention to the pile of meat. It was already looking more like a person. As she watched, several broken bones straightened with a strange, dull sound. One puffy eye looked at her over a toothless jaw. It was hard to gauge his emotions with so few facial features left to express them, but he looked surprisingly calm. That, or his lid wasn¡¯t working anymore.

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    ¡°Errr. Lookssss painful,¡± shemented.

    Nevermind. He could still re.

    ¡°Sorry.¡±

    Damn, it was Shinran. Shinran! And now her silly goose of a brother had beaten the shit out of him. He was her boss¡¯ boss. She was going to get her holiday request canceled. Or worse. They might seize her freezers out of spite.

    Damn.

    ¡°Errr, can I help?¡±

    More bones snapped. The maxiry somehow reconnected to the jaw. Teeth reappeared. They didn¡¯t grow back, they reformed out of nothing.

    ¡°Right, you can¡¯t talk yet.¡±

    ¡°The ¡ª¡± Shinran began, then stopped. The healing focused on his face until he looked like himself again ¡ª albeit covered in blood.

    ¡°The physical pain does not measure with my shame. It was a poor disy of skill.¡±

    ¡°Well, Sereth caught you off guard, I guess? Or did he? It sounds like he warned you.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    A pause.

    ¡°And I should have taken more care.¡±

    ¡°You wanted to talk?¡±

    ¡°Yes, as a matter of fact. I wanted to talk to you. ¡®Do not approach her under any circumstances¡¯ he said. I always assumed he meant to touch you or confront you, but it appears he meant approach.¡±

    ¡°You didn¡¯t have to approach me, though.¡±

    ¡°I deemed it necessary.¡±

    ¡°No, ugh, I mean¡­¡±

    She tapped her temple.

    ¡°A vid call? No? You could just have called me.¡±

    He blustered, and Nestra thought she might have gone too far.

    ¡°I am sure calling and presenting myself as Shinran would be a good way to get hung up on considering my AI-imitated voice is the second mostmon scam approach in the city.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t get robocalls on army phones and visors.¡±

    She wanted to shake that idiot. And he was an idiot. His blush said everything.

    ¡°Hello?¡±

    ¡°I admit that my old-fashioned approach was counter-intuitive.¡±

    ¡°You just wanted to corner and impress me.¡±

    ¡°...Sou kamo ne?¡±

    ¡°How is it working out for you?¡± Nestra asked, irate now that she could see someone had almost ruined her life, and probably caused a fight that would cost tens of millions of credits of repairs and definitely some wounded people. And all for what? This could have been a fucking email.

    ¡°After our previous meeting, I trained very hard to face Sereth again. It was rather¡­ optimistic of me.¡±

    ¡°You thought you could face Sereth after a couple of months of training?¡± Nestra asked with total disbelief.

    ¡°It was a very special and difficult training.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, well, he¡¯s done the same for the past two centuries so¡­ got to catch up first, huh?¡±

    ¡°There is no need to hammer the blow, Crescent. I am well aware of my failings,¡± he said, sitting up himself.

    The ruins of his armor still clung to his mauled form. A glove of drying blood clung to it, so Nestra wasn¡¯t even sure if he was wearing anything.

    ¡°Crescent? You don¡¯t know my name?¡±

    ¡°That would have been a vition of your privacy. Ourmon friend, doctor Mazingwe, mentioned your existence along with Sereth¡¯s warning. He is very protective of his patients so I would have had to fight him to get your real name. That, or vite my word by essing your private records. It would be dishonorable of me to treat a potential ally like this.¡±

    ¡°Potential ally? Wait, you¡¯re serious? You¡¯re not here to threaten me?¡±

    ¡°Most of the time, the fact that I¡¯m still earth¡¯s most dangerous A-rank raider suffices.¡±

    His gleam eyes, both of them by now, peered into her soul. Ok, so yeah. Even battered and bruised, that was still Shinran.

    ¡°Does this refer to the fact that the point under the Beacon is the most concentrated mana source on earth?¡± Nestra asked, eager to dig now that she¡¯d realized something weird was going on.

    Shinran shook his head.

    ¡°No, that is a different matter. My offer rtes to the peculiar nature of my mana. I believe a demonstration is in order, but I would rather wait for Sereth¡¯s return before pulling you away. I do not want to be beaten again.¡±

    It suddenly urred to Nestra that Shinran had no idea that his second-inmand had already hired her to kill him. Or learn how to, at least.

    Damn. Would she have to pick sides? Well, it didn¡¯t matter for now. The both of them were clearly far out of her league, and would remain so for the next decade or so. At the very least.

    While Shinran picked himself back up, quite literally, Nestra decided to get some confirmation.

    ¡°So, I¡¯m honored that you would talk to me and so on. Do you really not know who I am? My civilian identity, that is.¡±

    ¡°From your tone and ent, I can tell that you are a Threshold citizen. Mazingwe hinted that you had grown as a human.¡±

    He finally stood. Theyer of congealed blood peeled off like a glove, leaving behind a fresh and expanding suit of armor. Nestra had seen healing before, and this wasn¡¯t it. At least not with life mana.

    ¡°What sort of magic is this?¡± she muttered, curious.

    She wondered if she could absorb it.

    ¡°It is unique,¡± Shinran said.

    ¡°Not so unique,¡± Sereth replied, softlynding on the broken ind.

    His armor had resorbed until it was more full te and less screwed-on battle walker armor. He still looked a bit grumpy. Nestra felt a pang of anxiety.

    ¡°Sereth? Are you alright?¡± she hissed in Aszhii.

    His ears drooped down miserably.

    ¡°Do not mind me, little Nezhra. I am merely upset because it has been a long while since I had a worthy hunt. All I do here is hold back. And I have no one to me but myself for this decision.¡±

    ¡°And he provoked you by ignoring your warnings.¡±

    ¡°I am usually happy when people ignore my warning. It means I can¡­. let go.¡±

    He turned away from her in the most obvious sign he was hiding something she¡¯d ever seen outside of a school ground.

    ¡°Something else is bothering you.¡±

    ¡°And also, perhaps, Siobhan and I are having an unresolved argument.¡±

    ¡°You beat Threshold¡¯s best raider to an inch of his life because you¡¯re having a lover¡¯s quarrel?¡±

    ¡°It is more serious than that! She wants us to move in together. And I want that too! But I don¡¯t want to live in a human house!¡±

    Nestra was speechless.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you find two houses side by side, a human one and then one you can use as your den?¡±

    ¡°Have you any idea of the cost? The Sunflour is doing well but not that well. The real estate market¡­¡±

    ¡°Sereth,¡± she said with disbelief. ¡°You¡¯re a fucking Aszhii.¡±

    ¡°Contrary to you, I am staying undercover. That means avoiding the ck market and anything else that might harm Siobhan Stibbons in the long run.¡±

    ¡°Damn, if only you had one of the¡¯s richest men right here and owing you an apology.¡±

    ¡°I, errrr.¡±

    His ears perked up.

    ¡°It wouldn¡¯t break my cover to get a donation, right? Unless he uses it to harm Siobhan.¡±

    ¡°You just opened him and crumpled him like a can of peas. I think he will be reasonable.¡±

    ¡°Huh.¡±

    Sereth turned to Shinran who was now meditating in orange robes again. It was as if the armored demon form had never existed.

    ¡°You, human. I require¡­pensation. I need to buy a house.¡±

    ¡°Where?¡±

    ¡°District Fourteen. It needs to be t and at least three hundred square meters. And if you use my human identity to harm the people close to me, I will eat you.¡±

    ¡°Should I ept, will we be even?¡±

    Sereth shook with excitement.

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    ¡°I agree.¡±

    ¡°Alright. Good. Excellent. You two have a good talk. I need to make a call. Don¡¯t wait on me.¡±

    And he was gone.

    ¡°I believe I have conducted the first sessful high level human-alien negotiation! A round of apuse,¡± Nestra exulted.

    Shinran smiled, though it was not a warm one.

    ¡°Not quite.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    ¡°Congrattions are still due. Now, can I tell you why I wanted to contact you to begin with?¡±

    ¡°Uh, sure. Sorry. It¡¯s just¡­ you¡¯re Shinran and you are there. I cannot believe we¡¯re having a conversation. I mean, I can, but it¡¯s still strange.¡±

    He was famous! The raider didn¡¯t mind her babbling. With his shaven head and kind expression, he was back to the peaceful and popr person she¡¯d grown used to seeing on vids. She¡¯d met him before, once, but seeing him again now made her feel all fuzzy, even though he¡¯d gotten his ass handed to him. It was Shinran!

    ¡°I am fairly approachable, just usually quite busy.¡±

    ¡°Raiding?¡±

    ¡°Yes, in a way.¡±

    ¡°In a way?¡±

    ¡°It would be better to show you. My kind of mana is unique on earth, though it appears your Sereth has seen it before elsewhere. if I were to describe it, I would call it¡­ divine mana.¡±

    Nestra didn¡¯t reply.

    ¡°I know it sounds pretentious. Seeker mana would work as well. It allows me to find what I need ¡ª within limits ¡ª and acquire conceptual powers that go beyond what wielders of normal mana have ess to.¡±

    ¡°Like that fire rain?¡±

    ¡°Yes. I would not be able to cast firebolts, for example, but this specific spell is something I can cast without understanding it. I discovered how it could be used long after the Incursion, sadly, or I would have helped more.¡±

    His eyes grow dark.

    ¡°Perhaps saved Riel. I was not within his inner circle at the time but we did fight side by side. He was something.¡±

    ¡°What was he like?¡± Nestra asked.

    ¡°You must have seen the vids and studied the history of the Incursion. When they say he was charismatic, that is an understatement. When he was around, we felt like¡­ like we had a chance. He fought like a hero. The way he bent space to reflect blows, protect people, scatter the enemy. It was like¡­ like watching an orchestra director at work.¡±

    He paused.

    ¡°Things were grim then. We were losing a war. A war for subjugation.¡±

    ¡°Not extinction? That¡¯s what the books say,¡± Nestra replied, confused.

    Shinran waved her observation away.

    ¡°Either or. A ve cannot truly live, merely survive, and that is a crime almost as bad as murder. Enough reminiscing. My mana gives me ess to a very specific, shall we say, service. And I would like you to use it as well.¡±

    Nestra blinked.

    ¡°Excuse me?¡±

    ¡°It is a tool to perfect one¡¯s craft. It would be better if I showed you.¡±

    He stood there smiling as if he¡¯d not offered her the perfect bait for an Aszhii. Well, besides good food.

    ¡°Why would you ever do that? I¡¯m an alien.¡±

    ¡°Three reasons. One, I am a good judge of character.¡±

    ¡°That is not immediately obvious¡­¡±

    ¡°That does not mean I do not make mistakes. I do not think it is a mistake to think you will protect humans against monsters, is it?¡±

    ¡°No, I would protect people.¡±

    Shinran nodded to himself.

    ¡°That is the second reason. Threshold needs more protectors, and you have much potential.¡±

    ¡°What about Ragnarok?¡±

    ¡°That is so. The third reason. Ragnarok has also used this¡­ service. Right now, she is in the process of ascending¡­ although she is taking her time, hm? She would prefer to clean house first. In any case, I have extended this offer to several promising warriors.¡±

    Nestra suspected there was a lot left unsaid there. She was curious though.

    ¡°Okay. Can you show me then?¡±

    ¡°First, we must return to our ne. May I hold your shoulders?¡±

    ¡°I¡­ guess?¡±

    Nestra was now flying at the speed of a jet. The strange air of this world forced her to blink. She was above a fractured pce, the rotting ribcage of white pirs encircling the abominable form of a tentacled being nestling here like a fat rat sleeping inside of the carcass, except the fat rat was dying. Someone had ripped its tentacles and pulped its flesh. Now it breathedboriously though a broken beak. White vitreous leaked from the ruins of its many eyes.

    The next moment, the beast was dead. The moment after, Nestra was in a spacious bunker at the heart of the Tiger guild¡¯s headquarters. The next, she was outside under a mercifully blue sky. Shinran froze, aghast. The damage to faraway buildings was obvious, though thanks to Threshold¡¯s stringent building code, only windows had suffered. A patrol of gunships crossed the sky in front of Riel¡¯s Beacon.

    ¡°Nante koto da?¡±

    ¡°Your fight bled through,¡± Nestra exined.

    Shinran stepped away from her. A few C-rank guild guards gasped when they noticed the pair, but Shinran¡¯s familiar figure meant they stayed back.

    ¡°I¡­ I am terribly sorry, Crescent-san. I must leave now. I must¡­¡±

    ¡°Sure,¡± Nestra replied, and he was gone.

    Which left her standing in the middle of the curb in front of a very alert and rather curious group of raiders, havinge out of what was their territory without having been seen entering it. She decided to leave at a brisk pace, nodding at the nearest guard. He didn¡¯t return it. Thankfully, bureaucratic inertia was once again on her side. The guards didn¡¯t dare nab one of Shinran¡¯s pals. She was at the corner of the street before they could call their boss.

    Nestra recovered her masked gleam phone just to see what was going on.

    ¡°EMERGENCY BROADCAST: Return to yellow alert. Please remain mindful of your surroundings. Avoid traveling unless strictly necessary.¡±

    The train and buses were on lockdown for now so she guessed she would be jogging home. Her personal visor showed several messages from Mom, Helena, even one from dad. Stib and Gorge had also called. Damn. She needed to answer or she¡¯d get an earful. Better do it now rather thanter.

    ***

    Nestra returned to her den to wait. A terrible shock was coursing through a city that had thought itself invincible for a long time, and although the material damage was minimal for something of this magnitude, the psychological effect was much greater. Riel, they were even making international news! Shinran took the front and center by admitting that the red skies were the consequence of one of his abilities used in a ¡®thin¡¯ portal world. Nestra suspected Sereth¡¯s violence had weakened the membrane between that portal world and the home ne. He personally paid damage to everyone who¡¯d been wounded in the event.

    Nestra thought it was a foolish thing to do. He was setting a precedent where raiders had to pay for the damage incurred by battles. He was Shinran though, so she couldn¡¯t do anything. One of his messages said that he would contact her soon, so Nestra refocused on her next task while she waited: preparing for the Sword King Enve visit. The next module would focus on history and culture.

    It was saturated with warnings against being pretentious Threshold elitists. It pissed Nestra off. ¡®Oh sure, let me be open minded about people who say baselines have no ce in the modern world!¡¯.

    She got it. It was all for the sake of staying polite and respectful but¡­ some of the things she¡¯d heard¡­ And she was being brought just to piss them off, which meant her very presence as a failed gleam was an insult to them.

    Nestra didn¡¯t get into the course in a good mood, but soon her interest was rekindled. Enves were a gleam to gleam issue, only experienced by baselines like her via the lens of vids and their ¡®artistic license¡¯. It was interesting seeing how they really worked in real life. The course exined how the Sword King Enve had managed to be more sessful than many other smaller groups. First, the ruling Nguyen n boasted some of the deadlier duelists on the continent, a fact they were really proud and loud about. It led to silly decisions such as calling themselves Sword King, as well as a slew of other egregious choices that the course said ¡®reflected a tradition of chivalry inspired by the Song dynasty schr warrior, Japanese Bushido, and thend-based tenacity of Dai Viet¡¯. It was just a pretentious way of saying they were selective de idiots who only valued martial prowess while being clever enough to scout very well. She just wanted to get there and smack everyst of their D-ss upstarts just to make their little heads melt. Fortunately, the next chapter was more interesting.

    The Sword Kings had picked a perfect ce to set up: a trio of sharp peaks surrounding a deep valley blessed with rich volcanic soil, with the tallest elevation overlooking a river. It provided a safe haven to harvest stuff without a neosaur chomping on your ass every time you bend to pick a tomato. The river meant small boats could trade with other enves, and they apparently just installed a heliport as well. The Sword King enve was a sess story, and many promising scions of nearby ces tried to join. Nestra was pretty sure they were going to be immensely obnoxious.

    The list of resources they controlled was impressive, including several rare types of ore they harvested from nearby mountain portals. They made their own weapons which they never hesitated to use. A rival enve disputing a newly opened portal had been ughtered seven years prior to set an example. It was gruesome. Exactly what one might expect from enves, Nestra thought.

    Thest part of the ss covered the main factions vying for power within the Nguyen n. Although it had started as an ethnic Vietnamese family, they had brought plenty of fresh blood from the most gifted de masters they came across, so now it was more of a melting pot. The current head was a powerful B-rank user.

    Nestra wondered if Fox Mask would show herself. She hoped they would.

    Nestra validated the course with no issues except for an essay that was graded B- on ount of cking the expected emotional detachment¡¯. And here she hadn¡¯t called them cunts even once. This world was unfair.

    Nestra spent the next day figuring out maintenance on her naval gun. Some nosy asshole had apparentlyunched an inquiry on whether or not she really needed that thing for home defense. A masked gleam cease and desist notice had barely been enough to fend off their uncalled for and totally abusive attempt to curtail her right to shoot tungsten rounds at unwanted visitors. The gall. Fortunately, that was that, and on the third day, Shinran sent her a message.

    On her gleam phone. Progress! It was time to look into that training thing.

 (46)

    (46)

    An air limo picked Nestra up near one of Threshold¡¯s rare hotels. When she stepped in, she realized there were more levels of luxuries in life than she¡¯d been expecting. This wasn¡¯t a fancy means of transportation designed to give corpo execs a sense of superiority for working ny hours a week. No. Those were entirely too pedestrian. This was Shinran¡¯s personal car. It even had custom made interior design, athmo, rare leather upholstery¡­ The works.

    ¡°Riel, is this Champagne?¡±

    It was Champagne from the Champagne region of France. There was also caviar from the ck Sea. Shit, Nestra didn¡¯t even know they still made some! She had gobbled the small pot by the time the limo flew over the eastern district.

    She remembered going there a few times as a kid, back when she was an up anding striker prospect. The richest and most affluent gleams kept theirpounds here, secluded from the hoi polloi and each other by tall hedges barded with enchantments and security cameras. It was a ce of privilege, but mostly, it was a ce of exclusivity. Those who stayed there valued their privacy at the cost of money. A ton of money. It wasn¡¯t a surprise that here is where Shinran would have his own domain.

    Damn, it was weird how he managed to keep his ascetic persona with all the obscene luxury he had on disy. Maybe he used the city¡¯s wealth? She could see the top of his manor from here: it looked like a multi-floor pagoda. Or a temple. Orange pirs emerged from the canopies of old ginkgo trees. Very nice.

    This ce didn¡¯t even have roads that she could see. Either you flew in or you were too poor, she guessed. Or too weak.

    ¡°I can jusssst swim through the walls anyway,¡± she grumbled.

    The hover limo descended a separate spot near the main house, one of the few visible concessions to modernity. She spotted the steel cylinders she associated with hidden gun emcements, which made sense. Shinran wasn¡¯t always here, and he was bound to have fancy guests. Also, it wouldn¡¯t look good if Threshold¡¯s protector couldn¡¯t even protect his own home, even when he was away.

    Nestra nodded to herself. Obviously she was justified in having a naval gun at home. Even Shinran agreed with her. She stood when the limonded without a sound, the door opening to the scent of osmanthus flowers. Incidentally, osmanthus syrup was delicious with alcohol. Shinran was missing, then he was here, stepping outside of his temple den through a wooden panel.

    ¡°Wee! Wee. Come in, please.¡±

    The interior was much more sober than she expected with how deceptive appearances were with this man. Minimalist and zen furniture gave therge rooms a neat appearance. The mood was contemtive. Shinran wasn¡¯t. He had ditched his usual monk regalia in favor of a sensible cargo shorts and shirtbo that showed the wiry build of fast raiders.

    ¡°Do you want something to eat before we begin?¡±

    ¡°No. I have waited for too long,¡± Nestra replied eagerly. ¡°Ssshow me.¡±

    ¡°Then follow me. Technically, I could do this anywhere but I don¡¯t want people to learn.¡±

    The two stepped down several sets of stairs to a basement of concrete and electronics. This was the heart of the mansion, and also its safe haven given the thickness of the security doors. Shinran led her into apletely empty gray room.

    ¡°This is where I usually start.¡±

    He waved his hand, and a portal appeared in mid air. Nestra felt the world split in a vition of everything she knew about portal worlds. Reality didn¡¯t merge. Instead, a ¡­ something¡­ some kind of tool? Something dug a cylinder through the many worlds, splitting them without harming them. If she was an artist operating through osmosis, this was more of a highly precise surgery.

    ¡°Huh!¡±

    As an Aszhii, Nestra saw the opening as a perfect circle shimmering with silvery mana. A human would see a pulsating flower, its edges thick and ebbing like the sea at low tide. Reddish light painted the naked room in bloody swathes. Nestra made to touch the magnificent yet horrid thing.

    The amount of power required to keep that thing open¡­

    ¡°My personal portal,¡± Shinranmented far too casually for having broken the rules of the world. ¡°The power to open it appeared when I asked for ways to grow stronger. That was some time ago.¡±

    ¡°Not a portal. Incision¡­ A door. It is¡­ you do not understand.¡±

    ¡°I admit this is a rather unique look.¡±

    ¡°You do not understand,¡± Nestra said.

    She changed back to her human form, but kept her mask on. The advanced ceramic thing didn¡¯t fit so she was forced to keep it up with her hand. She stepped through the portal with casual ease. Beyond was a short corridor made of some sort of metal, dimly lit by red lights. Her human eyes couldn¡¯t see much more than that.

    ¡°See?¡± she asked before changing back.

    ¡°Oh¡­¡±

    The patient man waited for Nestra to borate, but she had nothing to add.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what it means, really. I just think¡­ portals are natural urrences and this¡­ isn''t?¡±

    ¡°You are right, this opening is not natural, although there are still debates as to the origin of portals.¡±

    Nestra wished she could have asked Seth but like with most information on other worlds, her goofy brother was surprisingly serious when it came to keeping those secrets. Nestra didn¡¯t wait though, she stepped into the corridor, in her true form this time.

    It was made of some sort of steel. Sober writing on the wall, in white letters, looked like directions. They shifted from one script to another when she looked away. Some letters were vertical blobs, others were like a series of de strikes. The red light came from bulbs ced near the ceiling. She could barely feel any mana and what she felt was weird, moreplex. As if fire and light were ingredients and this was the cooked version. She shook her head.

    ¡°Forward. This ce is safe,¡± Shinran said, his voice muffled. ¡°You have no problem breathing rarefied air, yes?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± Nestra replied.

    There was air here, it just wasn¡¯t earth air. A slight draft cooled her back. The corridor led to a massive lobby, empty except for dust. Lines etched the metal. On the side, a strange contraption had burst from the ground like a desated flower with branches bearing tatters of fossilized fabric. Nestra realized it was a seat. A seat for a small creature with four arms.

    ¡°Damn. Is this the realm of another species?¡±

    ¡°Perhaps,¡± Shinran replied. ¡°I have yet to really explore this ce thoroughly.¡±

    ¡°Then¡­¡±

    ¡°Follow me.¡±

    Other corridors led here, signs of other portal sites. The two walked to a gate that opened inplete silence. All was metal here, unadorned beyond white letters blinking from one shape to another. A wave of light covered her A-rank guide. Since he didn¡¯t seem rmed, Nestra stood still.

    A series of harmonics filled the tubr tform they found themselves in. It sounded like AI-rendered voices and organ parts forming aplex melody. A momentter, Nestra felt movement. Metal sheets slid down: windows that revealed a narrow tunnel on both sides.

    Nestra felt movement.

    ¡°A subway?¡±

    Shinran shrugged.

    ¡°Or a train. It will lead us to the training center, and nowhere else. I never found any sort of control panel I could understand.¡±

    He was right. There was nothing to interface with from either mundane or magical means. With the lightest hiss, energy fields shed to life on the windows, just in time to show space.

    Space, and kilometers upon kilometers of light gray metal extending to ¡ª

    The tunnel again.

    ¡°What the fuck?¡± Nestra called.

    ¡°I still don¡¯t know what this ce is, only that it¡¯srge. Veryrge.¡±

    ¡°You haven¡¯t tried to find out more?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± Shinran said somberly. ¡°I am¡­ very concerned about security measures. This ce looks entirely automated. When you see what they can do¡­¡±

    Nestra thought that if an A-rank was concerned the security could dust him, she should probably refrain from moving through the walls. This ce was weird in her space sight anyway. It felt too structured to be natural, as if realities had beenyered here by design. It was scary to think about.

    It took about ten minutes for the tram to arrive. Gauging the speed, she believed they might have traveled about 40 kilometers. The arrival lobby was asrge as a delivery warehouse, though just like the previous spot, it was mostly empty.

    ¡°You can return by yourself, by the way. We tested it with a friend,¡± Shinran said in a low voice.

    Nestra wasn¡¯t sure why he whispered but she, too, didn¡¯t feel like raising her voice in this ce. His words drifted through her brain without impact anyway, because one of the walls was moving, or rather, a vid was ying on it. Nestra was sure it was one although it gave the perfect illusion of depth, but her sight told her it was wrong. An illusion. Writings in shimmering script shed on a loop while the previous choir and organ mix yed in the background. She got a feeling this wasn¡¯t normal. Were all the walls supposed to be like this? It would exin why the surroundings were so in. They weren¡¯t supposed to be seen anyway.

    ¡°Some sort of error message?¡± she hazarded.

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°The writings here, some sort of error message?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, Crescent. Looking at them makes my head hurt. The music as well, if I listen for too long.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not music,¡± she objected. ¡°It¡¯s anguage.¡±

    She could almost feel it, but her mind was missing a key element. Strange meanings pulled on her Mask even as it was hidden in her dimensional shadow. Unfortunately, the mask was too basic for now. It didn''t understand. She didn¡¯t understand.

    ¡°If you say so. Perhaps your species is more adapted to this ce than I am.¡±

    Another shape on the ground made her shake her head. Another floor panel was partly broken and inside, there were metal shapes and tattered fabric of another piece of furniture, this one much wider.

    ¡°No, this is a, errr, modr space. There were various scripts flickering in the corridor when we arrived, and see? There are seats for different sizes and physiognomies hidden under the floor. We¡¯re in a facility designed for multiple species, and the choir song thing is the mainnguage.¡±

    Yes, Nestra was pretty sure she had it.

    ¡°Maybe some sort of training center?¡±

    ¡°A fully automated training center catering to different species? Sugoi desu ne¡­ Hmm. So. I think you must be right. That said, where are the other people?¡±

    ¡°This ce looks mothballed. Or it¡¯s functioning at a basic level.¡±

    ¡°I shall leave this question to you. Now follow. We must grow stronger, Crescent. For mankind.¡±

    Nestra shrugged. A training center? With this level of tech, it ought to be pretty solid. She couldn¡¯t wait.

    That left a ton of questions as she walked deeper into theplex, through corridors and hallways in the same gunmetal. Who had built this ce? How did it power itself? Were they really in space, or in some weird sub thingie? That wouldn¡¯t be surprising considering the only B-ss world she¡¯d visited moved around a ck hole. Mostly, she was curious and concerned about the tech.

    So far, all the worlds they¡¯d visited showed very low levels of technologypared to mankind. That gave Nestra some hope, because Threshold and quite a few other major enves were in the process of melding magic and science to give human raiders an edge. In her mind, mankind had the advantage when it came to applying technology to raiding, but a brief visit in this abandoned facility just proved her wrong. It wasn¡¯t just that it had made Shinran stronger, though that in itself had immense value.

    It was doing it at scale. The multiple corridors, the vast waiting room. Technology was never about having one wunderwaffe. It was about mass production, logistics, systems and so on. One exo armor was ok. An army of raiders wearing exo armor? That would be something else.

    This ce was apparently meant to manufacture A-rank raiders like Shinran, and they¡¯d only visited a small part of it. Forget the petty projects Threshold could manage as a single city state in a recovering world. Some civilizations could train a person to be the strongest of their race in a matter of years? And do huge batches as well?

    She just prayed the Gray Demons were unique in the way they could travel between nes, but seeing as Shinran had casually punctured several dimensions to reach this ce, she wasn¡¯t sure anymore.

    What was the Incursion, really? Could those lizard things that had almost taken over return? Now, Shinran¡¯s decision to include her made a lot more sense. If invaders attacked earth, what would she choose to do?

    That wasn¡¯t even a question. She kind of liked humans. All her best friends were humans.

    Invaders though?

    Free range hunting. She licked her lips. Wait, no. An invasion would be bad.

    Did Shinran know something she didn¡¯t? Nestra shook her head. She should stop seeing conspiracies everywhere.

    ¡°We¡¯re here.¡±

    While the path had been linear so far, now they entered arge atrium with several floors reaching to a well-lit ceiling. The gray was still present, but there were what looked like nters near the wall that might have contained living vegetation a very long time before. Only cracked earth remained now. Despite the abandoned and empty feeling of the whole ce, Nestra still felt serenity in the slick lines, the pleasant lighting and the way the sounds of their footsteps echoed across the ce. Whoever designed this gave a subtle yet present attention to making it weing. It made Nestra wonder about the Spartan surroundings they had experienced so far. Something told her it wasn¡¯t supposed to look like this. It was as if she was seeing the back of a theater production, all cheap wood and paint and racks of disguises rather than the pleasant lie of the show itself. The thoughtforted her. Although Shinran and his friends were (probably) the only humans to ever step foot there, it still bled humanity through its design choices. Not the species. The attitude.

    ¡°Over there,¡± Shinran said. ¡°That counter. I¡¯ll talk aloud and they will set up a course for you.¡±

    ¡°They?¡± Nestra asked.

    ¡°I have to call the local AI something, yes? The first time I came here, the lights on the counter blinked after I aimlessly ambled for a minute. I believe we are being monitored. Hello! Sorry, I usually ask in Japanese but I think it works with every humannguage. Anyway. Hello, I would like to set a course for my friend here.¡±

    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    A choir song answered. It didn¡¯t sound very positive.

    ¡°Yes, I would like to confirm that she is with me. Please set up the course.¡±

    A wave of light washed over Nestra, who yelped from the intrusion. Suddenly, the lights in the lobby turned red. Alien songs turned into a low, dangerous hum.

    ¡°Wait, wait! She is with me! Yes, I know she¡¯s not human! Please?¡±

    Fuck, if that ce wanted Nestra dead¡­

    BEEP.

    The lights returned to normal. Nestra didn¡¯t allow herself a sigh of relief just yet. She was merely surprised to still be in one piece and, say, not evaporated by some mind-boggling security measure. Meanwhile, Shinran was arguing with an organ.

    ¡°I take responsibility for her. My species needs us to be strong. Please let her through.¡±

    Behind the counter, a wall slid open to reveal a pedestal upon which an orb sat. It sounded like a yes to Nestra. To her relief.

    ¡°Good, good. Aaaaaah shimatta. I am sorry, Crescent-san. I think I may have made a mistake here. The machine has not reacted like this with anyone else so far!¡±

    ¡°Well, they were human.¡±

    ¡°In any case, ah, sorry, please go in. I will conduct my own practice, and be ready for when you return.¡±

    Despite her misgivings, Nestra still entered the room. The door panel slid shut behind her. She ced her hand on the pedestal while feeling very silly.

    Why had the facility not reacted to her before? She thought she knew why: it wasn¡¯t looking for her, and so it didn¡¯t see her. The Aszhii resistance to mechanical observation worked even on advanced systems, but it didn¡¯t work well enough to fool the machines: they¡¯d still detected her when scanning her. It was a warning, but also an invitation. If she were smart¡­ but no, no. It was far too soon for her to explore around. let them teach her first.

    Runes appeared in the air in front of Nestra. Once again, she gasped. They were in Aszhii.

    <strong>¡°Emergency sectormander override epted. </strong>

    <strong>Invasive species training order epted.</strong>

    <strong>Subject: Monochrome Reaver. </strong>

    <strong>Base capabilities assessment: ERROR, scanning inconclusive.</strong>

    <strong>Please ce a non-destructive appendage on the console.¡±</strong>

    Nestra forced herself to exist more so she could give the base a read. It was probably fine. She didn¡¯t think an automated training AI counted as a dangerous leak. If it did, well, fuck it. She wanted to grow stronger.

    A part of her was annoyed it understood Aszhii. This was thenguage of the People. Only the People may speak it. sphemy!

    <strong>¡°Base capabilities assessment: ERROR, no reference.</strong>

    <strong>Assessment required.</strong>

    <strong>Building training course¡­ built.</strong>

    <strong>Please step in when ready.¡±</strong>

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s a good thing I brought my sword,¡± Nestra thought.

    She stepped in. The world blurred around her.

    Mana, lots of it. The scent of wet earth and exotic flowers. A garden of purple blooms shining in the dark warm night. Tall humanoids standing all around her, many taller than she was, with long thin ears bobbing in surprise. The sight made her mind nk for an instant, but not too long. Shrill cries erupted all around her. In front, a temple-like structure stood proud. Delicate statues adorned every pir. Two spearmen turned at themotion.

    A voice shouted inside of her head. It was a song, half Aszhii, half delicate harmonics turned harsh and vicious.

    <strong>KILL</strong>

    Nestra was surging forward before the echoes could fade from her consciousness. <em>Momentum </em>carried her past the pointed tips and she struck, once, twice. Blood stained the flower bed. Crimson on court dresses. She was past the column. Other guards. D-ss, trained.

    She was feeling power. Was she killing real people? Was she? Fuck! But no, it couldn¡¯t be. The space hadn¡¯t twisted to send her to another dimension. It felt hazy, unclear around her, not real. probably. A spear tip brushed against her shoulder.

    Ow. Real enough. But not¡­ underserved murder.

    <strong>KILL</strong>

    Nestra tore through the guards. There was a room at the heart of the temple, with guards forming a spear line. She jumped through a wall instead. Inside, she saw other revelers. Three powerful ones, a woman and two men. The older one surged towards her with a long, sharp sword. The younger took off a saber and the woman called for lightning. Nestra tried to bat the old one¡¯s de aside but he flipped it to avoid contact. He wasn¡¯t too strong but he was good. Real good! She narrowed her attacks to force him to deflect, using less of her strength and her full speed. Crimson lifeforce stained the man¡¯s green doublet. He was pushed back.

    A saber went for her head. She kicked the man instead. Electricity hit her, coursing through her body like a tickle. She pretended to be stunned.

    The men went for her heart and head. Very clean. At thest second, Nestra parried the sword to her chest. Her armguard blocked the saber. It still hurt. Lots of power behind those swings.

    She thrust her de in the old man¡¯s chest. The other two screamed. Another saber slice. Block. Use her strength to unbnce. Move in. Kill. The woman screamed, all the mana in her budding spell turning into a wave of power that smashed chairs, scoured the ground. Her rage and grief hit Nestra like a p. Two fingers pointed forward and Nestra managed tond a dot of potential on the woman¡¯s chest.

    Void met undirected electricity. Void won. The woman¡¯s ribcage burst open.

    The world faded around Nestra.

    Good mana. Light, crisp, that of the morning. A blue sky painted through by rays of gold. A forest in the distance. t-topped pyramids forming a metropolis challenging the encroaching jungle. The smell of blood. The cry of a woman. Or¡­ a female thing, in any case. She looked very very thin and short, almost malnourished with bat-like features. Gray skin. A coarse shift covered most of her body.

    <strong>RUN</strong>

    Nestra didn¡¯t wait. An rm red behind her, well, at least Nestra thought it might be one. Trills erupted as warriors emerged from everywhere, wearing red armor of woven leather strips. Javelins whistled past her ears. She jumped on a rope linking the ziggurat she was on with the next one, bypassing a group of spearmen who trilled with fury. Her bnce was good enough to let her run, but soon her instincts screamed in rm. She dove just in time to avoid a wave of projectiles. Something hit her arm though it failed to pierce the Skin.

    To the side, one of the guards gave her a venomous re as he loaded a bright-feathered dart into a blowpipe.

    ¡°Ffft!¡±

    Nestra twisted midair. The shot went high. She hit the ground at a dead sprint. The blowpipe guy was C-rank, and not a pushover. She¡¯dnded in the middle of the next pyramid. A dark entrance waited invitingly.

    It was probably a maze inside that thing. Better not to try. She rushed up, past a yelping assembly of other creatures wearing feathered headbands. She sprinted across the t top before loading herself with electricity. Her burst of speed came just in time to dodge another blow dart. More C-rank creatures were failing to keep pace with her but they had things to throw. Nestra was forced to veer unpredictably so she could dodge most of those. A javelin nicked her shoulder despite her high resistance. It stung.

    <strong>RUN</strong>

    She went over a third ziggurat. Beyondy a ring of smaller stone structures and a shanty. From the greatest pyramid, a horrible trill pierced through the morning air. It carried grief, rage, outrage, and pain without equal. Others echoed it. Nestra stole a nce back to see a tall creature holding above it the smaller form of a dead one, its blue blood dripping down muscr arms. The cry was so strong that for an instant, the city held its breath, and Nestra took a few triumphant steps towards the jungle and the haven it offered.

    And then the city roared. Just as Nestra rushed down thest steps, all the creatures around her rushed her with fanatic rage. A mass of the beings surged from every doorsteps in a mass of wing flesh eager to rush at her. Their warcries made the stone under her feet buzz. She dodged a mob of reaching creatures and dove through the walls of the first wood structure.

    It smelled bad inside. She was in and out, but they found her. They were everywhere. She ran through alleys, over roofs where javelins followed, through a stone structure standing empty and into a group of people she bowled over. She used <em>momentum </em>to teleport past a group of soldiers, who shot at her back, hitting the civilians grabbing for her. Darts hit old people. A javelin skewered a woman who still grabbed at her with bloodied hands, a bloodied mouth, eyes full of murder. Nestra dodged and released electricity into the next group of soldiers to give herself a window. She moved right, she moved left. She walked through more walls into more squirming, grasping, biting hordes of maddened creatures. Some of the C-rank had managed to corner her now that she was slowing down. They came at her with knives, so she killed them with her sword. They came at her with spears next. She was almost there. It was¡­ exhrating. Standing alone against the world and <em>winning</em>.

    A wall of soldiers made for her, with a second line behind for after she¡¯d teleported.

    Nestra released a burst of shadow-aspected mana. The void version was dark and hungry. It spread through the crowd like an angry cloud, scaring them for a second before fading under the vengeful sun. It was enough. She was past the first line. She was past the second line, then over a cesspit of stinking refuse and into the jungle.

    The world faded again.

    Strong mana. Heat. The smell of heated metal and beyond that, the pungent stench of giant insect blood. A creature in heavy ck armor grabbed Nestra. It was squat and weird, with long limbs. Nestra spotted mandibles moving under the heavy helmet. An acrid smell assailed her nose. She didn¡¯t hear anything but clicks, but she could guess what it wanted.

    She was surrounded by wounded creatures bearing the same dark armor. In front of her, a thick line of simr warriors fought a pitched battle against simr entities in red armor at the foot of some active volcano. Nestra wasn¡¯t a general but even she could tell the ck armor dudes were fucked. They were cornered, outnumbered, and she could see a mage working behind enemy lines to heal wounded red warriors. The opposing force also boasted a powerful C-rankmander who killed soldiers on her side with methodical strikes using a hooked hammer. She took it all in with a nce.

    <strong>VANQUISH</strong>

    Could she rally her side?

    Absolutely the fuck not.

    Nestra was a disruptor, not amander, and she knew exactly what to do to win this. With powerful strides, she sprinted towards the thick of the battle. Soldiers on her side looked back with rm.

    She used <em>momentum </em>to bypass most of the frontlines. Red armor soldiers jumped her as she reappeared, but powerful strikes of her void-infused sword cleaved through their armor like butter. Yellow ichor sprayed her Skin, whichined a bit.

    The wound in her shoulder stung. It wasn¡¯t closed yet. She was still¡­ wait, she was still wounded? From the previous simtion?

    <strong>VANQUISH</strong>

    The mage noticed her. It raised a shield made of life mana, a very curious construct. She would mention it to Valerian. It was useless. Even as soldiers rushed her, and themander fell back with a hiss, she charged herself with electricity. A bolt thundered on the shield but didn¡¯t pierce through. Wounded warriors formed a wall to block her.

    She used <em>momentum </em>again. The electricity st raged through the assembled warriors. The shield cracked. Using <em>precision</em>, she stabbed through the narrowest chink, perforating the healer from end to end. Void mana poisoned his innards. His healing magic failed to repel it.

    The shield failed.

    Nestra opened the armored healer like a can. Her de hit the ground, then she was a whirlwind, cutting soldiers where they stood. Many of them were on the weaker side of C-rank but they were absolutely no match for her. Too nd and predictable. More power filled her. It was¡­ weird power. Mostly undirected. But it was power nheless.

    This told her the creatures were probably fake, but the mana wasn¡¯t. Her painful shoulder confirmed much of it was real.

    Themander struck, a powerful overhead blow that she deflected down and to the side. Basalt shards showered them both. He was very strong. Her counter ripped on the side of a magically reinforced pauldron. A skill? probably a skill. She wished she could loot his corpse to feed the Skin but it didn¡¯t seem like it was an option.

    Nestra grinned. That was fine. She was having fun. She was learning.

    Themander tried to dig his weapon into her nk. She blocked, feet digging grooves into the ckened stone. She ducked under a second strike in the same spot, finding the edge of its shield. Her strike pushed him back but his armor held. He¡¯d moved at thest moment.

    Her abyssal eyes met hispound ones, deep under the helmet.

    ¡°Ah, I love defensive fighters. So fun to peel open!¡±

    It spat a cloud of pheromones in her direction. It smelled like blood. Nestra didn¡¯t teleport, didn¡¯t use her spell.

    She was going to carve it up the old fashioned way.

    ***

    Weak mana. The familiar smell of charred meat and offal. A strange, animal sweat. Dim light. Gray sky visible through broken windows. Nestra was tired. Themander''s fight had been long and tiring, and by the time she was done, her side had managed to im victory by enduring the assault. A painful gash on her thigh was still knitting itself back together.

    She was in a ruined building made ofrge bricks. Shapes squatted around her, stocky humanoids with bone ridges where the hair ought to be. They had almost t faces. Padded armor clung to their muscr shapes. their eyes were t, round, and worried. They were waiting on her. Helmets waited on the ground. They were sweating. It smelled of fear.

    <strong>LEAD.</strong>

    One of the strange creatures pointed at a nearby tower, out the gash that used to be a window. A g was there.

    Nestra looked at the quiet, resigned bunch. They were not real but¡­ their model definitely was. There was something intense and desperate in the posture of people doomed to die, yet unable to avoid it. They gripped their weapons like lifelines. Those were repeater crossbows, really nice ones with pulleys and everything. She realized she had one as well. And a tower shield. And some sort of small metal pineapple. She had a pretty good idea about what those were.

    ¡°Let¡¯s try something.¡±

    Nestra signed for the squad to gather. They stood with varying degrees of enthusiasm, fastening their helmets as they went. She signed that she would take point. With natural ease, they gathered in a circle at her back. All their shields pointed towards the side where the tower was.

    ¡°Huh.¡±

    How did those weird aliens know MaxSec signs? Probably part of the exercise. She led her merry band out into a devastated city. Smoke emerged from distant buildings. The retort of strange guns came and in the distance, there were mes.

    Corpses wearing her side¡¯s uniform were strewn about, among the debris of the nearest street. They taught her that the flimsy armor her allies wore waspletely useless, and the helmet as well since the bodies had sprouted feather shafts. The shields looked like they could take a beating though. She studied the distant shape of the tower, searching a way through the ravaged urban hellscape.

    There was a good path a little to the side that would give them cover for most of the approach. She assumed the tower¡¯s immediate surroundings were heavily popted.

    Nestra moved again, only for her intuition to scream. She pivoted and lowered her shoulder at the same time. With a sound of breaking wood, something punched through her shield. It didn¡¯t manage to get through the skin underneath, fortunately.

    Still stung a bit.

    Nestra lifted her crossbow before the squad could react. She gauged where the quarrel hade from, and found a glint of metal in a nearby window. She shot before the next bolt couldnd. She missed. She was just a bit low.

    Crossbows didn¡¯t have recoil, dammit!

    Her squad reacted though. Together, they lodged enough quarrels through that opening to silence it. Nestra wasn¡¯t sure they¡¯d gotten the unlucky sniper and she didn¡¯t overly care. With a gesture, her squad rushed towards a nearby building to take cover.

    There were charred corpses inside. Enemybatants, judging from the melted crossbows they held. They didn¡¯t wear a uniform.

    Nestra didn¡¯t like that. She still led her soldiers farther in, past a demolished building and along the broad facade of a copsed structure. It might have been a church, or a veryrge factory. She couldn¡¯t tell. Nothing was left of the architecture but rubble.

    As they walked along a low wall, Nestra saw movement on the tower side. She gestured for the squad to take cover just as the first bolts smashed into the wall and their raised shields.

    ¡°Move up,¡± she said.

    Slowly, the squad crawled forward under a rain of projectiles, and this time, they were not very precise. The cover was excellent anyway. She stole a nce up.

    A group of five or six creatures were pushing a stubby mortar thing towards them, above and to the side. A small railing provided cover to a group of fighters in drab cloaks. Nestra waited a bit, even as her squad moved up.

    ¡°On my mark, provide cover,¡± she said.

    They put the mortar down. A young creature approached with arge ball in its strained arms.

    ¡°Mark.¡±

    Nestra surged up and shot, soon followed by her soldiers. The foes yelped and panicked. The young one dropped the ball as he reached for his chest, which now sported a serrated quarrel.

    Nestra pulled the pin on her alien grenade, throwing it immediately. The soldiers kept exchanging bolts even as the canon servants screeched in rm. One of Nestra¡¯s men fell dead with a bolt through the skull.

    The grenade exploded. A fiery congration engulfed the canon and all those who had ignored the warning. Torched figures dancing a macabre waltz fell from the railings. Others died away.

    The path was clear. Several soldiers kneeled by their fallenrade. Even though this wasn¡¯t real, there was something poignant about their quiet pain, something ufortably familiar.

    ¡°We can¡¯t help. We¡¯ve got to keep going.¡±

    They didn¡¯t object, but one of them closed the eyes of the dead one. Maybe it was a universal gesture.

    Again, her immersion in the sim was broken because it was just a little too realistic. It hit just a little too close to home.

    She signed to move on. The squad followed her along deste piles of rubble. They came across fresh corpses from both sides soon after. Nestra knew there was a war going, but the use of crossbows made the battlefield disturbingly quiet. Finally, they reached the edge of what appeared to be a fortified area. There were barricades on every street, and the fallen buildings were reinforced with stones when they threatened to open a gap. Nestra noticed sentries at the top of a nearby building, one of the more intact ones. It appeared quite solid. The creatures there looked the other way, towards the shortest route she could have picked, and where fires roared incessantly. The loud retort of mortars became more prevalent.

    Nestra made the sign to wait. d in shadows, she sprinted across the open ground and to the base of the sentry building. Scaling the sheer walls was easy: damage offered all the footholds she needed.

    There were three sentries on top. She dispatched them and then looked beyond to a fierce battle fought without words and without guns. Bolts whistled through the air as her side attempted to scale the high walls of the gpound. Mortars and militia defended it with determination, peppering shield formations as they approached. It was a battle of attrition, bloody and merciless. Nestra found an essway to the g tower at the center of the main building, past a flight of stairs.

    Now she just had to get her squad up. Fortunately, one of them had a rope he sent her using a hooked bolt. They slowly climbed with a wariness that told her they were exhausted. Finally, they gathered at the edge of the sentry tower¡¯s walls.

    Nestra made the sign for grenades, then for aim, and then for ammo. They treated theirs with reverence and quite a bit of fear.

    She signed to throw.

    To her dismay, one of the grenades exploded mid-air. So that was why! The rest of them hit true though. Mortar shell stockpiles went up in mes in a great congration. Chaos spread through the militiamen. In the following screams, smoke, and confusion, Nestra led her squad through the enemy ranks and to the g tower, shooting down anyone who blocked their path.

    The g was only defended by a grizzled old creature with a knife. Nestra dispatched him easily. She touched the shaft.

    The world faded.

    ***

    Light. Good mana. Perfume, and lots of it. Nestra blinked. She was sitting in a tall chair, in a tent, facing an incredibly tall and thin humanoid withrge liquid brown eyes. The creature was probably female. She wore exquisite maid robes that covered her lithe shape in a long, flowing waterfall of pink fabric. A strangely shaped pot waited on a table between the both of them.

    ¡°And to what do I owe this visit?¡± the creature asked in a melodious voice that Nestra somehow understood.

    <strong>MANIPULATE</strong>

    Nestra needed to convince the creature to leave the tent with her.

    ¡°Hm. Hello?¡± she replied.

    Something in Nestra¡¯s hesitant tone rmed the creature. She reached for a bell.

    ¡°Ah, fuck it.¡±

    Nestra stood on the table, grabbed the creature by the throat and tossed her through the nearby fabric.

    The world faded.

    ***

    This time, there was nothing but gray space around Nestra, yet she was still standing. Space was bending in a weird way all around her though she wasn¡¯t rmed. It had been doing so for the whole test.

    <strong>Primary assessmentplete.</strong>

    <strong>Combat potential: immense.</strong>

    <strong>Infiltration potential: immense.</strong>

    <strong>Magic potential: great.</strong>

    <strong>Leadership potential: average.</strong>

    <strong>Social potential: none.</strong>

    ¡°Hey, someone said I have some leadership potential!¡±

    It was the first time it happened! Nestra was so chuffed.

    <strong>Rmendation: Assassin/Reaver training. Arcane training. </strong>

    <strong>Limit testing assessment beginning.</strong>

    ***

    Fire mana. A dusty in swept by the winds under a merciless sun, bathing the world in a deathly embrace. A man, tall, thin, covered in bandages that dance like so many hair strands. Only his eyes were visible, and the pupils were slit like those of a cat. It removed two hand scythes from its back. They locked in front of him.

    <strong>KILL</strong>

    Nestra charged. She thrust with great power, but the twin scythes rose and locked the de, stopping it clean.

    Which was when Nestra stepped in, pivoted, and socked him in the ribs with an uppercut that sent him flying. The shock elicited a grunt of pain. Fire flew from his fingers, bathing Nestra who charged herself with electricity. She countered, and bothbatants fell back, she, covered in mes, he, scoured by shadowy arcs.

    ¡°That tickled,¡± Nestra said, and she used <em>momentum </em>to teleport behind him.

    ***

    Nestra killed the mage first, then her de found the throat of the assassin. She sted the archer mid air while its arrow pinged on one of her horns.

    ¡°Ow! HEY!¡±

    Those were really sensitive.

    Nestra caught the knight¡¯s de, deflected it and used momentum to avoid a spear. A veil of shadow covered her retreat, then she went back in.

    Squads of C-rank fighters were pretty easy. She needed¡­ more. The lone duelists were the best. She was learning so much!

    ***

    Very high mana. A bedroom. A woman, waking up with a gasp, reaching for her sword. She was standing before Nestra could react.

    <strong>KILL</strong>

    Fencer. B-rank.

    B-rank.

    Nestra engaged her in a whirlwind of blows that devastated the chamber in moments. The female creature with long ears and a delicate frame battled her, grace and discipline versus power and unpredictability. Every feint, every trick Nestra knew flowed into each other in an unrelenting attack that prevented her foe from recovering. The air already cut at her exposed skin as they ravaged their way throughout a luxurious mansion. Charged electricity kept the woman¡¯s growing storm at bay but Nestra was falling behind. Time for a desperate gambit! Nestra rushed. She let the woman¡¯s sword dig into her arm. She grit her teeth through the pain.

    A st at point nk range surprised the woman. Blood seeped from a deep wound in her torso, but it wasn¡¯t enough to kill her. Damn B-rank resilience. Still, an opening! Nestra struck, batting the woman¡¯s sword aside.

    She thrust. The woman tried to parry, although it wouldn¡¯t be enough. Nestra¡¯s sword cut into her throat.

    And then, the sword burst in tiny, void-corrupted fragments.

    The woman stabbed Nestra in the heart.

    The world faded.

    <strong>Testpleted.</strong>

    <strong>Calibration process suspended.</strong>

    <strong>Healing candidate.</strong>

    <strong>Sending candidate back to the lobby.</strong>

    ***

    ¡°No! Noooo! That piece of shit. Send me back! I¡¯ll kill her!¡±

    <strong>Calibration interrupted by user: Emergency Sector Commander.</strong>

    <strong>Test will resume once the candidate returns.</strong>

    ¡°Crescent,¡± a polite voice said.

    ¡°Send me back, Shinran!¡±

    He looked worried. Nestra realized she¡¯d screamed at him in Aszhii. ARG! She was having so much fun but now she¡¯d lost. LOST! Fucking shit gear that couldn¡¯t take a fucking decent fight without falling to fucking pieces. This was bullshit.

    ¡°I cannot.¡±

    ¡°The fuck you can,¡± she replied in English, ¡°you have clearance.¡±

    ¡°I do?¡±

    ¡°The machine says you do. It speaks mynguage.¡±

    Shinran paused for a second, which was a really long time for an A-rank.

    <strong>Please enter an identifier to create a user profile.</strong>

    ¡°NEZHRA!¡±

    <strong>Candidate ID entered: NEZHRA! </strong>

    <strong>Identity epted.</strong>

    <strong>Unique user profile created.</strong>

    ¡°Well, maybe you can have a conversation next time. For now, we must return,¡± Shinran said.

    ¡°But I¡¯m not tired!¡±

    ¡°We have been here for over eight hours. Neither of us can afford to disappear for very long, Crescent.¡±

    ¡°Oh, right. Right. I can¡¯t disappear or my family will have my ass. This ce is amazing though!¡±

    ¡°We can raid again tomorrow, if you wish,¡± Shinran said with a smile.

    He seemed very satisfied with the situation.

    ¡°Did you enjoy yourself?¡±

    ¡°It was FANTASTIC! Even more fun than raiding.¡±

    ¡°Ah. I have been waiting for this for so long,¡± he said with obvious pleasure.

    ¡®For what?¡±

    His smile widened. It was not a nice one. The quiet priestly persona cracked and now, she spotted the red demon armor emerging from his skin under the casual shirt. There was a hint of madness in his gaze. Nestra realized he was a mirror of her, but she recognized something she didn¡¯t particrly like: her own hubris.

    ¡°A kindred spirit,¡± he replied.

 (47)

    (47)

    It was perhaps for the best that Shinran had other engagements the following day, or nobody could have dragged Nestra away from the other battle maniac¡¯s mansion. She wanted more. She was desperate for more. The missions were fun and interesting and more importantly, they were perfectly adjusted to her level. Well, maybe except for the social missions. Portal worlds were definitely more raw. Mostly, they told someone to go from point A to point B in a rtively smart way, and that was it. The one advantage they had was that they were real with real monsters, and as such her essence could eagerly swallow that of its monsters, which provided her with improvements and resistances.

    Nestra found herself drawn in three different directions. She wanted to work with the city, because she was curious about Fox Mask and, well, she had a chip on her shoulder if she had to be honest. Another part of her wanted the carefully curated lessons offered by Shinran: a way to hone her techniques. It was something she had loved since she¡¯d started to practice with a sword, that exhrating feeling of making real progress. The third direction was purely Aszhii. This one wanted to raid, again and again, be so strong and resilient that an army couldn¡¯t stop her, feed off the cores of the vanquished. All three reflected various aspects of her personality. All three were within her grasp. She merely had to choose.

    Time felt like her greatest enemy.

    Ok so she had to choose but there was a schedule, so since Shinran was out, raiding and training it was. She spent half a day reviewing security protocol, then pulled the public files of the people who were going to be on the expedition. It wasn¡¯tplete because some of the candidates were still being picked. She still learned a lot. r wasn¡¯t just bringing good negotiators. He was also bringing quite a few heavy hitters. If things got¡­plicated, there was a good chance the Threshold delegation could turn the entire mountain summit to g before being taken down. The Envers would know it. They would understand the message behind it: we don¡¯t trust you and we¡¯re not impressed by you.

    It was weird how this diplomatic meeting was set up to be as undiplomatic as humanly possible. Nestra wondered how much of Ragnarok¡¯s influence was at y here. Mayor Kim¡¯s party was pretty neutral, enves-wise. The government was focusing on resurrecting international trade at the moment. Old Steel She-Wolf though? She¡¯d made her opinion of gleam mob bosses pretty clear.

    Nestra wondered if her mask would survive the expedition unscathed. It made things pretty exciting, to be honest. She should still use the time she had to grow as strong as possible. As her Dad always said: Those who quote ¡®Fortune favors the bold¡¯ have the shortest life expectancy. Fortune favored the prepared mind, and the prepared body. Nestra might not be the sharpest broadsword in the arsenal, but she was pretty good at consistent efforts. It was time to put it to good use.

    ***

    Three monthster.

    The shadow core pulsed idly in the chamber of Nestra¡¯s mind pce, mirroring her improved control. She called power, the mana coiling around her arm like a snake. This shadow wasn¡¯t the hungry beast Tenneru had wielded like a living thing. Nestra had no need for more offensive power. Instead, her shadows were a prowling, hungry thing. They envied. They hid. They stole.She wondered what a therapist would have to say about that, not that she¡¯d ever ask. What mattered was that her arcane training bore fruit. Shinran¡¯s training center had a weird way of making her practice. It ced her into the remembered consciousness of someone who¡¯d mastered the spell, then had her repeat it to try and remember the sensation. It had worked surprisingly well considering she wasn¡¯t exactly a mage. Those shadows would serve her well during the expedition. After all, Crescent wasn¡¯t invited.

    It would be really stupid to get caught in her true form.

    Nestra inspected her Hall of Resistances next. She¡¯d been focusing on her skin recently, with some good results. Her sensory and cold resistancesgged behind. This wasn¡¯t exactly a problem she could solve easily, simply because she hadn¡¯t been traveling.

    In a way, portals reflected the reality outside of them. Nestra believed the pocket dimensionstched onto a rted and simr stretch of reality. If she wanted to face cold beasts, Nestra would have to travel to a cold ce. She had already gathered as much as she could from the handful of portal worlds connected to refrigerated warehouses. The life of an Aszhii was one of travels. She was merely¡­ bying her departure from the nest. It didn¡¯t help that only novelty provided benefits. She had tried doing the same dungeon twice but with different parameters, like using a spear or using only magic. It didn¡¯t work. She got raw progress from a kind of monster only once. After that, they were old news, and her essence rejected them.

    Humans really were the only exception.

    She still wasn¡¯t sure what to think about that.

    Shaking her imaginary head, Nestra checked thearium next. There were no new links to be made between her ¡®stats¡¯, but those had progressed nicely. Power and celerity dominated the false sky. She judged she was past the mid-range for C-rank Aszhii abilities. Resilience, awareness, and mind speed were decent but her magical statsgged behind. This was due to abination of monster avability and opportunity costs. Nestra¡¯s way of disposing of her enemies was to whack them with a sword, therefore she needed strength and speed. If her favored method was fireball to the head, she would have gone out of her way to improve mana control, power, and regeneration.

    Satisfied with her progress, Nestra opened her eyes. The gloomy light of November greeted her from behind her den¡¯s windows. A light drizzle drummed pleasantly on the roof while the fresh scent of orange pulp tickled her nose from the kitchen area. It was a bit after ten, so an Aszhii early morning.

    Today was going to be a busy day.

    ***

    ¡°You¡¯ve changed, Nestra.¡±

    Aunt ire seemed happy enough, but there was something guarded in her eyes when she poked a slice of mozzare. Nestra didn¡¯t like that. Not at all. Aunt ire was never closed.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± she asked, suddenly worried.

    ¡°Look, huh, I don¡¯t know how to say it. Oh, don¡¯t look at me with that puppy face, Nes. You¡¯re just¡­ more dangerous. Are you training for the diplomatic mission?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Nestra replied, feeling a chill run up her spine. ¡°Err, I¡¯ve actually killed monsters in the jungle.¡±

    ¡°The yground? That¡¯s what we call the ce where the army gleams go to experience real life.¡±

    ¡°Hmmm. Yeah. That. I bagged a couple neosaurs.¡±

    Aunt ire nodded appreciatively.

    ¡°I think I remember those are weak D-ss right? I don¡¯t remember for sure.¡±

    ¡°ire, it¡¯s in the basic test.¡±

    ¡°So what? I never had to take it.¡±

    She shrugged.

    ¡°Your parents and I came here with the first cargo ships back when this ce was just a monster-infested harbor. Neosaurs were never a threat to me. Only those big fucking pterodactyl thingies were a bother. Anyway, well done. It sounds very impressive. You, uh, is your core back? Since you are killing creatures?¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Nestra blinked. ¡°No! The mana leaves my body after I kill something. Well, most of it does. You reckon my core coulde back?¡±

    ¡°I suppose not. You just have more mana in your body, so I was wondering if it could somehow grow. Maybe it¡¯s the food?¡±

    ¡°Probably¡­¡±

    ¡°Some sort of¡­ raider adjacent mechanism. I wonder if it will affect¡­ no, probably not. It can only be beneficial¡­¡±

    The powerful raider muttered to herself like some deranged lunatic. She released her grip on her aura, and a scarred veteran a few tables away turned with a frown. He might have recognized ire because he merely shook his head.

    ¡°ire?¡±

    ¡°What? Oh, sorry. I was getting distracted.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean, beneficial?¡±

    ¡°Your health, dearie. I am a bit concerned. Your case is unique. It could affect you in many ways. I do not believe that finally having some mana in your system would be a bad thing. The quirkies do it and they¡¯re fine. Do you still have cravings?¡±

    ¡°Not so long as I eat properly.¡±

    ¡°Good. Great. Actually, killing monsters might help you further¡­ Maybe I should help¡­¡±

    Nestra felt a rush of excitement. It would be kind of fun to hunt monsters in the jungle alongside Aunt ire, even with her own packed schedule.

    ¡°No wait, Debbie would freeze all my digits off if I dragged you off into the wilderness.¡±

    ¡°Aw,e on.¡±

    ¡°No, I will not be swayed. Wait, you are distracting me! Why do you need to kill Neosaurs for a goddamn diplomatic mission? Hmmm?¡±

    ¡°I, errr, safety training? Just to be sure. It¡¯s all part of survival training in the jungles, just in case. I think it¡¯s standard operation protocol for everyone who stays out of the walls for any extended period of time.¡±

    ¡°That is nonsense, dearie. Do you imagine those stuffy corpo drones trudging their way through the mud before visiting the Bazaar? Come on. Where is that mission?¡±

    ¡°The Sword King Enve.¡±

    ¡°Those cunts? They¡¯re sending you out there? Who¡¯s your superior?¡±

    ¡°Clecleeeeee!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t Clecle me. Who¡¯s bringing a bonehead like you to sweet talk a bunch of glorified gang bosses?¡±

    ¡°Me, a bone head? Pot? Meet kettle.¡±

    ¡°I know what I am. I don¡¯t go on diplomatic missions. I get fined for hurling insults at important people during meetings. Why are they bringing you? I find this all very fishy, dearie.¡±

    ¡°Look, I¡¯m here for reasons I can¡¯t discuss. I¡¯ll be safe.¡±

    Aunt ire didn¡¯t seem convinced. She interrogated Nestra in an indirect way by asking about her gear, a good attempt to learn more though Nestra was used to those tactics by now. Nestra couldn¡¯t chase a shadow of fear from crawling through her mind, infecting it with the seeds of hopelessness. Beyond the expedition business, Aunt ire could tell something was unusual about Nestra. The bullshit excuses that she¡¯d made up would serve to exin what was wrong, but it would onlyst for a time. Her true self was changing her human mask in subtle ways. Sereth was the same. Although his human mask was designed to be a drab, he possessed a natural maism that exined part of hismercial sess and most of his dating sess (before he met Stibbs). Sereth was just charming in a happy-go-lucky sort of way. Her true self was starting to seep through her mask, a phenomenon that would have been fine if she¡¯d been an exceptional gleam raider. Unfortunately, she was not. People who knew her well would start to wonder what was going on. Especially her mom.

    One day, they would find out. Helena was cool with it because she was young and ¡®wired¡¯. Her parents, though? Nestra wasn¡¯t really sure. Maybe they would buy the transformation power lie. Maybe not. probably not.

    Fuck.

    Maybe one day it would be her dad¡¯s metal arm going through her chest.

    ¡°Are you alright, dearie?¡±

    ¡°I think I need some dessert.¡±

    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    ¡°Yes, enjoy the moment while you can. Those Sword King assholes probably slice a mango and call it a delicacy. Not that there¡¯s anything wrong with mangoes, mind you¡­¡±

    Nestra let Aunt ire ramble on while she pushed down the feeling that those precious moments might one day be lost to her.

    Could she even do anything about it? She didn¡¯t know. Mazingwe had been cool with it but he was a doctor¡­

    Dammit.

    ***

    ¡°Wee to the final briefing.¡±

    A dozen people filed into the nd meeting room with all the enthusiasm of unpaid interns. It smelled of coffee and soap. Nestra recognized the cheap, ubiquitous ¡®Threshold chair¡¯ under her ass, that familiar wooden difort she¡¯d been experiencing even at the police academy. Seventeen credits a pop. Delivered by Touhei drones in under one hour. She checked the corners out of habit. Yep. The floor area rugs didn¡¯t correctly stick to the walls. Ah, Threshold contractors paid minimum wage, providing minimum service in return. Her heart went out to them.

    It was in this familiar public service setting that an eclectic bunch of gleams and augs sat around, doing their best to ignore each other before thepulsory introduction. Nestra recognized them anyway. Derek Clint and Cai Weiwei, augs, their pilots and tech security specialist. Chandra Satya, the stunningly beautiful economic attache, a trade deal veteran. The stern Watanabe who had more scars than most gleams she knew, and was a renowned B-ss duelist. She knew their profiles and that of their aides like the back of her hand. She¡¯d been reading through them for quite some time now. This expedition had taken longer than nned to take off. Maybe the Sword Kings had preferred to clean house first.

    Once everyone was ufortably seated, r spoke with the ease of the experienced manager.

    ¡°Hello everyone. As I just said, this is thest briefing we will be holding before the start of the expedition proper. I have brought everyone up to speed on their respective roles, so the goal for today is just for you to meet and familiarize with each other. I will also be going over the overarching purposes of this expedition. The township is cing a lot of expectations on this trip. It¡¯s going to be a challenging task in a challenging environment, so keep that in mind during the proceedings. Now first thing first, let¡¯s introduce each other¡­¡±

    Nestra turned her brain off while everyone ¡®said a few things about themselves¡¯, a dreadful task but also a familiar one. There were no bright eyed juniors here. Everyone had a rehearsed sentence for this sort of affair, and Nestra was no different. It was interesting to see how Chandra could be so convincing when she said she was excited to be here. It was a fat lie, of course, but Nestra respected the hustle. The ass sniffing part of meeting a new team used to be torture to her. Now, it was more like¡­. like a bowel movement. Just a necessary part of government job life. And she was paid to do it anyway.

    ¡°Right, now that we¡¯re all introduced, let¡¯s get started. We have two goals and one condition for this trip. Our first goal, the official one, is to enter a business rtionship with the Sword King Enve, which will allow Threshold to extend itswork of influence over the center of the subcontinent with minimal costs. This will be the role of the diplomatic team.¡±

    He nodded towards the neatly dressed folks who nodded in return. They didn¡¯t look like they expected it would be fun.

    ¡°Our second role is to inform the Sword King Enve, in no uncertain terms, that we are not impressed by them, their values, or their relentless attempts to steal from us. This will be achieved by showing they are a medium-sized fish in a tiny pond. Some of you will support this goal with words, some with actions, and a few others by merely existing.¡±

    He spared a nce towards Nestra and the augs before continuing.

    ¡°Thest thing I want to talk about is safety. The necessary condition for Threshold to seed is that we all return alive. I will repeat in case this wasn¡¯t clear. We must all return alive and well. Do you understand?¡±

    There were a few nods around the room. Nestra didn¡¯t react. She¡¯d been to enough briefings to tell r wasn¡¯t done.

    ¡°Even if you say you do, I¡¯ll remind you of the situation. We will no longer be in Threshold. That means no fast army support, no hospital, no advanced surveince system, no food quality standards, no logistics, no transports, and the localw enforcement is not on your side. You will be overly cautious to the point of paranoia. If one of the finedies or gents of the enve show a sudden and burning interest in you, congrattions, you have been deemed vulnerable to a honeypot scheme. They¡¯re here to get something out of you.¡±

    Luckily for Nestra, she was immune.

    ¡°If something looks too good to be true, it is. If a group of surprise friends invite you to go out and drink in the jungle, don¡¯t go. In fact, never go out alone. You will meet nice envers and you will be tempted to strike friendships. By all means, do, but remember something.¡±

    r breathed in deep, and under the outward persona of a well-groomed gleam, Nestra saw something incredibly human, incredibly intense.

    ¡°I am not telling you this as your superior. I am telling you this as a student of history. The way you view the world and the way they view it is fundamentally different. Envers have reverted to feudalism and the rule of the strongest. The only reason¡­ Let me repeat myself. The only reason why modern civilization has survived in fortress cities is because there have been enough powerful users who¡¯ve agreed to hold themselves back for the sake of humanity. Shinran, the guild leaders, the Chaebol founding families, you might have strong opinions about them. I don¡¯t care. What you need to understand is that they all agreed to curtail their own power for the sake of a higher order, something the envers elected not to do. What makes modern civilization isn¡¯t hover cars, advanced armies, technology, none of it. The envers can procure them too. Those benefits are a consequence of a belief in a higher order, in a greater purpose. Our justice exists for its own sake, while their justice is an instrument of repression.¡±

    Nestra knew it wasn''t exactly true but she got the point. Real justice was an ideal to strive for. In reality, poor people were always going to be shafted. The point was to be shafted less.

    ¡°Our government works for themon good, not the continuation of its own existence. Our economy gives a chance to everyone, not just the select few,¡± he continued with a burning passion.

    It was clear his audience wasn¡¯t really buying it. Feeling it, the gleam decided to change gears.

    ¡°Those are ideals we strive for, of course, not realities. The difference is that enves will not even try. To them, who you know is more important than what you do. It is fine to steal from a stranger. It is wrong to punish an ally for a crime they inflicted upon another city. I am not telling you this just to discuss philosophy. I am telling you this because I need you to understand that Envers. Do. Not. See. The. World. Like. You. Do. They will never see anything wrong with killing you if it benefits their n, if they are sure they can get away with it. They have no higher cause than themselves and their tribe. They will see you as naive daydreamers for believing in ethics and the rule ofw. The tribe is all, because the tribe is the only thing they can count on when shit hits the fan, so you will approach them ordingly. Do not trust them to act out of an ideal. They have none, and they will think you stupid for believing there are. Do you understand?¡±

    Nestra nodded. She didn¡¯t think she could be friends with an Enver anyway, considering their opinions of drabs in general. Or quirkies. More of the same, really.

    ¡°Alright. I suppose it¡¯s time for some refreshments. Miss Padian, if I could have a moment of your time?¡±

    Nestra waited while everyone else filed out, discussing between themselves in low voices. It was the first meeting for many of them. She wasn¡¯t surprised to see the augs stick together, ignored by the rest.

    ¡°Miss Padian, I should share with you that there is a third goal to this expedition.¡±

    ¡°You want me to find Fox Mask?¡± Nestra asked.

    r gave her a considering look. In reality, there were probably a ton of secondary objectives he hadn¡¯t shared yet.

    ¡°I assume you¡¯ll also find out where the stolen goods ended up?¡±

    ¡°It would be best if you didn¡¯t think about it too much, though I apud your foresight. Yes, your role concerns Fox Mask, however I would rmend against actively seeking her. You are ill-suited to an infiltration role.¡±

    Nestra agreed it was true enough as the lone anglo drab in this snake pit.

    ¡°Instead, I would like you to be¡­ visible. I believe there is a non-zero chance Fox Mask will recognize you and attempt contact in her unmasked form, just to discover if you are here for her.¡±

    Oh, she would know it for sure. Fox Mask knew Nestra was Crescent. Nestra was rtively sure the gleam hadn¡¯t betrayed her secret because she¡¯d said she wouldn¡¯t. It was their dirty little fencer secret. Oh, they would cross des again for sure. Nestra couldn¡¯t wait.

    ¡°Miss Padian.¡±

    ¡°Hmm?¡±

    ¡°You are NOT to find or engage her. Do you understand?¡±

    ¡°Sure, sure. What would poor baseline me even do?¡±

    ¡°You will not walk around thepound with a loaded shotgun.¡±

    ¡°I promise.¡±

    ¡°Good, and onest thing. Please tell your aunt that I will be very careful.¡±

    ¡°How did she find out?¡± Nestra blurted.

    ¡°Do not underestimate her investigative skill when ites to ruining someone¡¯s day,¡± r muttered.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t know you knew each other.¡±

    ¡°Most police users have heard of her, Miss Padian. She has a reputation. One cannot paint slurs on Touhei¡¯s CEO¡¯s hover car without repercussions, especially not mid-flight.¡±

    ¡°Is that why she¡¯s forbidden from using the city¡¯s airspace?¡±

    ¡°No, I believe it is due to the pickles incident.¡±

    Damn. Maybe Aunt ire was raiding so hard just to pay her fines.

    ***

    The gunship hummed around Nestra like a metal coffin. It was cold and ufortable because it had never been designed as a transport, but the jungle was the jungle, and Threshold wouldn¡¯t send a limo. Nestra spared a nce towards the attache who even now wore safety helmets. There was a quiet tension in the air, but no fear. Nestra herself didn¡¯t conduct ast check of her files because she was confident she hadn¡¯t forgotten anything. r met her gaze.

    Nestra was bored. She turned the music on. They were almost there after three hours of low-altitude flight. She used her visor to sync with the gunship¡¯s camera. The jungle turned into a forest of stone peaks emerging from dense thickets. She spotted the far off glow of an active portal at the top of a distant rock. Time stamps estimated that they were still twenty minutes away, This could be the edge of the Sword King territory. Most of the subcontinent''s western side was still like that: uncharted expanses of wilderness, with portals vomiting hordes of monsters and mana with every breach. She watched the ground pass by. Soon, the gunship crossed over arge river. A serpentine head breached the surface for a moment, quickly disappearing back into the murky depths. The ovey pointed it as tr?n tinh, or Python River, the same that flowed at the foot of the enve. A little whileter, the first signs of civilization appeared: an orchard, half overgrown and casually tended to. A watch tower on the top of a peak. A fortified vige on the bend of the river with walls made of rusty containers tied together with chains.

    They really looked like shit. She guessed that the outer viges must have some high casualty rates. Soon enough, the gunship approached the dominating lone mountain of the Sword King Enve. She¡¯d read the description but she had to admit they didn¡¯t do the ce justice. Sheer cliffs surrounded a lone entrance defended by a sturdy stone and brick rampart topped with blue tiles. Each of the three peaks disyed tightly packed structures harmoniously integrated with the environment, with narrow trails linking them together. One of them was the heliport where most of the modern structures stood but thergest one was dominated by a pce-like building, or perhaps fortress-like was a better word; massive stones and arched doorways provided a stern basis for borate statues of dragons and phoenixes, roosters, foxes, and a garden that had to be beautiful in spring. The center of the valley covered several kilometers and therge majority of it consisted of fields: rice paddies, barley, wheat but also green vegetables she couldn¡¯t identify from up high. Shapes in gray robesbored in the fields, barelyrger than ants for now. There were quite a few of them. As she watched, a convoy approached the gate with goods strapped to what looked likerge buffaloes. The gunship approached the heliport at slow speed. The camera centered on the wee delegation without prompt.

    ¡°No visible weapons,¡± r said. ¡°Leave your own with the luggage, Watanabe.¡±

    ¡°Hai.¡±

    Nestra had no idea if it was a good sign or not. The people waiting for them sure didn¡¯t look friendly despite theck of visible weaponry. They were mostly men with tight ck hats and long robes that stopped below their knees, all of them red and simple. The few women also wore red though their dresses were carefully embroidered. All of them were gleams, naturally, and a few of them shared enough features that they looked rted. The grim assembly stood like statues while the gunshipnded.

    r unbuckled and stood first. Nestra and the handful of other women readjusted their hair as soon as the helmets came off. The Thresholders formed up with quiet efficiency while the ramp lowered at the back of the cramped gunship. They walked off.

    It was amazing how some of the members of the group transformed as soon as the light of the day hit them. Despite hours on the seat and the gloomy light of an early winter, Chandra Satya walked with the pep of a CEO entering a conference room. The Thresholders were pristine in their professional dress suits. Even Nestra looked great, if she said so herself.

    The man at the head of the delegation stepped forward to wee them. Like the rest, he was clean-shaven with a pleasant appearance though the polite smile didn¡¯t reach his eyes. His quiet aura firmly ced him at the height of B-rank, possibly at the same level as some of Threshold¡¯s powerful guild leaders. A few others were also B-rank though much lower. She met the eye of a very new B-rank, who had to be only slightly older than she was. His mouth twisted in disgust.

    Nestra had been consciously ced between the two aug pilots. She waited while her visor tranted the B-ss¡¯ opening speech.

    ¡°Xin Ch¨¤o! Hello, and wee to our guests from Threshold! I am Patriarch Nguyen, and I lead the Council of Elders of the Sword King Enve. We are honored and happy to receive you today. May it be the beginning of a fruitful friendship.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Patriarch,¡± r replied in fluent Vietnamese.

    ¡°I am eager to talk, of course, but this ce is a little windy,¡± the Patriarch said over the dying roar of the gunship¡¯s engines.

    Nestra joined the polite chuckle, then the Council of Elders were the first to climb down the stairs of the heliport and then down into the valley.

    ***

    Nestra was grateful to her past self for being fit because the trek down was fucking hard on the calves. The Council of Elders wasn¡¯t fond of waiting. They had raced down the steep stones like their asses were on fire. Only r¡¯s calm stride forced them to wait at everynding for the slow Thresholders to catch up. Nestra knew her own gleams would have no trouble following. They were deliberately slowing down to prevent Nestra and the two augs from getting distanced just like the Council of Elders was going quickly to make a point. At least, her augs were military and they had no trouble following either, even with the added weight of some of their augments. Nestra split her attention between where she was going and her surroundings.

    It was both better and worse than she¡¯d expected. The enve possessed a genuine charm to it, with many carvings that only served to embellish the natural walls. Beautiful red flowers bloomed even in this weather to provide the visitors with a pastoral and perfumed experience. While the buildings they came across looked like they¡¯de out of a fairy tale, there were cracks in the visible concrete, stters in the paint, and a host of other issues that proved that the efforts didn¡¯t quite match the vision. This was what happened when the path of the sword was too highly regarded, and manualbor got left to wankers. As the group reached the base of the peak and the fields there, she realized that the gray-wearing figures were mostly children and teenagers.

    ¡°Our youth is hard at work forming their bodies for the training ahead!¡± the patriarch proudly boomed.

    Nestra doubted the patriarch¡¯s kid was among them. The few gray-wearing adults bowed like the rest of them once the council passed through. They had the beaten dog expression of those who no longer expected anything out of life, and quite a few scars to show they¡¯d tried.

    Nestra knew about the caste system, of course. The Sword King enve wasn¡¯t the only group that used color codes to enforce their specific brand of social Darwinism. Gray was the color of those who¡¯d failed to prove themselves in any way. The way they were treated was supposed to push young adults into striving for better, which worked, except better only meant martial prowess here. The way they scrambled to bow made Nestra¡¯s skin crawl.

    After that, the veil was off and she could no longer enjoy the visit. Cheap stic and poorly handled repairs jumped to her attention. The lingering smell of shit floated to her nostrils from the variouspost bins. This wasn¡¯t an idyllic fortress built in defiance of monsters, but a besieged prison. Even as the gray robes bowed, their unlit eyes still followed her and the two augs with a mix of horror and disbelief. Yes, Nestra thought. Feast your eyes on the freaks still hiding behind Threshold¡¯s cyclopean walls in defiance of thews of nature your masters so willingly promote.

    Riel, tension was making her all melodramatic.

    The trip ended near the base of the pce, in a sheltered vi built around a nice pond, a sort of receiving spot apparently. It still smelled unpleasantly of fresh paint. Their guests led them into a banquet hall so soberly decorated it was three drapes away from nudity. Only a few members of the council stayed, so there was ample room at the bottom of the table for Nestra and the augs. They were quickly served fresh tea in nice white ceramic cups (imported resilient Touhei ceramics at seven creds a pop. Nestra recognized them from a recent shopping spree). It was green tea.

    She hated green tea.

    It was probably of high grade from the mana, at least. She forced the bitter infusion down with measured sips. She ignored most of the introduction except for the guy who was so visibly disgusted by her and who happened to be Patriarch Nguyen¡¯s nephew. He was named Manh. Manh the man, in Nestra¡¯s unfortunately wired brain. His eyes smoldered with a low heat Nestra associated with something denser than just fire. Lava, perhaps. After the council was done presenting each member, their age, their roles, and their school of fencing, it was the Thresholders¡¯ turn to introduce themselves. They¡¯d rehearsed, of course.

    ¡°I am Clytemnestra Padian, an officer with Special Affairs. I am twenty-five years old.¡±

    Determining someone¡¯s age was super important in Vietnamese because the ¡®you¡¯ pronoun was age-dependent, as far as she understood. Not that the elder tranting for her side seemed to care very much.

    ¡°My role is topare our legal systems to find out if there are differences we need to address before we cooperate.¡±

    Technically, it wasn¡¯t illegal to be a baseline or an aug here because none were expected to ever show up. ording to the Sword King credo, they were relics of the past or abominations that would be cleansed with theing of a new world. That left a certain legal void that might lead to some regretful events, such as murder.

    ¡°Miss Padian has a broad experience when ites tow enforcement, specifically MaxSec, Vice, Internal Affairs, and Special Affairs.¡±

    Vice was a bit of a stretch since she¡¯d been detached with Internal Affairs at the time, but she wasn¡¯t the one who¡¯d decided to bullshit on her resume.

    ¡°She¡¯d been instrumental in several high profile arrests, such as a dangerous gang, a corporate criminal, a corrupt officer, and a mana using serial killer.¡±

    ¡°Is that so?¡± Manh said in English, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

    The room grew tense. Something told Nestra this wasn¡¯t nned.

    ¡°Well, for the Cleaver gang, I actually killed most of them,¡± she confessed.

    r jumped on the asion to propose a delicious bait.

    ¡°Our Clytemnestra is a close quarter specialist. She is quite the fencer.¡±

    The elder tranted in a dispassionate voice.

    ¡°Is that so? Perhaps we will see what Threshold teaches its children then,¡± Patriarch Nguyen replied with a benevolent smile.

    Nestra epted with a smile of her own. The introduction of the two augs went swimmingly, mostly because the elders did their best to pretend they didn¡¯t exist. After a short discussion, the group split up for preparatory work with Nestra making her way to the ¡®archives¡¯, guided by one of the elders. She looked out at a group of gawping students in yellow robes, then farther, towards the distant peak they hadn¡¯t visited yet.

    Fox Mask. Where are you?

 (48)

    (48)

    Since the Elder was very deliberately ignoring Nestra, she used the opportunity to stare. It was only fair y. After all, the envers were doing the same to her, and without shame either. She wasn¡¯t sure if it was because of her clothes, her ethnicity, or her dreg status. Most of the attention felt neutral in a ¡®brand new BaiHua animal exhibition¡¯ kind of way, but some of the gray robes were openly hostile. A few spat when she walked by. The fact that the Elder let it happen spoke volumes about their priorities.

    Her path led her closer to the Sword King Enve¡¯s living quarters. The smell ofundry and food soon covered that of wet earth. Some of the younger children squealed when she arrived, with other menial workers clearing the path in front of her after bowing to her guide. Nestra climbed down a set of stairs to a cooler part of thepound. She spotted rudimentary ssrooms on the side through half-open doors. Those guys were still using ckboards and chalk.

    Everywhere gave her the same feeling of concrete impersonality. The interior design favored one, and only one material: bare concrete. Efforts had been made to adorn it with well woven tapestries, stickers, the asional paintings, but it all remained very barebones in a sad sort of way. Obvious cracks and smudges also gave the building an unfinished appearance. It smelled musty, dusty, with hints of cheap soap, and then there was the light.

    Mana light, fed by a mana stone, inside of a cheap tin casing. One thousand two hundred creds of energy used as a fucking light bulb.

    They didn¡¯t even use ss to make the light, well blue or whatever. Pretty. Instead it was the ¡®morgue corridor yellow¡¯ variety. Nestra shook her head. She wasn¡¯t sure what to think about it, but it was just miserable making one¡¯sir so dry and functional. What was the fun in tearing through monsters if one didn¡¯t have a den to bring the meat back to? A safe ce to collect trophies and other pretty things? It made her miss her Nestracave. It had a huge freezer, a kitchen robot, vines, a pile of pillows, and a naval gun. This marked her as an Aszhii woman of the world. What the envers had was just sad.

    A furious re from the Elder reminded Nestra that she was surrounded by superhuman twats with short fuses who could easily hear her tsk. She had reached her destination anyway: a nondescript door with abel on top that her visor tranted as ¡®The Archives¡¯. The Elder wordlessly turned and left.

    It was always such a treat when assholes gave Nestra the silent treatment, as if it wasn¡¯t what she was hoping for all along.

    Nestra knocked on the door because she was polite like that. No one replied but she went in anyway, only seeing a gleam woman with an expression of naked curiosity on her face.

    ¡°Oh, I was wondering who could be knocking,¡± the woman said in perfect English.She felt old but a bit weak, amon feature of civilian gleams with no raiding experience. Her eyes revealed an affinity with earth though, so she was trained. It made Nestra wonder what the woman was doing here until she realized her baggy blue dress was showing a distinctck of a left arm.

    Noticing her gaze, the woman lifted a short stump.

    ¡°Wee to the archives, Thresholder.¡±

    ¡°Thank you. My name is Nestra Padian. I am here to learn about your legal system.¡±

    ¡°Pah! Legal system!¡±

    The gleam chuckled, the sound warm and acid at the same time.

    ¡°Well,e on in then!¡±

    ¡°Thank you.¡±

    ¡°My, how polite. I should be the one thanking you for letting me practice my English. A dreg, eh? Oh, sorry, this is an insult, isn¡¯t it? The proper term is baseline right?¡±

    ¡°Yep.¡±

    ¡°I always get those two confused. I didn¡¯t mean to insult you.¡±

    ¡°No harm done. Some of our gleams use them interchangeably anyway. I didn¡¯t catch your name?¡±

    ¡°Oh, where are my manners? Call me Sa.¡±

    Nestra surveyed the room as she entered. Dim light filtered in from cliffside windows, showing the outlines of a great many shelves filled with physical books of various sizes. The ce smelled of something musty yet not together unpleasant ¡ª old paper, she realized. She¡¯d read about the smell before, but it was her first time actually experiencing it. Many of the titles showed technical manuals and teaching books, but there were a few old fictions as well, like Moby Dick and ¡®Picked Wife¡¯, apparently a famous Vietnamese book she¡¯d never read before. Many of the fictions referred to hardships and overwhelming odds. It had to be by design.

    It didn¡¯t surprise Nestra that most of those were tragedies too. The most horrific of them, however, was what poor Sa had to work with.

    It was a desktopputer. The archives had a bona fide, genuine desktopputer, its fanboring in the dusty air with the roar of a jetliner. Shit, Nestra had never seen one in real life. It belonged in a museum.

    ¡°Ah, I can see judgment clearly painted on your face, dear guest.¡±

    ¡°Sorry, I had just never seen one of those work before.¡±

    ¡°They are very reliable! It is directly connected to our servers, so our knowledge is safe.¡±

    The gleam gently patted her ancient beast¡¯s tower. Her eyes twinkled with amusement.

    ¡°So how can we two rejects keep each other entertained?¡± the woman added.

    Nestra knew she was trying to build a rapport so she didn¡¯t take offense. Not to mention, there was a brittle edge in the woman¡¯s deprecating humor.

    ¡°Howe you haven¡¯t regrown it yet?¡± she asked in return.

    ¡°Regrow! As if it were easy. No, I am still ¡ª what was it? ¡ª D-ss. Fundamental realm as we call it here. Our healers are not capable of easily regrowing limbs from acid wounds.¡±

    She flinched, perhaps remembering the event. That had to have hurt a lot.

    ¡°And since I have withdrawn from raiding, my contribution points are too low for a solution. I prefer to use them to give my children a future. Ah, you Thresholders must have it so easy. You pop into a clinic and, bam! The arm is back.¡±

    She sighed wistfully. It wasn¡¯t that easy, of course, but raiders were always at the top of the priority queue, even the bad ones. Valerian could probably heal the woman in a day of intensive efforts, despite the fact this wound looked so old. Another perk of having social security instead of predatory merit-based healing.

    ¡°Well, not me, but yes. If the deal goes through, you can probably receive medical treatment.¡±

    ¡°My raiding days are behind me now,¡± the woman lied.

    So transparent. Her longing mirrored Nestra¡¯s own back when she hadn¡¯t awakened yet. It brought back ancient memories of envy and powerlessness, the difference being, this woman had a family to look after. Nestra¡¯s family didn¡¯t need her. Or at least that¡¯s what she¡¯d thought at the time.

    ¡°Anyway, Miss Sa. The rules?¡±

    ¡°Ah yes. I¡¯m surprised you haven¡¯t received them.¡±

    ¡°A collection of judgements would be useful too. Casew is just as important as the regtions themselves.¡±

    The woman gave Nestra a guarded look. Neither of them were stupid. Laws tended to work horizontally and from the top down, and enves only entuated that. Nestra doubted a single Elder had ever been disciplined for, say, maiming or abusing one of their subordinates.

    ¡°Of course. I can print the summaries. We do not keep detailed minutes here, only the conclusions.¡±

    Sa led her guest into a dark room upied by an antique printer and enough reams of cheap paper to cover every wall in thepound. Precious ink cartridges were kept in a locked container next to the door. Someone had ced lucky charms on the dusty machine, possibly fearing it might break down and bring the entire enve¡¯s bureaucracy to a grinding halt. Nestra retreated to a cheap table with a pen and a burgeoning headache. Her drip coffee pouches were still in her luggage. Curses.

    Sa didn¡¯t offer her any tea. It would probably have been green anyway.

    It took only an hour for Nestra to go over the entire book ofw, mostly because they were basic and literally ripped off the Threshold and Hanoi Fortress cities codes. As expected, baselines and augs were ouws in the truest sense of the word: they existed outside of its constraints, and so it didn¡¯t protect them. At best they might be considered ¡®unawakened¡¯ as a stretch though it was clear the term was meant for children who hadn¡¯t gleamed up yet.

    Nestra made a note of it. The rest was fairly simple, essentially just noting that tradews were anemic at best, and that many of the punishments were unconstitutional under Threshold¡¯sw.

    Her dear city preferred its torture to be purely psychological.

    The case summaries were depressing. The overwhelming majority rted to bodily harm and whether or not that harm had been intentional or even real. Theck of sexual abuse usations were also telling. She didn¡¯t believe for a single moment that horny teenage raiders growing up in a darwinist society would always behave. It just meant that violence to women was swept under the rug, In fact, women suing men was barely ¡ª she checked ¡ª seven cases out of the one hundred and eighty-three trials over the past two years.

    She stole a nce towards the archivist. The woman was ying a solitary card game instead of working. Maybe she just didn¡¯t have much to do with her day. In fact, nobody hade here since Nestra¡¯s arrival.

    Maybe she should strike up a conversation.

    ¡°Miss Sa, Do you have a moment?¡±

    The woman used well-practiced gestures to open a data software before turning to Nestra. She was good at covering her tracks.

    ¡°Yes?¡±

    ¡°I could use a short break. Would you care to tell me about your raiding days?¡±

    ¡°Oh, there isn¡¯t much to tell,¡± the woman said.

    And then she proceeded to tell Nestra about them for over twenty minutes.

    ***

    Sa painted a bleak picture of childhood on the frontier. It wasn¡¯t so much that everything was shit ¡ª there were fleeting moments of happiness ¡ª but more that the entire enve was dedicated to two things and two things only: raiding, and the de. Even a battle maniac like Nestra would find the strictly regimented life choking. The enve did care for the life of its members but only to a point. Strict expectations whittled the number of valued gleams by age and achievements, funneling the chosen few to the valued positions of Elders. Those who failed did¡­ what they could. They weren¡¯t banned or exterminated. It was just that more menial jobs and outer bases needed guards and workers. Naturally, the pay reflected one¡¯s usefulness to the colony in the form of contribution points that acted as a currency that only the Sword Kings recognized. Saving for goods meant for the betters was strongly discouraged by way of expiration timers. Nestra subtly nudged Sa towards the topic of tournaments, which the Sword Kings obviously loved to bits. Sa proudly led Nestra to a back wall, where the winners of the previous seasons were immortalized as photographs. Sa¡¯s daughter was very good with a spear, which was considered a follower¡¯s weapon. It was good enough for Sa who just wanted her daughter to perform well, be noticed, and hopefully join the retinue of some scion.

    As the discussion petered out, Nestra moved to the left to check older pictures. The robes switched to a more basic design the farther back she traveled in time. Let¡¯s see, seven to eight years ago ought to do it. Patiently, she searched, going from portrait to portrait with casual attention. Eventually, she found what she was searching for.

    Stolen novel; please report.

    Hello, Fox Mask.

    ***<ol><li> Nguyen. That was the name of Fox Mask. As for¡­ their¡­ gender, it was hard to say. Fox Mask possessed a certain androgynous grace that left the question unanswered with broad shoulders yet a thin build, soft wavy hair yet a square chin, full lips, and longshes. They were clearly of mixed descent, likely Vietnamese and white if the Nguyen dynasty name was any indication. Without surprise, Fox Mask was present in multiple pictures. They had probably bested their seniors to win thepetition year on year for three years straight ¡ª quite an achievement considering gleam powers increased quickly at first. The other contestants made a point to stay as far away from the victor as possible without it bing outwardly rude.</li></ol>

    Nestra wondered what had caused this pariah status. It was certainly not an issue of skill. Sa, who had been standing by her side, froze when she noticed where Nestra¡¯s attention had been going, so Nestra made a show of looking at the oldest pictures.

    ¡°That is a lot of tournaments in a very short time,¡± she remarked.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Sa said, rxing ever so slightly.

    Nestra¡¯s mind wandered while her host shuffled from foot to foot, unwilling to leave her unsupervised. Fox Mask was such a funbatant. Maybe they could meet in some secluded portal world to fight it out, a blur of des that would cut at each other and the monsters in their path. Then Nestra would eat her core. No! No, that wouldn¡¯t be fun. Fox Mask had so much potential. They should meet again, and again, and again. Nestra wouldn¡¯t eat Fox Mask¡¯s core if they could be eternal rivals instead. That would be so much fun. She longed to remove her mask, don her true form, w her way through thepound. Maybe choke the truth out of the fearful little raider by her side¡­

    Patience! Patience¡­ She wouldn¡¯t endanger the expedition for something that she believed she would eventually get.

    Maybe Fox Mask would make contact. It was hard to say. They were clearly¡­ a conflicted person.

    ¡°There are duels, team tournaments, support tournaments, dedicated tournaments for each secondary weapon ¡ª anything that isn¡¯t a sword. You have seen robes, yes? The gray ones are those who have yet to find their path¡­ or have found none. The red are the swordsmen. I used to wear brown ¡ª like my husband. Defense specialists are an important part of any group.¡±

    She sounded a bit defensive.

    ¡°Absolutely, although, I imagine that it must be hard to get a proper shield around here.¡±

    ¡°Yes, well, no, the workshops produce great weapons,¡± Sa replied defensively.

    Her right arm reached for her stump.

    ¡°Back in the days, we didn¡¯t have¡­ enough of them yet. Now, specialists are encouraged to use spells instead.¡±

    That would imply that Sa¡¯s training had been rendered obsolete by a change of doctrine. That woman had some seriously bad luck. Nestra felt a pang of sympathy before remembering that she wasn¡¯t supposed to fraternize.

    ¡°We have yellow robes as well. Archers, mostly. They y an important role.¡±

    Sa¡¯s voice faltered and for a moment, she was no longer an enver, or even a gleam, but simply a woman who¡¯d gotten the short hand of fate¡¯s stick, and still defended her home n because there was still hope for her child.

    ¡°Those pesky flyers, am I right?¡±

    ¡°Yes! And other important foes, of course.¡±

    She frowned.

    ¡°You seem well informed.¡±

    ¡°My family has many raiders. I am the odd one out,¡± Nestra allowed.

    Sa might have continued the discussion, and someone smoother than Nestra might have extracted useful info. Unfortunately, the conversation was cut short by heavy footsteps. A thin man in a more borate blue dress entered the room. He didn¡¯t have an affinity, but he was C-ss, a sign of someone who probably progressed through meditation. His acerbic voice came in fast bursts like the stato of an automatic weapon.

    ¡°What are you doing with her?¡±

    ¡°We were looking at pictures,¡± Sa replied with deference tinged with fear.

    ¡°You are to assist the guest in understanding our ways, and nothing more. You will receive a mark on your report for this transgression.¡±

    His dark gaze fell on Nestra. He had a pencil thin mustache, the only thing of interest on an austere face.

    ¡°Your presence is requested at the Training Hall,¡± he informed her in clipped English.

    His mouth twisted with disgust, but there was a hint of satisfaction there too.

    ¡°The Elders were informed you are, ah, trained with a sword? It appears they would like a demonstration.¡±

    ***

    The path to the Training Hall was a long one. As far as Nestra understood from the briefing, the enve rotated training groups to surrounding viges because it took a lot of space and standing stones to tank days upon days of flying spells and stone-shattering strikes. It also helped with fending off wandering monsters to keep them away from crops. The Training Hall was only used for demonstrations, tournaments, and advanced sses. Going there was a big deal.

    Maybe they expected her to just go through forms. She could do that with no problem, and they would get familiar with Threshold¡¯s traditional school with a Padian twist. It would be smarter than dueling her with a gleam. Either the gleam won and they would be seen as punching down, or she surprised them and broke their pride. It would be so stupid of them to do so.

    Nah, what was she even thinking? Of course they would want to beat the shit out of her. Enves didn¡¯t care about fairness, or punching down. They would want to send a message: you brought baselines, and shit happened to them because they¡¯re weak. Nodding to herself, Nestra walked past rows of working gray robes. Those guys were not invited.

    The Training Hall was thergest and nicest building in all of thepound, upying the entire top of thergest mountain. Two wings and a main body encircled a vast, empty courtyard. The walls were made of thick stone with a green tinge while above, orange-tiled roofs provided a much needed shadow. As Nestra approached, she realized the ambient mana shimmered over the structure. It was made entirely out of portal material.

    Pretty neat, she had to admit. It would also be very reliant. A monster could w at it for minutes before they could break in, buying defenders precious time. She watched as a fewters in basic red robes hurried ahead of her. She took her time climbing the stairs. No need to get winded before things could begin in earnest. Around her, the hall was the roughest and most ancient building and yet it also felt like the best. It was like stepping into living history. Here, humanity had been forced to build from the ground up.

    The same female elder who had tranted for her now stood waiting, her expression as unreadable as before.

    ¡°Wee. Before we proceed, you will need to get changed. Please, follow me.¡±

    Nestra didn¡¯t want to get separated but¡­whatever. The elder led her into a side room with wooden lockers. The air smelled of soap. The hanzi for dies¡¯ was written on the door. There, a Threshold-made sports kimono waited on a simple table. It was colored white. Nestra wasn¡¯t sure what the symbolism was.

    It was just a little toorge for her but that was fine.

    Once she was changed with her hair gathered in a tight ponytail, the elder led her into the quiet center room through a side door. Nestra was shocked at how silent the ce was considering there were close to three hundred students of various ages sitting there, dressed in red, all waiting for her. She felt their attention like a physical weight. The Aszhii in her wanted to get out, but the human stood proud and indifferent.

    r sat on the side with the rest of the Threshold gleams, right next to the council itself. The central area had been left free. An elevated tform would act as a ring. Racks of training weapons covered the wall, disying stuff as varied as chains ending in des. The variety of swords was remarkable. All of those were blunt, yet well made training tools.

    ¡°This is Clytemnestra Padian. She is trained in the Threshold Padian style,¡± the Nguyen Patriarch intoned.

    Nestra stood at attention while the Patriarch detailed her role. In front of her, the crowd of reb-robed warriors waited patiently. Some of them were clearly junior students who had never conducted a raid, but some were above twenty and clearly experienced. Most of the seniors were in front, quite a few of them C-ss and scarred. The older ones were the most hostile.

    ¡°She will now offer a demonstration,¡± her visor tranted.

    Nestra spared a nce towards r, who merely nodded. She just wished he¡¯d cleared things with her in advance, but in a way he was also trusting her, and that wasforting in itself.

    It wasn¡¯t the first time Nestra had demonstrated her mastery over the form in front of the crowd, and not the first time the crowd had half a dozen B-ss raiders among their ranks. She grabbed a suitable arming form from the racks, saluted the Elders, and then she was in her element.

    The first form was simple, and also meant as a warmup. Muscle memory guided her smoothly from one stance to another, the de wooshing through the air at a sedate pace. There was no need to rush. This was a familiar dance, one both her forms knew intimately. As her muscles warmed up, Nestra moved into the second sequence, then the third, which had the first flying attacks. Her first ¡®hah!¡¯ rang in the silent room. The fourth sequence followed. By then, she was striking as fast as humans could manage.

    The pseudobat woke her Aszhii instincts. She wanted out of the mask but not now. Now, there were too many eyes on her. The fifth sequence ended in a flurry of fast, precise strikes. The sixth sequence was the first truly modified Padian variant of the more standard tradition Threshold school. It incorporated a few techniques meant to be used with heavy flow mana. There were whispers near the back, quickly shushed. The sixth was a purely defensive run which made her stop at the edge of the rack while the seventh pushed her to the side of the room after a series of lunges. The eighth was extremely technical and considered one of the most difficult sequences to perform wlessly, which she did. The ninth was the apotheosis, all showy techniques including the skyward Wing Clipper, an extremely situational but nevertheless spectacr technique she had only ever used in her true form.

    With perfect control, Nestra fell back on her feet. The real world returned into focus with a deafening quiet that belied the number of attendees. Nestra saluted the council whose faces were unreadable. r didn¡¯t react either, but his bodyguard, the de master Watanabe, gave her a firm nod.

    ¡°Thank you for this demonstration of one of Threshold¡¯s many styles,¡± the Patriarch said. ¡°I look forward to the exchange of ideas and techniques.¡±

    Silence returned to the room. For a solid second, nothing happened.

    That¡­ that was it? Nestra made for the rack with slow steps. It looked like she¡¯d been badmouthing the envers, after all. Patriarch Nguyen didn¡¯t want to humiliate the delegation. Instead, he had used her to showcase Threshold¡¯s capabilities to his own people.

    ¡°The true test of a de is battle.¡±

    Nestra¡¯s visor tranted Manh Nguyen¡¯s cold voice as best as it could. Suddenly, it looked like everyone had frozen.

    This was probably off script. Interesting. There were dynamics here that Nestra didn¡¯t get, mostly some political infighting within the enve. Or maybe it was a bluff? Whatever. Let someone else figure it out. Nestra was here to stab people, and it looked like someone had thrown the gauntlet.

    She waited, hand still holding the de.

    ¡°Perhaps the Threshold dweller will show her skill in a friendly spar?¡± Manh added, voice dripping with venom.

    r nced at Nestra. She shrugged. She was good to go, personally, but she¡¯d btedly remembered that this was supposed to be a diplomatic mission.

    ¡°I believe Miss Padian has no objection. With that said, who would offer a proper demonstration? The use of mana would be a poor showcase of technique,¡± Threshold¡¯s diplomat said.

    Nestra agreed that getting skewered by an Elder would not make for a good show.

    ¡°Then we need someone fairly new. A fundamental realm person, perhaps, with good technique. Truong?¡±

    A short woman with ck hair stood from one of the back ranks. All the other students around her suddenly nced up like they were suddenly noticing a venomous snake in their midst. Some of them physically recoiled from the woman. Nestra¡¯s gaze met the woman¡¯s. Her gleam eyes showed no specific affinity yet, but there was a sheen in them that reminded her of Helena. Probably a rare strength affinity.

    It was a nice setup. Nestra would face a much younger, apparently inexperienced fencer and get demolished, thus proving that threshold¡¯s fencing is just pretty to look at but otherwise toothless. She was eager to see what the young gleam had in store for her, but otherwise, she found Manh¡¯s plot a little insulting. He was clearly underestimating her.

    Sure, D-ss raiders had some advantages, like enhanced reaction speeds, but fencing at her level was also about strategy, precision, and muscle memory. A tight-lipped patriarch and unctuous r organized the details: best of three, any hit counts. Watanabe and the elder responsible for training would act as the referees, stopping the match before either of the contestants got bloodied. It wouldn¡¯t be difficult for those experienced B-ss warriors.

    Nestra waited for the short woman to face her. She was beautiful, like most gleams, but there was something detached about her that made Nestra¡¯s skin crawl.

    ¡°Begin.¡±

    Nestra lunged at the same time as her opponent, but her reach was longer and so Truong was forced to pull back. With tight footwork, Nestra followed with explosive speed beforending a very light tap on the woman¡¯s arm, which she¡¯d raised in defense.

    Those were monster-killing and surviving techniques. Useful, but not immediately relevant. Nestra was fighting this like a sports match, which it was.

    And she¡¯d won the first bout.

    ¡°Touche,¡± Watanabe said, closing the first round.

    The elder reluctantly nodded. Nestra returned to her starting position while Truong disyed the very first emotion Nestra had witnessed: it was outrage.

    ¡°What? It wasn¡¯t even a real blow?¡±

    ¡°By the rules of the contest, she has won,¡± Watanabe said in heavily ented Thai.

    Truong¡¯s face took a distinctly red tinge. Rage made her shake. Nestra had her.

    The second bout started with a furious attack, which Nestra tried to take advantage of with quick, conservative counters, but here the gleam¡¯s speed came into y. Nestra was also forced to avoid crossing des with the obviously stronger girl. She could hear the way her sword whistled when she used broad strikes. The back and forth was intense, patience and viciousness on one side, speed and ferocity on the other. Nestra¡¯s quirk physiology helped her, and her Aszhii instincts whispered of Scornful Crescent moves her human body couldn¡¯t follow, but it was enough, just enough, and she was pushing the girl back. All her power wasn¡¯t enough to overwhelm Nestra because Nestra wasn¡¯t there. There was no body to smash into, no defenses to swat away, only the wasp of Nestra¡¯s sword tip dancing before her eyes.

    Truong had a pattern where she would try to swap the de twice then lunge. Nestra waited, seeing it repeated again after a particrly fierce exchange. It happened again. She lunged, catching the girl squarely in the ribs.

    Something stopped her hand. Not impact, something else. Watanabe¡¯s rough hands on her kimono¡¯s sleeve.

    ¡°Touche,¡± heconically said.

    Truong was on the verge of explosion. Nestra was tempted to tease her just for the psychological warfare element but her dad disapproved of this sort of thing. ¡®Be remorseless on the piste and polite outside¡¯ was more his ethos. Besides, it would be punching down. Nestra was almost twenty-six. The girl had to be eighteen. The gap in experience wasn¡¯t something she could easily bridge, especially now that Nestra had gotten under her skin.

    The third bout began with a hiss of fury. The girl¡¯s skin was now dark with flushed blood, her rage bubbling beneath the surface. Shame. Disbelief. Terror. The heady cocktail made Nestra want to y with the thing a little more, but she was her human self, and it was¡­ risky. Poking her defenses with lightning fast thrusts now caused exaggerated reactions. Nestra slowly cornered her like a beast, never taking any risks, and once the girl did the pattern again, she had her. Quick footwork, a lunge¡­ and the impact of a de swatted aside.

    A mana burst.

    Nestra struck out out of sheer instinct born from countless duels against her father, and Sereth as well. A ping spoke of metal hitting metal. The two referees appeared between them in a sh, the elder holding Truong back while Watanabe stood in front of Nestra.

    ¡°The use of mana is against the rules,¡± Watanabe announced.

    ¡°Perhaps it would be best to stop now,¡± r added in a smooth transition. ¡°A round of apuse for our contestants!¡±

    He pped, the sound loud and awkward. The patriarch joined soon after, and the room erupted in voiceless congrattions. It was over. Nestra had won.

    She was a bit annoyed, having faced a teen like that. Fox Mask would quench her thirst for a challenge. She just had to find the elusive genius.

    Watanabe had Nestra stand on the side while r and Patriarch Nguyen went with the pantomime of pretending this was a pleasant exchange, and not a power y Threshold had won by andslide. The old Japanese master stood with cid attention while Nestra surveyed the room. The mood was somber and subdued, as befitted people whose team just got thrashed in a surprise upset. Truong was on the verge of apoplexy. Her rage practically radiated through the room.

    Yeah, Nestra would need to keep her eyes open. And that might be fun.

    ¡°Let me walk you back to your room, Padian,¡± Watanabe said.

    It didn¡¯t sound like a suggestion. Nestra left the room, finally allowing herself a smirk.

    It wasn¡¯t just that she¡¯d won by two victories and one disqualification. Thatst attack?

    She¡¯d parried it.

    And all the stronger raiders would know.

    ***

    Nestra changed back in a hurry and with some amount of displeasure. The duel had left her sweaty despite the clement weather, and having spent hours in a cramped helicopter had done nothing for her fragrance. A shower would be nice.

    She hoped they had running water. Surely they had running water for their guests.

    Watanabe was waiting for her outside of the changing spot. He pointed at a small group of houses down the slope.

    ¡°This is where we will sleep. From now on, you will not travel alone for safety reasons. I will have one of our augse with you at all times since they have¡­ certain advantages in seeing dangering.¡±

    He probably meant they had surveince equipment.

    ¡°You fight like a demon, Padian. You are more subtle than Hector, yet you two share the same savagery. I would hate to cross des with you.¡±

    Nestra gave him a nce, which he misinterpreted.

    ¡°I do not mean to mock your condition.¡±

    ¡°No, I¡¯m just ttered that you would think that. You fought against my dad?¡±

    ¡°With him, side by side. It was some time ago.¡±

    The stern warrior¡¯s fingers caressed the handle of his own sword.

    ¡°We old ones know each other well, but I digress. It is truly a shame that you are not one of our kind. You may take pride in your skill and in your training, for I have rarely seen its match.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, I try.¡±

    Watanabe fell silent and Nestra used the respite to center herself. She was feeling ufortable by now, and she found herself missing her den, or at least a good raid. Long operations with other humans and such teasing encounters were hard on her true self. It wanted out. She wanted out. Eventually though, Watanabe left her in front of her door. Nestra¡¯s room was simple but well furnished, reminiscent of old hab block units back in the old days. The only thing out of the ordinary was a gray origami carefully folded into the semnce of a fox head. It had been left on her bed.

    ¡°Well well well.¡±

 (49)

    (49)

    Fox Mask! Fox Mask had made contact. Nestra couldn¡¯t wait. She would get to meet her again, and then they¡¯d fight! Oh, this was going to be grand. Nestra was so looking forward to it. She unfolded the origami with a smile of barely contained excitement.

    <em>¡°Tomorrow 3AM, inside the Steel Realm. Sneak in.</em>

    <em>C.¡±</em>

    The note was in English, which was a nice touch. Nestra wondered what the C. referred to though. ording to her picture, Fox Mask was called T. Nguyen. Maybe the message was from someone else? No, that made no sense. The Steel Realm was the name the Sword King Enve used for their most coveted portal: a world with rich sources of magical iron they used to forge their many weapons. It was valuable enough that Threshold was ready to buy their excess stock at a premium. Nobody else would know she could sneak into portal worlds since she had the appearance of a dreg. It was definitely Fox Mask, so C. was perhaps how they referred to themselves.

    ¡°So is Fox Mask a boy or a girl? Hmmm.¡±

    She still couldn¡¯t tell for sure. Maybe she¡¯d just ask.

    Nestra¡¯s enthusiasm bubbled for another good five minutes during which she resisted the urge to change into her true form, in case someone was keeping an eye on her. Arg! She wanted to get out of here so she could practice the Scornful Crescent on some unsuspecting monsters. Or envers. Either would do. Soon, however, her thoughts returned to the match. She was still a bit jittery from the excitement.

    ¡°Might use the opportunity to take a shower!¡±

    It turned out that the Sword King Enve did have running water to a degree. The flow was too small to take a proper shower. Instead, the bath was structured in a more Japanese fashion with a small rock tub and arge basin used for ablutions. It wasn¡¯t bad, and Nestra was happy enough to soap up and then let the mana-rich water drip over her body. Meanwhile her mind wandered.So yes, the fight had been pretty cool, and she¡¯d defended Threshold and her family¡¯s honor by thrashing the Sword King¡¯s champions¡­ and that was good to a degree, but now that she thought about it, her heart filled with relief at not having lost rather than joy at having won, because it hadn¡¯t been a fair fight.

    For her opponent, that is.

    Nestra looked like a baseline, and she¡¯d been representing them in that fight, but just like most of her existence, it was a lie. An illusion. She had the full circuit and enough passively-regenerating mana to match a low D-ss raider in pure might, so she didn¡¯t have much of a disadvantage inbat. Truong had only been physically stronger. In the kind of match where everything ends with a single touch, it was of very little help. No, the reality was that they¡¯d pitched a talented eighteen something against Nestra.

    They¡¯d thrown the poor girl to the dingos. Not to toot her own horn, but Nestra was really, really fucking good at fencing. It had been the only thing keeping her sane through the Dark Times. Even with the cravings, Nestra had kept in her heart that she was so good that she could be a CQC specialist in the city¡¯s most physically demanding police force when she waspeting with quirkies and augs. From her youth, Nestra had been a fencing genius, and she¡¯d worked hard every damn day of her dog life to make sure she reached the top. Nestra wasn¡¯t excellent. She was world ss, and experienced against human opponents.

    And that wasn¡¯t even counting the Scornful Crescent.

    And they¡¯d sent someone seven years her junior against her. The poor fuckers. The sad thing was, Truong was pretty good, probably considered a promising prospect among the new generation of Sword King raiders. Her public humiliation after being picked as champion would hound her for the rest of her days while the instigator, that cunt Manh, would get away scot free. It was infuriating how the top yers kept sacrificing pawns and then having tea shortly afterward.

    Nestra sighed. There was the baseline lie as well.

    The purpose of her existence here was to prove that being a baseline was not an indication of ack of talent, only ack of mana. To see baselines as inferior was not just despicable, it was false. Mana ess didn¡¯t make one a demigod deserving of all honor.

    Only, that was bullshit.

    First, Truong had been D-ss. Gleams kept improving so long as they worked hard, and the gap between them and baselines kept growing ordingly. There was a qualitative difference between a fifty-year old baseline with skill and experience, and a fifty-year old gleam who¡¯s reached C-ss and can work sixteen hours per day six days a week for months at the top of their game in case of emergency. Just the ability to focus for longer periods of time made gleams better. That was the first lie. Nestra¡¯s victory didn¡¯t prove anything.

    The second lie was that Nestra was simply not a baseline. She was an Aszhii in sheep¡¯s clothing. All of her victories were a travesty ¡ª to an extent. She¡¯d won with quirky-level powers but she was, in essence, not a baseline human. She was only pretending to be one.

    And that sucked.

    ¡°There goes my good mood,¡± Nestra said, having sessfully ruined her own enjoyment.

    She rinsed herself thenmented theck of a hair dryer in this Riel-forsaken hole on earth. If only she had Riel¡¯s teleportation magic, then she could use it to spend every evening eating ice cream in the shadow of her naval gun instead of being stuck here in toxic culturend watching her back. Nestra wrapped a towel around her head. s, her powerful grumbling and incendiaryments failed to dry her hair faster.

    Since the mood was ruined, she might as well write her report.

    Nestra spent most of the afternoon poring over her notes, then she used the data sheet in her luggage to write a report. With that, her official role in the mission would officially beplete and she¡¯d be able to y offline games on her visor for the rest of the trip, guilt-free. She still did her best to give an urate list of observations and rmendations. Her first and obvious one was that non-users ought to have equal rights. Obvious, but she had to spell it out. Themonw stuff was brief, the only caveat being that Thresholders found guilty by Sword King authorities ought to be given the opportunity to choose imprisonment in Threshold instead of, say, being flogged fifteen times on the main za. That was kind of important. The tradew stuff was short as well since the enve had almost zerows for trading, so she rmended using Threshold¡¯s framework instead. She hesitated with thest of her rmendations, but eventually decided to include it in her report anyway. Fuck politics.

    ¡°Finally, I would rmend that specific attention be given to crimesmitted by more privileged individuals against more vulnerable members of themunity. Casew and recent records show ack of upward usations, such as from gray robes to Elders, or women to men. Rather than a clerical error or exemry behavior in the enve, I suspect that the discrepancy might be due to systemic elitism and corruption that makes standing against one¡¯s betters undesirable.¡±

    It was as direct as she could make it while using Threshold¡¯s civil servant bullshit lingo. Maybe she should add ¡®those cunts use thew as a tool of oppression and control¡¯ in the margin, but well, anyone who didn¡¯t already know that couldn¡¯t be smart enough to have reached a managerial position anyway.

    Just to be sure, Nestra used her writing software¡¯s AI assistant to check for issues. She corrected a few typos, rephrased a few words, refrained from smashing the datasheet after the AI called her style ¡®verbose¡¯, and then she was done.

    That left her with little to do. She rummaged through her room for supplies and found a stove and a few bags of tea ¡ª locally sourced by the look of it. There was a sort of barley infusion, probably less fancy than green tea. It was pretty good! She heard a knock on her door as she was finishing her cup.

    Nestra focused on her mana sense. She didn¡¯t pick up anything from the other side, so it was either a master user or one of the augs. Either way, she carefully opened it. It was one of the two augs pilots, the man in this case. An anglo, with short ck hair and two very obviously auged eyes. Most people preferred an imitation real ball in their sockets, but Derek Clint had gone for the naked imnt which gave him the appearance of a cyborg. The smile was genuine though, and so were the muscles visible under his pilot jumpsuit.

    ¡°Mr Clint. Hello,¡± she greeted

    ¡°How about you call me Derek and I¡¯ll call you Nestra? It¡¯s the name you prefer, right?¡±

    ¡°Deal,¡± she replied with a smile.

    ¡°Great. Weiwei is touring thepound¡¯s production workshops with Chandra, so that leaves me with no choice but to bother you. I need a partner to cover my back while I return to the gunship ¡ª sorry, our ¡®armored shuttle¡¯. r wants us tomunicate more easily so I¡¯m going to use the ship¡¯s systems to give us a closed inte.¡±

    ¡°Neat. Does it link to the real inte?¡±

    ¡°Nope. I hope you downloaded your favorite vids in advance.¡±

    Nestra shrugged. She had enough to entertain herself but she was hoping for more.

    ¡°Just wanted to make some enve memes. It¡¯s ok.¡±

    Derekughed, a pure sound of joy that boomed through the drab corridor.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think that would be very diplomatic, but what do I know? Anyway, are you alright to go now? Orter? Or not at all? I can wait.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, let¡¯s leave.¡±

    She locked the door out of habit. Derek was waiting for her so she saw his skull tes while his back was turned. Like most pilots, the majority of his imnts were sensory-based. His steps were light enough.

    ¡°You got anybat imnts besides the pilot suite?¡± she asked as they moved out of the guest quarters.

    ¡°Straight to the point huh? No. We¡¯re discouraged from getting them since there can be interference. There¡¯s also the theory that the more borged up you get, the more likely you are to end up with psychosis. It¡¯s more or less an urban legend at this stage but¡­ you know. And it costs money.¡±

    ¡°The army won¡¯t spring for it?¡±

    ¡°You get the job-rted surgery for free. The rest is out of your own pockets. Pilot pay is good but it¡¯s not military-gradebat imnts good.¡±

    ¡°Fair enough.¡±

    Just as before, the gray robes were doing their best to ignore them, though a few still stole nces towards Derek¡¯s shiny chrome. It looked like their day was over as they returned to various sheds to drop their tools. She checked the time. It was nearing five in the afternoon.

    ¡°Have they been at it since dawn?¡± Nestra whispered to herself.

    ¡°It¡¯s harvest season for some cereal crops so they work especially hard right now. Peasantry is seasonal. Don¡¯t you know?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m a city girl to the core.¡±

    ¡°Hah. Well, I assume they train harder in the off months. They must have been at it since dawn.¡±

    It was that kind of ce, Nestra had to agree. They soon arrived at the gunship, an anachronistic creature of sharp angles overlooking thepound like some steel beetle god, an intruder in many ways. The door opened to wee the pair in without prompt. Nestra knew Derek must have just sent some signal but from the outside, it felt like being allowed into the sanctum of some forbidden cult. The interior still smelled faintly of sweat. Nestra winced.

    ¡°Yeah you should smell it after we¡¯ve picked up tired raiders. It¡¯s like shoving your nose over a ughterhouse¡¯s dumpster.¡±

    ¡°No thanks.¡±

    ¡°By the way, would you be okay with helping or would you prefer to wait outside?¡±

    ¡°Please show me the gunship¡¯s secrets, oh prophet of doom.¡±

    ¡°With pleasure. Here, let me just get this out¡­¡±

    A server rack popped out from behind the pilot¡¯s seats. It looked too small to achieve much, which meant it was probably some high tech stuff. Nestra suspected Derek didn¡¯t really need any help and was just acting nice by giving her something to do together. She plugged cables and pushed buttons whenever he asked.

    ¡°By the way, I regret not being here for the duel. Heard you gave them a good demonstration?¡±

    ¡°I won, yeah.¡±

    ¡°Nice¡­¡± he replied with a vicious smile. ¡°Not that I want to throw shade at our dear hosts, but I already heard borg half a dozen times and those fuckers don¡¯t even speak English.¡±

    ¡°Yeah. To be fair, they had me face a kid. She was barely eighteen.¡±

    Derek gave her a measured look.

    Stolen from its rightful ce, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    ¡°You reckon they weren¡¯t being fair to her?¡±

    ¡°Well¡­ Yeah.¡±

    ¡°Heh.¡±

    Derek shook his head. Nestra frowned, not sure how to express her feelings on the matter.

    ¡°It¡¯s like this. I¡¯m experienced and good at what I do partly because of my dad¡¯s training. I was born in a raider¡¯s family, you see? So it¡¯s like me using gleam tricks without really being a gleam, and I also have experience on my side,¡± she finally said.

    It wasn¡¯t all of the truth but it was close enough to convey how she was feeling.

    ¡°You want my opinion?¡± he asked.

    ¡®Yeah.¡±

    ¡°Press the green¡­ there we go. So, yeah, there ain¡¯t anything like fair in this world. It¡¯s bullshit to expect fairness, no harm intended. They were trying to screw you over anyway.¡±

    ¡°Maybe¡­ but¡­¡±

    He gave her a look she couldn¡¯t decipher. His augs seemed focused on her, giving him an uncanny appearance. He sounded dead serious too.

    ¡°Look, as I said, it¡¯s not about fairness. I can list half a dozen other reasons why it¡¯s not fair one way or the other and I wasn¡¯t even there to see the show. It¡¯s about what you represent. For them, the girl you faced was some kind of harbinger meant to give you, and us, a lesson. I¡¯m not up to speed on gleam speciality but it must have looked like you had a chance but not really?¡±

    ¡°It could be interpreted like that, yeah.¡±

    ¡°So she stood for giving you a lesson, and you stood for hard work, for Threshold, and for us¡­ mana-challenged folks, yeah?¡±

    ¡°I guess.¡±

    ¡°Your role could have been filled by some high-level security augs, the kind that can take down a C-ss raider just with their speed and monofment des and whatnot. It doesn¡¯t matter. What matters is that we proved to those fuckers we¡¯re not out yet. It¡¯s not about fairness, see? It¡¯s about who you¡¯re protecting, whose honor you defended.¡±

    ¡°Huh. Didn¡¯t see it like that.¡±

    ¡°You didn¡¯t realize you were the city¡¯s champion there?¡±

    ¡°I did, I did.¡±

    ¡°So take pride. You stood for us, and we¡¯re grateful. We¡¯re especially grateful because you won, haha. Oh, here it is. Should be fine now.¡±

    ¡°Will you need to keep the gunship powered?¡± Nestra asked, not sure if she should change the topic just yet.

    ¡°Nah, minimum power is fine. It will also prevent the battery from draining too fast. We don¡¯t want the gunship to look like it¡¯s five seconds away from taking off because it might scare the bogans. They might shoot arrows at the propellers or something. Can¡¯t risk it.¡±

    ¡°They probably know about gunships, Derek.¡±

    ¡°If they did, they''d be more scared. Anyway, shall we head back?¡±

    ¡°Sure and¡­ thanks. I guess I was too focused on myself.¡±

    ¡°If it were me wrecking those arrogant twats, you couldn¡¯t stop me from boasting for a year. At least!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m saving it for home,¡± Nestra joked.

    ¡°Very diplomatic, Miss Padian.¡±

    ¡°Oi.¡±

    Nestra smiled, feeling a bit better. She wasn¡¯t entirely sure how she felt about the duel anymore, but at least the people on her side were happy so there was that, right? And there was something else: she had been ced in a difficult situation and managed to win. It wasn¡¯t her decision setting a kid against her, so she had nothing to feel sorry about. Nodding resolutely, Nestra left the gunship behind Derek. He paused near the entrance. She stopped behind him.

    ¡°I¡¯m plugged into the gunship¡¯s sensors. Just making sure there isn¡¯t anything suspicious waiting for us. Looks like we¡¯re good.¡±

    Just then, Nestra¡¯s visor dinged. It was a message from r.

    ¡°We now have a secure connection, people. I will still urge everyone not to post any confidential information. Please see me if you have any questions. Dinner will be served in the Elders¡¯pound in fifteen minutes.¡±

    ***

    Night was falling by then. The crimson light bathed thepound in colors until even the gray robes took on a red hue as they engaged inte practice, wooden swords striking targets with familiar cks. The smell of food came from everywhere, and the smoke of cooking fires rose in a light fog over many of the buildings. Magicalnterns came to life on the stairs and paths of thepound. Blue and yellow dominated, but there were also orange and purple streaks to provide a pleasant variety. With the dim light masking most of its ws, thepound took on a new appearance that was almost dream-like. Now, history was being resurrected in front of Nestra. She forgot about the stares as they approached the dining hall from where pleasant scents emerged. She found that the Sword King Elders had spared no expense on their hospitality. They hadid out a feast.

    While the Elders and other selected guests sat at round tables in raucous enjoyment, servants drifted from group to group to provide fresh dishes and drinks. It reminded Nestra of a Chinese party: for now, everyone stayed put but as the night went on, they would move from table to table with sses of strong liquor to cheer each other up. A special table had been reserved for the Thresholder guests. Most of the delegation was busy eating after a long day though Chandra and r were already making the rounds. Nestra took her seat next to Weiwei, the other aug. She and Derek immediately went over security measures. Nestra decided to let them be, not like she could understand half of their jargon anyway.

    The food was delicious though. It wasn¡¯t maybe as properly seasoned as what she¡¯d get in Threshold, but that was nitpicking. The ingredients were mana-rich, fresh, and prepared to perfection. Atst she¡¯d found something else the enves were good at! She had another bowl of pho just because the broth was so damn perfect.

    ¡°He¡¯s saying mana food is wasted on you,¡± Derek abruptly said.

    ¡°Mpff?¡±

    The aug discreetly pointed in the direction of a far table where Manh sat among a gathering of red robed raiders. He was ring at her. Nestra hadn¡¯t noticed. She decided to reply after swallowing another sliced meatball.

    ¡°Sorry, it¡¯s against my religion to pay attention to idiots when I¡¯m having good food.¡±

    ¡°Riel. How do I convert?¡±

    ¡°Easy, just don¡¯t mind assholes. Anyway, thanks for letting me know. Not that there are manaless dishes here anyway. He¡¯s just being an ass.¡±

    ¡°I will still report him as a security risk if that¡¯s ok with you.¡±

    ¡°Sure. I just hope he doesn¡¯t send another teenager for me to crush.¡±

    ¡°Good evening,¡± a new voice said.

    r was standing behind her. Maybe she should start paying attention to her surroundings when she was eating.

    Or maybe people should just get off her case or she¡¯d start hitting them with a sword.

    ¡°Bted congrattions on your victory. You have demonstrated Threshold¡¯s discipline and skill beyond what I expected.¡±

    ¡°Hope I didn¡¯t ruin your n with this little stunt,¡± Nestra joked.

    ¡°Not at all! Not at all,¡± r replied, and she spotted a hint of viciousness in his smile.

    He waved his hand. The rapid fire of Vietnamese died down around them. Raiders talked fast. They could also do that while eavesdropping on everyone¡¯s business, especially the B ranks, so she assumed r wanted some privacy.

    The enves would detect the mana barrier though. Nestra wondered if it breached etiquette. r either knew, or he didn¡¯t care.

    ¡°Let¡¯s just consider this an appetizer of the messages toe. Considering Manh, that little twat, is pushing the Council of Elders to reject us wholesale so yes, he is a security risk. It will have implications for the rest of the trip. We will travel out to the Steel Realm portal world tomorrow for an inspection. The purpose is to assess how many resources we can pull out of it with proper mining equipment.¡±

    ¡°Will we be taking the ship?¡± Derek interrupted.

    ¡°No, our guests will be guiding us on foot. It isn¡¯t too far.¡±

    Derek nodded before returning to his te.

    ¡°Chandra and her team will be going in with us. Watanabe and the envers will clear the world and provide security. I have full confidence that we will be more than enough to make that ce secure. Unfortunately, it means you three will be left out.¡±

    Ah yes, none of them could get in.

    ¡°You will spend the night there. The Patriarch will make the rest tent avable to you for the duration of your stay. You will use this opportunity to conduct a survey of the avable equipment while you wait.¡±

    So that was what Fox Mask¡¯s message had been about. They must have known.

    ¡°Wouldn''t it be safer for us to wait at thepound?¡± Derek asked.

    Nestra had to agree.

    ¡°We will also slow you down,¡± she added.

    ¡°Yes, however Manh will be confined to thepound by order of the patriarch. He is being disciplined. You will be safer with us, not to mention the negotiation team isn¡¯t that fast.¡±

    He chuckled.

    ¡°They¡¯re not raiders.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    r was being awfully polite by justifying his choices. Things had to be going well.

    ¡°It looks like Chandra could use some back up. Enjoy the meal and be sure to get some rest. We leave at dawn tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°Can we bring our weapons?¡± Nestra remembered to ask.

    ¡°Of course. Full gear. And by the way, be sure to return to your quarters together, just in case.¡±

    He gave Nestra a lingering look like she was some kind of naughty rebel and not someone who had worked in one of Threshold¡¯s most disciplined forces for years.

    ¡°That includes you, Miss Padian.¡±

    ¡°I am not my aunt,¡± she reminded him.

    ¡°Yes, that is correct. I should have guessed from the professional report you¡¯ve given me.¡±

    He gave her an assessing look.

    ¡°We already had a team of legal experts weigh on the Sword King¡¯sws. Your opinion aligns with theirs, although they went into more detail. Your statistical approach to casew does you credit. Well done. If you want a rmendation for cadre training, I would consider giving you a rmendation.¡±

    ¡°That sounds like it could lead to a desk job. I¡¯m a stabby girl.¡±

    ¡°Hah! For now, but perhaps you will want a calmer environment¡­ eventually.¡±

    He meant when her body failed her as age set in.

    ¡°Well, enjoy the rest of your evening!¡±

    He was gone. Nestra reluctantly refused one of the sses of liquor despite their intriguing smell. She couldn¡¯t risk it. Desserts were offered soon after while the various groups started to mingle. She was ready to go when, to her surprise, Patriarch Nguyen himself came to her with two elders staying at a respectable distance.

    The mood shifted in the room. The susurrus of conversations lowered in a way even she noticed, which meant that everyone was trying to listen on. The patriarch wouldn¡¯t have it though. With a wave of his hand, mana formed a blur around them, distorting sounds as if they were under water. It was a different technique from what r had used.

    ¡°Good evening. You are¡­ Miss Padian, yes? You are the daughter of Hector Padian.¡±

    It didn¡¯t sound like a question. The patriarch gave her a polite smile which dulled the edge of his question. He was telling the entire room that this was a friendly meeting.

    ¡°Yes,¡± she replied.

    ¡°Are you here representing your house?¡±

    ¡°Ah, no, I am here as my own person. I can get you in touch though.¡±

    ¡°Oh? I assumed that you were close to your family despite your circumstances. Your style certainly matches his, although, he was always more direct.¡±

    ¡°You know my father?¡±

    ¡°We fought side by side in the first expedition,¡± the patriarch replied with a smile, ¡°and with Deborah, of course, back when parts of this ind still steamed from the heat of magma. I know he is still raiding. I will be looking forward to his ascension to the next rank with great expectations. It cannot be too long now.¡±

    Nestra had no idea. A-rank raiders were still so few, at most a hundred individuals on the. She had no idea her dad was considered a strong contender to join their hallowed ranks soon.

    ¡°I¡¯ll let him know. I¡¯m sure he will be d to hear from you,¡± Nestra said without much conviction.

    ¡°I hope so. You are a credit to him. It is a great shame that you are without a core, but perhaps we will find a way to correct this before you are gray of hair. After all, the rest of you works perfectly.¡±

    He chuckled, but Nestra didn¡¯t find this very funny. It would solve so many of her problems, including with her family¡­ and yet she would also feel like a sellout, joining the ranks of the callous and the oppressors. It was¡­ a weird feeling.

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard there¡¯s research being done on the matter since some of the more dangerous worlds host monsters capable of inflicting core damage,¡± Nestra said without much conviction. ¡°I guess we¡¯ll see.¡±

    ¡°I certainly hope so. Extend my congrattions to your father. I would also like to get in touch with him, and your family, as you offered.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll make it happen.¡±

    ¡°Good. We can all grow stronger through proper cooperation.¡±

    After a few polite titudes, the patriarch left Nestra surprised and confused. Talking to her with respect was¡­ certainly a bold move. No wonder Manh was at odds with the patriarch''s decision. The older man was going against the elitist values they¡¯d promoted for decades. Was he trying to usher his entire enve into a golden age of not beingplete cunts?

    But then, why were his people fucking stealing from Threshold? That didn¡¯t sound like a very sensible strategy.

    Nestra shrugged. Maybe it was a faction thing. She¡¯d leave the sorting out to someone else.

    ¡°Everything ok?¡± Derek asked her.

    ¡°He¡¯s interested in making contact with my family. My parents are kind of a big deal.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ good, I suppose?¡±

    ¡°Better than a blood feud for sure.¡±

    A shiver crawled up Nestra¡¯s spine. Did people here even have blood feuds? They might.

    ***

    It felt good to be moving again, albeit in her human body. The Wellington suit cooled her while the group moved swiftly over a jungle trail, gleams leading the way with preternatural grace. Chandra Satya puffed by her side. Nestra cast the beautiful gleam a worried nce. She was clearly struggling.

    ¡°You ok there? Need help?¡± Nestra asked.

    ¡°How¡­ how can you carry all that gear on your back¡­ and not fall over.¡±

    ¡°Practice, and the suit has servos.¡±

    ¡°Damn¡­ I should have jogged more.¡±

    Chandra was the sort of D-ss who only gets passively stronger from meditation. She was fit and would probably outdo most baselines on the, but shecked the mana control required to properly infuse her body with mana. The pace set by the front gleams was intense. It was a miracle the two augs could follow.

    ¡°It won¡¯t be much longer now. I can carry one of your bags?¡± Nestra offered, but the sweaty negotiator refused with a shake of her head.

    ¡°The enves respect strength. I am no warrior, but I must still¡­ still look strong. Matter¡­ matter of image.¡±

    ¡°Alright. I got cold water if that helps.¡±

    ¡°Fuck yes.¡±

    Nestra allowed herself a smirk. It paid to be prepared! She nabbed herself a bite of chocte energy bar as a treat when the path crested the incline they¡¯d been climbing all morning. A dense fog made visibility difficult. She could see a mist-covered valley extending in front of her. By the side, the raiders were talking over a warming pot of boiling water. It must have been the equivalent of a slow stroll for them. She removed her hood. The cries of distant birds heralded theing of a great roar. It was quite far. None of the gleams reacted.

    She checked the safety of her gun just in case. One of the envers frowned at her, like she was insulting their ability to defend her or something. Well, maybe they were right. Nestra still wanted to be ready.

    Despite her misgivings, there were no surprise attacks from hidden monsters. Only maddened creatures from freshly breached portals would be suicidal enough to try anyway. Fifteen minutester, the group climbed down the hill. Chandra sighed in relief.

    Nestra wanted to tell her not to be too happy since she¡¯d be climbing it back up in a couple of days but the poor woman looked so happy. There was no need to piss on her parade.

    After another hour, the sinuous trail led to a pit. To Nestra¡¯s surprise, it looked natural, with cliffs falling to an expansepletely devoid of trees. Meager patches of grass surrounded an empty spot where the permanent portal would soone to life. There was a sort of tent structure nted at the side. It looked like the sort of temporary structure Threshold used for relief work. It wouldn¡¯t be much but there would be amenities. Interestingly, a patch of flowers extended from one of the sides like a well-tended garden. Patriarch Nguyen exined that it was his wife¡¯s pet project.

    ¡°Sometimes when I raid, she would wait for me here. She set up the garden so she would have something to do.¡±

    He looked at the colorful flowers with pride and fondness. Nestra made a note not to pick any while they waited.

    She and the two augs stood to the side while the two groups made onest gear check. A briefing followed, mostly aimed at Chandra and her aides. The portal popped to life right on time. The sweet radiation invigorated Nestra, though she took great care not to show it.

    ¡°Do not wander outside of the crater,¡± Patriarch Nguyen said as ast warning. ¡°There are traps meant for monsters. My sentries will protect you but do not take any unnecessary risks please.¡±

    ¡°Thanks.¡±

    Nestra watched them cross over with some more longing, until she remembered that she would infiltrate this den the very same night in her true form. She just had to be careful around the gleams. Giddy, Nestra entered the room. It took her exactly three seconds to figure out why the patriarch¡¯s wife ¡ª and shouldn¡¯t she be the matriarch? ¡ª had preferred to spend time outside. The ce stank of stic and it was hot enough for a slow baked Nestra.

    ¡°Riel,¡± she swore.

    ¡°I¡¯ll turn on the sr panel on the ceiling,¡± Weiweiughed. ¡°Just hold on. This is a standard issue relief tent. They have air conditioning.¡±

    ¡°Technology be blessed.¡±

    ¡°You two get started on the machine inventory. I¡¯ll make this dump livable.¡±

    Nestra was only too happy to ept. She unzipped the p leading to the garden first. They could have a look on their way. It looked gorgeous enough from afar! She breathed in the floral perfume with relish, but soon, something attracted her gaze. Derek, too, had stopped. the earth had been disturbed a few paces in front of them. Something pulsed there.

    ¡°Hey, I feel ma¡ª¡±

    A shock. Nestra was pushed to the side. A dull explosion. An angry whistle. A sting on her forehead, more a shock than true pain.

    She fell on her side. Suddenly, the world was a rich tapestry of colors, of mana. The jangled mess of smells turned into a precise mix with the sun-beaten dust as background, then the flowers, then just a tinge of human blood, soap, and fresh sweat. The weight on her chest, which had been overwhelming a moment before, now gave room to a very annoying lightweight thing with no right to touch her.

    ¡°Hsss.¡±

    Powerful muscles answered her call. A hand like a vice closed on the dazed aug¡¯s arm, encircling it almost entirely. That hand was gray.

    Oh, shit.

    Nestra¡¯s Skin tasted the metal of the augs and found it utterly uninteresting. The sheath of her ymore dug into her back.

    Oh, SHIT.

    Ok focus focus focus can¡¯t stay here like this need her human mask where is it where IS IT?

    There, in the dimensional space. Bleeding. A gash on its forehead. It was¡­ viable. Probably. She felt she could call it. She just wasn¡¯t sure it was a good idea. Screw it, no choice. Worst case scenario, she¡¯d just turn back and then make a run for it. With a barest effort of will, she reverted back to her human shape.

    Never had she regretted a decision so quickly and sopletely.

    ¡°Oooooooooow. FUCK.¡±

    ¡°Blood detected? Nestra? Nestra, are you okay?¡±

    Blood fell on her left eye in thick rivulets. Her head rang like a cathedral bell bodied by a runaway train. She wanted to puke. And she wanted toy there. She was going toy there.

    ¡°Shit. Trap. Hold on, I¡¯ll get Weiwei and the first aid kit. Don¡¯t move!¡±

    She gave him a thumb up, not trusting that the first thing going through her lips wouldn¡¯t be her breakfast. Ow, that hurt. She resisted the urge to touch her forehead. Derek raced through the p. Her mind swam but she was pretty sure he had to, errr, what was SoP? Check for foes? She was too stunned to remember. And then it hit her.

    She¡¯d died. Her human body had died, or at least it had been close enough that her psyche had been catapulted back into her true form. Probably before half her head got blown off. Shit, someone had killed her.

    Oh, they were going to regret it.

 (50)

    (50)

    The tarp at the top of the tent was kind of yellow. It was kind of old. Those tents were solid though. Or were they? She couldn¡¯t really remember.

    ¡°Retractors.¡±

    Nestra lifted her hand. It was kind of bloody, or rather, there was ayer of blood covering an entire side. It looked thin. Was she bleeding? Her arm didn¡¯t hurt. Only her head.

    ¡°I think I¡¯m bleeding.¡±

    ¡°That you are,¡± a male voice said.

    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t she be asleep?¡± a female one replied.

    ¡°I¡¯m not an anesthetist so this is safer. Cranial trauma. Calcting angles. Keep your eyes on the camera, Weiwei!¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing out there, Derek. If they wereing after us¡­¡±

    ¡°Eyes on the camera.¡±Nestra¡¯s left eye was closed and she didn¡¯t feel like moving. Something was tugging on her forehead which was a bad sign because she couldn¡¯t feel anything there. She recognized the two people hovering around her. Derek and Weiwei, the expedition¡¯s augs. What were they doing here? Oh, right.

    ¡°I think I¡¯m hurt. And bleeding.¡±

    ¡°Yep.¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t be too bad though.¡±

    ¡°You have a slit in your skull, Nestra. I can see your brain matter.¡±

    ¡°Oh. That sounds bad.¡±

    ¡°Only if I zoom. We¡¯ll get you sorted. Ok, the simtions says no piece of her skull is loose so it should make things much easier. Get me a potion, we¡¯ll apply it locally.¡±

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t it work like shit on baselines?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s pretty much a quirky. Just do it. It will work.¡±

    Nestra let them work. She was rather confused by the whole affair. There had been a trap, and she¡¯d gotten hurt. Shit, she should have kept her helmet on, dammit. There was more movement.

    ¡°So, how are things going?¡± she asked.

    ¡°You are miraculously alive, and I do mean it. Half a centimeter down and you might have not. I don¡¯t know. I¡¯m not a neurosurgeon.¡±

    ¡°We can repair brain damage nowadays,¡± Weiwei mentioned.

    ¡°Sure, you and what operation theater?¡± Serek replied with a bit of snark.

    Nestra frowned.

    ¡°Wait, weren''t you hurt as well?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. My body armor blocked most of it.¡±

    ¡°Body armor?¡±

    Someone sponged the left side of her head free of blood, including the eye. She was still feeling woozy and a little lost, so she decided not to move too much. That sounded reasonable.

    ¡°Wait, what were we talking about?¡±

    ¡°We were saying you were miraculously alive after a mincer trap nted in our fucking garden activated on us. Thank fuck you pointed at it or I might have missed it. Oh, that reminds me, I need to run a diagnosis. Optics glitched for a second there. Ugh, can I afford to do it now?¡±

    Nestra carefully turned her head. Weiwei was on the side, holding a handgun with an oversized barrel. Derek had a full-on assault rifle and he was sitting in front of a console showing a series of screens, though he wasn¡¯t looking at them right now. His eye augs shed in the dim light.

    ¡°If anything was going toe after us, it would have already done so,¡± Weiwei replied.

    ¡°You mean, anyone. Somebody wanted us dead. Or at least, one of us. They might just be considering finishing the job. I¡¯m keeping an eye out.¡±

    ¡°They have archers,¡± Nestra said. ¡°Gleam archers.¡±

    She considered exining before changing her mind. Her thoughts were still a little jumbled. They¡¯d probably get it anyway.

    ¡°One more reason to keep an eye out. Weiwei, you watch the cameras while I run that diagnostics. We can¡¯t afford to take risks.¡±

    ¡°Should we build some sort of bombardment shelter? Pile furniture?¡± the woman asked.

    ¡°There isn¡¯t anything in here that will stop a gleam archer¡¯s charmed shot. Don¡¯t think about the worst case scenario. Just look and hope for the best.¡±

    ¡°Alright, alright¡­¡±

    Something urred to Nestra as she watched the aug ¡®pilot¡¯ mumbling to himself, his augs clicking from here.

    ¡°You¡¯re not just a pilot, are you?¡± she finally said.

    Derek smiled.

    ¡°He¡¯s not a pilot at all, though I guess he¡¯s a decent copilot,¡± Weiwei replied.

    ¡°Hey, I can press a few buttons and the thing will fly itself!¡±

    ¡°Barely,¡± Weiwei grumbled. ¡°He¡¯s good on the cannons though.¡±

    ¡°Are you here to keep an eye on us?¡± Nestra asked.

    ¡°On you? Fuck no. For you.¡±

    ¡°Are you Intelligence?¡±

    His smile was crooked and looked genuine, as far as she could tell.

    ¡°You understand that I won¡¯t reply to that question, right? In fact, it would be best if you forgot our little discussion. Focus on remembering spotting the trap instead. There is going to be a debrief¡­ and consequences.¡±

    ¡°Uh?¡±

    ¡°Attempted murder on a diplomatic envoy. That¡¯s not grand theft, that¡¯s an act of war. Shit¡¯s going to get real when the expedition returns.¡±

    ¡°So¡­ there will be war?¡±

    ¡°No, well, I don¡¯t think so, but old Nguyen is going to have to clean house¡­ and we will be requesting proof.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s probably Manh,¡± Nestra said.

    ¡°How do you reckon?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s a nasty cunt.¡±

    There was a pause, the other two digesting her brilliant insight.

    ¡°You know, for being so short, that sentence was so convincing and makes so much sense that I¡¯m fully inclined to agree with you.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m a good detective,¡± Nestra insisted.

    It felt super important to say.

    ¡°So it would seem. And now, you should sleep.¡±

    ¡°Why are you here, though?¡±

    ¡°To keep our people alive against that kind of thing,¡± Derek replied curtly.

    Nestra considered it.

    ¡°I think I died. Very close to it.¡±

    She frowned. It was probably not a good idea to borate. They didn¡¯t know about her being an Aszhii and it would take far too long to exin. She wasn¡¯t feeling like it.

    ¡°Please don¡¯t move your face too much, you¡¯re pulling on the stitches,¡± Derek said with a tired voice.

    ¡°Okay.¡±

    ¡°And yeah, sorry, I fucked up. I should have been more careful,¡± he said.

    ¡°Derek?¡± Weiwei softly asked.

    ¡°I was looking out, not down. She almost died. She was this close. I fucked up.¡±

    ¡°You could not have ¡ª¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter!¡± Derek interrupted, nearly shouting.

    Weiwei sighed.

    ¡°Sorry, I should not be raising my voice. I¡¯m stating the truth, though. It doesn¡¯t matter that it was absurd of them to trap the garden. They did. I didn¡¯t see iting. She almost died, therefore, I failed. I should have checked the grounds around the encampment for recent movement. I can do it. Got a soil temperature module.¡±

    He tapped his temple.

    ¡°It won¡¯t happen again.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± Nestra said. ¡°I wasn¡¯t really in danger.¡±

    It felt important to let him know that. He wasn¡¯t at fault. Derek was nice. She didn¡¯t want to see him sad.

    ¡°Alright, Padian. Time for you to catch a little shut eye,¡± he said.

    ¡°But¡­¡±

    ¡°I need you fresh so you can take the middle spot as night guard. Both Weiwei and I need some sleep as well, okay?¡±

    ¡°Oh, right.¡±

    That made a lot of sense.

    ¡°I want my bed though.¡±

    ¡°Errrr.¡±

    Nestra stood up. There was indeed a bed in one of the sections of the tent. She found it. Weiwei helped her settle down.

    ¡°Should I remove my armor?¡± Nestra asked.

    ¡°Better keep it on, sweetie, just in case.¡±

    ¡°Well it does temperature regtion. And other stuff. I should have kept the helmet on¡­¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll know for next time. Now, sleep, okay?¡±

    ¡°Fine.¡±

    And she did.

    ***

    Nestra woke up with a jolt. Panic filled her mind. Her head felt fuzzy. Unsticking her tongue from her pte took way too much energy. She was feeling like shit. Despite the urge to act, she stayed lying on the cot, breathing hard.

    Any time.

    Any time now.

    Hmmm.

    Despite her expectations, pain remained conspicuously absent. She remembered she had a camera on one of her gloves to scout without being seen. Switching to her side, she took a picture.

    Fear paralyzed her, but it soon proved unwarranted. So ok, she was looking like shit, but more like, normal shit. A spectacr bruise had formed on her forehead where a thin line split it in half, vertically, from a bit above her eye to her hairline. It was bright red. She also had a bump. All in all, she¡¯d had much worse during some of her training sessions. The rest of her felt fine.

    She was alive. It was weird too, because Seth had told her the mask would fall when she received lethal damage. This wasn¡¯t lethal damage. It was near-lethal damage, certainly. Perhaps her mask was more fragile since it was that of a baseline. Or maybe her true form had instinctively judged that this wound was enough to kill her. It would have certainly sufficed in a primitive society with no ess to any sort of medical help. It could also be because she was mostly human, and human Aszhii cared more about their masks. Well, enough assumptions. There was no way to test it anyway. Time to handle the real emergency.

    Nestra grabbed the ss of water left on her bedside table. It was half a liter of tepid water that tasted too much like stone. She emptied it in less than ten seconds.

    ¡®Shit, I could eat an entire neo-pig from snout to tail.¡±

    Nestra went to forage for food, feeling every bit the cave woman. Weiwei looked up from the monitors as soon as she appeared. Clint was asleep on the side with his hand gripping the handle of his rifle. At least the safety was on.

    This novel''s true home is a different tform. Support the author by finding it there.

    ¡°You¡¯re already awake?¡±

    ¡°Hungry.¡±

    ¡°You Padians are something else. I got emergency rations. The Nguyens also left us prepared meals in the fridge, recently made. We checked them for toxins. They¡¯re clean.¡±

    ¡°Talk about sending mixed messages,¡± Nestra grumbled.

    Weiweiughed, her voice filled with relief. Nestra found stic bowls filled with broth alongside tupperwares of fresh noodles, meatballs, coriander, and sprouts. She gave it a sniff. Pho. There was a microwave. While the broth warmed up, she devoured a nice Banh Mi sandwich which was made with local ingredients shoved in an honest-to-Riel sliced baguette. The next thirty minutes were spent demolishing the local food store. The good news was that many of these ingredients were mana-rich and quite tasty. By the time she was done, her second can of mango sago dessert was polished. Mango and coconut milk was such a nicebination.

    ¡°I feel freshly resurrected,¡± she announced.

    ¡°Wo de ma, Nestra, is there a portal in your stomach? Where is all the food going?¡±

    ¡°Blood reconstitution.¡±

    ¡°This has to be the weirdest quirk I¡¯ve ever heard about but okay. Hmm, anyway, I¡¯m no nurse but I think you need more than seven hours of sleep to fully recover.¡±

    Nestra checked the time. It was a bit past 9PM, which meant that they would stay locked in here for another couple of days if Derek decided it was safer. It was now clear he was outranking her in some way, and besides, whoever had failed with the trap might want to finish the job.

    Human Nestra was going to spend the night in recovery.

    Her Aszhii self had an appointment, one she wouldn¡¯t miss. She was certain the tent was close enough to the portal that she could slip in. The question was if she should patrol the surroundings or not after she was done with Fox Mask.

    Actually, she should ask herself if Fox Mask could have betrayed her? That would be a good question.

    It just didn¡¯t feel likely.

    Nestra shrugged. She would simply ask. That left her with six hours with nothing to do. She would employ her time by¡­ by¡­

    She yawned.

    By sleeping! Just set an rm and go.

    ***

    Nestra turned on her bed and aimed her shotgun at the opening in one smooth movement. The shlight lit up. It was Derek, with his hands up.

    ¡°Hey,¡± Nestra greeted, lowering her weapon.

    ¡°Damn, Padian. I see you recover quickly.¡±

    ¡°You gave me a potion?¡±

    ¡°Yep, a Baihua Premium.¡±

    Nestra whistled. Those cost some money.

    ¡®The City is very much interested in keeping the members of this expedition alive.¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t think they cared that much.¡±

    ¡°Oh, they don¡¯t care about you as a person. They would just very much like to end this little lesson without bloodshed, and if we die here, there will be a lot of it. Mayor Kim can¡¯t afford to look weak to an enve only a couple months away from reelection.¡±

    ¡°Ah, that makes more sense.¡±

    He shrugged.

    ¡°Well that¡¯s it then. Sleep well. It doesn¡¯t look like anyone wants to try us again. See you tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°Good night. And also thanks for jumping in front of me,¡± Nestra btedly added.

    Derek smiled. It was a nice one, honest and full of relief.

    ¡°Technically I pushed you to the side¡­ and I was a bitte, but you¡¯re wee, Nestra.¡±

    He closed the door. Nestra checked the time. It was 2AM.

    Maybe she ought to go there early.

    Fuck it, she¡¯d been stuck in this mask so long it was starting to itch. The short release when she¡¯d been forced out of her mask earlier only served to make it worse. She switched with a soft hiss of pleasure and felt for the portal¡¯s energies, They were there, diffuse but present. It was a strong world. She would really struggle toplete it herself. Maybe there would be time for some hunting. Nestra ced her hands in front of her, pushed, then she was through.

    ***

    This world was thick with mana. Nestra took a deep, liberating breath. It smelled of dust, of cold under a red sun that smoldered over the horizon, too distant to warm the soil. It also smelled of old blood, spilled not far from the entrance portal. The corpse of furry predators spread over a desertnd peppered with thorny ck nts. One of them looked like a mammoth, if mammoths had maws filled with jagged teeth. The cores had been harvested.

    In the distance, she beheldrge, crystalline trees made of shards glued together. A dull trail of mana emerged from the copse. Smiling, she made her way there. A path curved around the trees, through bushes and ferns as dark as coal. A lone figure sat on a stone, her hand on the handle of a wicked estoc. They turned when they spotted Nestra.

    She stopped at a distance, then bowed politely. She appeared to be alone as far as Nestra could tell, and she had some pretty good senses. The fox mask was in ce though it looked much worse for wear. This time, the mysterious fencer wore an unmarked red robe, loose enough that Nestra wasn¡¯t sure if the bumps were modest breasts or mere curves of the fabric. Their wavy ck hair fell to their neck. The crimson light gave them a slightly ominous appearance.

    ¡°Hello, Fox Mask, or should I say T. Nguyen?¡± Nestra greeted with a chuckle.

    Slowly, they removed their mask, and Nestra found that she still had no idea about their gender. They still possessed an androgynous appearance caught between pretty and handsome, with a touch of exoticism brought by their mixed ethnicity, but the fragile pride of the archive¡¯s tournament picture had hardened into quiet despair. ck marks under their eyes spoke of sleepless nights, or a bone-deep fatigue that a night of sleep wouldn¡¯t cure.

    It felt like they were baring themselves, so Nestra returned the favor.

    ¡°What a curious transformation power¡­¡± was the answer. ¡°You know that those are rare?¡±

    Nestra shrugged, so Fox mask continued.

    ¡°I read that transformation powers reflect the person¡¯s beliefs and personality. Do you see yourself as a demon?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Nestra replied with a smile. ¡°A battle demon!¡±

    She picked up her ymore and waved it around a bit. That ought to illustrate her point well enough.

    Fox Mask paused, and it was difficult to tell if she was waiting for more, speechless, or merely just bone-wary.

    ¡°I was given the name Truong at birth.¡±

    ¡°I faced another Truong.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a fairlymon name here,¡± they said with a dry voice. ¡°I chose the name Camille for myself. I am Camille Nguyen.¡±

    ¡°Camille?¡± Nestra asked. ¡°What does it mean?¡±

    Camille shifted their stance. Nestra didn¡¯t know why they were so defensive. It should be obvious she was just a big friendly demon who was only interested in battle, and thus,pletely trustworthy. No shenanigans. Only glorious battle from Nestra, so long as the other didn¡¯t engage in shenanigans themselves or she could get weird.

    After a while, Nestra tilted her head, which led Camille to relent.

    ¡°Camille is a gender neutral first name of French origin. Like me.¡±

    ¡°One of your parents is French then?¡±

    ¡°My father. He joined the Sword King enve as a de master. He apparently had a strong interest in eastern sword styles. He was badly hurt in a spar, or so my mother said.¡±

    Camille looked away.

    ¡°He was so into fencing and monster killing that he forgot to y the political game. My mom said the wound came as a surprise to him, like he couldn¡¯t understand someone trying to hurt him while they were part of the same n. He left soon after out of pure disgust, and a bitter, I was born. He doesn¡¯t know I exist. If he still lives, that is.¡±

    ¡°Wait, you didn¡¯t search for him?¡± Nestra asked, a little surprised.

    She had been curious about her own origins. If Seth wasn¡¯t secretive, she¡¯d be even more so.

    ¡°He is an exile. A pariah. I was forbidden from looking into his origins and all records have been erased anyway. By the time I got ess to Threshold where I could learn more¡­ Mom wouldn¡¯t even tell me his name.¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡±

    ¡°... before she died.¡±

    ¡°...Oh. That must be horrible to be out here as an orphan. I couldn¡¯t imagine¡­¡±

    And now Nestra was sad just thinking about not having a family.

    ¡°Do you have¡­ any siblings? Half siblings, I mean,¡± she asked again.

    ¡°No. My mother could not marry again. No one would have her.¡±

    Camille red at Nestra, as if daring her toment.

    So she did.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be honest, the more I hear about the Sword King enve¡¯s culture, the less I like it.¡±

    Camille huffed. Nestra used the opening to ask a question that had been hounding her for a very long time in a desperate bid to change the subject.

    ¡°So, sorry if it¡¯s a bit insensitive but¡­ gotta ask. Are you a boy or a girl or something else?¡±

    A gale of cold wind sted the portal world, carrying gritty sand under the blood-colored radiance of its distant sun. The crystalline trees shivered, and their branches gave a melodious song of chimes clinking together.

    ¡°Serious, you¡¯re asking me if I¡¯m a boy or a girl?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just that I¡¯d like to know if I have to refer to you as he, she, or they in my head. Right now there is an ambiguity, so, if you wouldn¡¯t mind¡­¡±

    Again, Camille looked guarded, as if expecting some sort of jab. When it was clear Nestra was entirely serious, their expression went from defiant to baffled, and then, to just tired.

    ¡°As most people in the enve know, I am a intersex. I was born with male and female parts.¡±

    Nestra¡¯s nce dipped unconsciously.

    ¡°Yes, I also grew breasts,¡± Camille added rather coldly.

    ¡°Sorry.¡±

    ¡°I am used to it. To answer your previous question, I prefer they, but since I have been¡­ assigned female at birth, I also find ¡®she¡¯ eptable.¡±

    ¡°They it is. Is being intersex the reason why you were sent to Threshold to steal?¡± Nestra asked.

    Camille smirked. Nestra was d to see a smile on this person¡¯s face, even if it was brittle as hell.

    ¡°Now what gave you that idea?¡± they asked.

    ¡°The Sword King enve doesn¡¯t strike me as the kind of ce that likes people who stand out. Even when they are supremely talented. Maybe,¡± Nestra added as an afterthought, ¡°especially people who are supremely talented.¡±

    ¡°Thank you for recognizing my talent. And¡­ I think it might be a series of circumstances.¡±

    Their gaze grew distant. They were now wide open, which Nestra took as a mark of trust, which in turn made her feel appreciated.

    ¡°I have given it a lot of thought over the years of istion¡­ It might be because I am the patriarch¡¯s grandchild, talented yet unable to continue his dynasty since I cannot have children myself. Maybe it is this talent that makes me a challenge to any potential heir. Or perhaps it is because my father abandoned the enve after being poorly treated, an ufortable reminder that we do not have to put up with that shit if we really don¡¯t want to. Or it could be my mother¡¯s death in a portal world, which shows weakness. Or perhaps it is merely sticking out while also having the mana control and skill necessary to infiltrate Threshold¡­ Or it could be all of those at the same time.¡±

    But then, Camille mmed up again.

    ¡°So they just exiled you? As a pariah?¡±

    ¡°Well¡­¡±

    Camille hesitated, then they sort of gave up, their back arching as if under a great weight.

    ¡°Yeah. I guess I am. The Elders prefer when I¡¯m either raiding and stealing, and for raiding, I tend to do it alone. And in whatever portal happens to be avable even if they do not help push my skills. That way they don¡¯t have to see me, I suppose.¡±

    They deted a bit. Nestra felt bad for Camille. She¡¯d suffered through some difficult moments herself, but at least she¡¯d always had Aunt ire, andter Stibs.

    ¡°You know, since you have ess to Threshold, you could always pick a gender,¡± Nestra suggested. ¡°Up to you, of course, but between surgery and hormone therapy, you could absolutely lean towards one over the other. Just don¡¯t ask Shinran for help because he¡¯ll wave his hand and dere you¡¯re exactly how the world meant you to be.¡±

    ¡°But I am exactly how I was meant to be,¡± Camille objected, and Nestra could tell it was a sore topic. ¡°I don¡¯t have a problem with my body or my appearance. It¡¯s the others who get annoyed because they can¡¯t put me in a box, and that¡¯s somehow inconvenient. And for an heir, who cares if it¡¯s my direct descendant? How about picking the best leader instead for a change? And when I reforge my body ording to my own image at B-ss, all of that nice work will be undone anyway because I am what I am and I¡¯m tired of making excuses.¡±

    Nestra shrugged.

    ¡°Sure. Whatever you prefer.¡±

    Camille red like they expected Nestra to object or something. Nestra didn¡¯t really care.

    ¡°Why are you interested anyway? Surely, you are not attracted to me, right?¡± Camille asked after a while.

    ¡°What? No, I do not sex,¡± Nestra stated with confidence.

    ¡°You¡­ do not sex?¡± Camille repeated.

    ¡°I do not the sex. Tried it, it was nice but definitely not worth the hassle. Same for partners. My only love is for battle! The de!¡± Nestra roared.

    Camille looked lost as hell, so Nestra decided to tone it down.

    ¡°Ok, no, I also love my family, my friends, and obviously good food. Oh, and cooking. And¡­ but you get the idea. My interest in you is de rted. You are an artist. A master of your craft. I¡¯m here because of that. Here, with no one looking, you can finally show me all those techniques you were holding back in the previous portal.¡±

    Camille chuckled. They grabbed the handle of their estoc, lifting it in a smooth gesture. It was still sheathed, though.

    ¡°Are you sure?st time, you had a bit of help. Here, though? It¡¯s just you and me.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m stronger. I don¡¯t need anyone to beat your ass.¡±

    ¡°Yeah?¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡±

    Camille finally drew, and so did Nestra. Finally. Finally!

    ¡°Yes!¡± she eximed.

    ¡°No hidden bullshit, right? No politics? Just you and me in a test of skill?¡±

    ¡°Just you and me in a test of skill. Let our des talk. We can continue exchanging words after.¡±

    ¡°Then¡­¡±

    Camille saluted.

    ¡°En garde.¡±

    With a scream of pure happiness, Nestra charged forward. She used <em>momentum </em>to close the distance with a lunge of power and speed, which was blocked by a series of transparent panes of mana. Nestra was pushed back. Meanwhile, Camille looked surprised by the shattered remnants of their defenses. In the moment that followed, bothbatants smiled, and then; then both attacked.

    A whirlwind of precise strikes whistled through the empty air and shattered branches that fell in a ssy snow. It was the deadly dance of two masters on their path to perfection. Nestra had reach and power on her side, but Camille had experience and precision, plus the many panes they manifested all around them. There were so many tumbling blocks, improvised shields, and all around nuisances that prevented Nestra from moving freely though she could somewhat predict where they appeared thanks to her mana senses. Camille was good, but they weren¡¯t there yet. After Nestra smashed through yet another wall, something changed in Camille¡¯s demeanor. Their estoc shed with enchantments. Resilience, as far as Nestra could tell.

    ¡°Water Dragon Dance.¡±

    Nestra stopped herself fromughing. Who the fuck announced their attacks before ¡ª

    ¡°Oh sh ¡ª¡±

    Parry, step back, parry, <em>momentum </em>away. Camille was a hurricane of strikes, each following Nestra where she was going. They were using those mana panels as springboards, Nestra realized. It was all she could do to stay ahead. So fast. Something bit into her leg. She felt pain on her forearm, but managed to push back yet another strike.

    Camille went low, gathered her strength. Only Nestra¡¯s muscle memory saved her.

    It was going to be a lunge.

    <em>Immovable </em>increased Nestra¡¯s defense, but Camille¡¯s de still pierced through her left palm. She gathered her hand in a fist around the cruel de, gritting her teeth against the pain.

    Nestra struck down with a roar. Her void-infused strike smashed through three walls and an improvised pauldron, biting into Camille¡¯s shoulder. The human disengaged to avoid the worst of it.

    Nestra was left with an estoc in her hand. Quite literally.

    ¡°Hey pick it u¡ª¡±

    Camille made a sign. Their mana red, and the estoc flew into their waiting fingers. They smirked.

    ¡°Or you can cheat, I guess.¡±

    ¡°Sore loser. Show me that bolt of yours.¡±

    Nestra obliged. The dot connected with Camille¡¯s chest, then potential called for it to be connected. A ck bolt exploded from Nestra¡¯s fingers. Thickyers of mana blocked the bulk of it. Though they couldn¡¯t block the wave of shadow that followed. Suddenly, it was the darkest of nights.

    ¡®What the ¡ª¡±

    Light blue mana dispersed Nestra spell, but her cleaving strikes still destroyed Camille¡¯s remaining defenses in a single blow, and Nestra kicked them while they were open. The low kick sent Camille tumbling on the ground.

    That was going to leave a nice bruise. Nevertheless, Camille just stood back up and went for Nestra, who let them attack so she could unleash a series of vicious counters. Camille was forced to slow down their attacks which gave Nestra the initiative again, but only shortly.

    ¡°Falling Arrow!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯sme,¡± Nestramented between two blocks.

    The two of them demolished the copse before moving on to open ground. Their attacks dug grooves in the ground, sent shards of shattered stones flying through the air in a reverse hail. Their dance of death was unceasing movement, each one a mirror to the other.

    Only <em>momentum </em>and savvy bursts of shadow magic saved Nestra. At the apex of her assault, Camille pulled back for a finisher. Nestra used <em>precision </em>to strike at her opponent¡¯s elbow. She drew blood.

    Camille¡¯s strike sent her crashing on the ground with a deep pain in her ribs. One of them might be cracked. There was some blood as well.

    ¡°I held back, but that would have skewered you,¡± Camille said in the following moment of calm.

    ¡°Not with only one arm, it wouldn¡¯t have.¡±

    They smiled, in pain but happy.

    ¡°We should stop there since you¡¯re about to keel over from blood loss,¡± Camille began.

    ¡°And you from mana exhaustion. You need to work on your stamina.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, sure. Truce?¡±

    ¡°Truce. I¡¯m hungry.¡±

    Finally, after several days of imprisonment, Nestra was feeling refreshed.

    ***

    Nestra wanted to rest but hunger came first. As it turned out, Camille agreed.

    ¡°I haven¡¯t eaten since this morning. Do you happen to have rations?¡±

    ¡°No. I only carry my cooking equipment. We could eat the local wildlife though.¡±

    Camille sighed heavily.

    ¡°Well¡­ I¡¯m desperate, so why not?¡±

    The pair quickly found a tusked creature hiding in a crystal tree thicket. It was absolutely no match for them. Nestra cut off something that looked like the tenderloin off its nk, then they found some semi-frozen water in a nearby pond.

    ¡°It¡¯s safe to drink,¡± Camille exined. ¡°We tested it. The crystal trees burn well too.¡±

    ¡°Marvelous,¡± Nestra replied.

    She was going to make a stew. Honestly, the meat looked too hard to be pleasantly edible right now. She boiled it first to remove the scum. While they waited, Camille guided her to a few edible tubers that would supplement Nestra¡¯s emergency reserves of mana-rich carrots and onions (two of each). Nestra used a t piece of rock to prepare the vegetables.

    In the following moments of quiet, Nestra decided that she might as well get closer to her rival so they would have a long term, sustainable stabby friendship.

    ¡°So, things have been tough with your people?¡± she asked after they settled.

    Camille gave her a measuring look, but then her attention returned to Nestra¡¯s quick knife movements. It was like watching a puppy getting all excited before remembering they¡¯re supposed to growl. That, or maybe it was just natural that someone who¡¯d spent more than two decades keeping their distance from other people wouldn¡¯t magically open up in a single evening. Either or.

    ¡°Before we get into this, can you tell me why you¡¯re here? Why you¡¯re really here?¡± they asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m here to fight you and eat food?¡± Nestra asked, confused before remembering there was a world outside of the portal.

    ¡°Oh, you mean the expedition? As far as I can tell, Threshold wants to trade for your steel and ountability for the thefts.¡±

    ¡°They know it was me?¡± Camille asked with some fear.

    ¡°Yes, and they know you¡¯re from the enve. I expect some asset recovery will happen soonish. Are you going to warn your people?¡±

    ¡°Fuck no,¡± Camille replied.

    ¡°But it¡¯s all your hard work. Hard thievery. Whatever.¡±

    ¡°Maybe I want to protect my fellow Sword Kings, but I certainly wouldn¡¯t mind if some of them were taken down a notch or two.¡±

    ¡°Like Manh?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s certainly the worst of the lot. I saw him try to trap you in thebat pavilion. Giving that insane bitch Truong a thrashing was the highlight of my week.¡±

    ¡°I thought it would be our fight,¡± Nestra whispered, heartbroken.

    ¡°The highlight of my week at that time.¡±

    Nestra was relieved. Camille shook their head.

    ¡°Thank you for telling me the reason for youring. I appreciate your trust. I promise not to abuse it, hmm, unless you n to murder the people I care about, obviously. To answer your previous question, yes, things have been difficult at home. Grandfather is trying to usher the enve into the future and he believes it will take Threshold¡¯s help to do so. He believes humanity should be united, and that our lives would be better with some machines to work the fields.¡±

    ¡°No shit,¡± Nestra grumbled.

    ¡°He means well!¡± Camille replied, suddenly defensive.

    They blushed with embarrassment. Their next words felt more hesitant than the rest, a sharp contrast to the confident warrior who had backed Nestra into a corner.

    ¡°He¡¯s trying. When he was younger, things got¡­ bad on the maind. The Sword King enve was meant to be a bastion of strength for humanity, and to a degree, it worked, okay? It worked for a long time. But ?ng grew older and he could see that only relying on physical strength was, errr, he said it was like going into a small corridor and realizing all the doors were closed. He wants more for us. For the younger generations. Not all of the members of the enve agree. Many of them think we¡¯re betraying our principles. Tch! What principles? I¡¯m the most talented genius and people won¡¯t talk to me because I have breasts and a penis.¡±

    Nestra patted their shoulder.

    ¡°Sorry, I shouldn¡¯t be casually talking about genitals like this. And you¡¯re cooking too.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s ok. Did you know that when you eat urchin, you actually eat their genitals?¡±

    Nestra smiled. This had to be a great icebreaker. Camille looked amused therefore it must have worked on them.

    The meat was boiled by now. Nestra tossed the water, cleaned the pot, shredded the meat with her fingers, then set all the ingredients to simmer in a bit of clear water. She added some barley and closed the lid.

    ¡°Now what?¡± Camille asked.

    ¡°Now we wait for two hours!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re serious? Two hours?¡±

    ¡°We could wait longer. We have plenty of time to talk! Maybe fight again!¡±

    Camille sat on a rock. Nestra wondered if she should scavenge for more stuff while the soup bubbled. Maybe she should slice a steak out of the beast¡¯s neck? Poor Camille looked ravenous.

    ¡°By the way, Manh is the sort of person who would dare an assassination attempt against me, yes?¡±

    ¡°I doubt he would try. It would pretty much be a deration of war.¡±

    ¡°Then who could have tried?¡±

    Nestra saw the moment Camille did a double take. She¡¯d forgotten to mention almost dying. Oops?

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. What?¡±

    ¡°Someone set up a monster trap in the tent garden. It cracked my mortal form¡¯s skull open.¡±

    ¡°What the FUCK?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, it was bad.¡±

    Camille stood in a panic. She walked to and fro, muttering curses in Vietnamese. Nestra got the feeling this was worse than just political maneuvering. Come to think of it, she was probably taking the attempt on her life rather too lightly.

    ¡°Fuck. FUCK! Why didn¡¯t you say so before?¡±

    ¡°Errr, sorry. Monsters and people trying to kill me have be such a normal urrence¡­¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t get it. Manh could be attempting a coup.¡±

    ¡°Against a B-ss raider much more powerful than he is?¡± Nestra replied with her doubt on disy.

    ¡°And that B-ss raider is now in a portal for a couple of days, not to mention, if you¡¯d been assassinated, what would¡¯ve been Threshold¡¯s response?¡±

    Nestra didn¡¯t need to be an expert diplomat to imagine the answer.

    ¡°It would involve gunships.¡±

    ¡°Thus forcing the enve to unite against a foreign element. I''m telling you, this is bad. I still care about the enve, despite everything. We need to stop a war.¡±

    ¡°We?¡± Nestra asked with a smile.

    ¡°Come on, police girl. Let¡¯s team up.¡±

 (51)

    (51)

    Nestra was excited. Not only was Camille a great adversary, but they were also cool as a person and now they were going to get adventures together! Not now, though, because it would be a bad time to get caught sneaking out. With the stew consumed and the leftovers properly packed (andbeled), Nestra slipped out of the world while Camille simply walked through the entrance portal. The aperture was in full view of the cabin, but Camille had a great disguise: they were simply not wearing their mask.

    It was kind of crazy how the mask became an identity and theck thereof, anonymity. Actually, Crescent was much more famous than Nestra, even, so that was the same thing. With ast smile, Nestra walked through the tarp into her allocated bedroom to find that nothing had changed. It just smelled a bit like rank stic but she¡¯d live with it. With her stomach full and a bit of blood loss, she easily fell asleep.

    The next morning, neither Weiwei nor Derek showed any sign that they¡¯d noticed her leaving. That almost annoyed her. Weren¡¯t people supposed to check on someone with a cranial trauma? To see if there was anything bad happening? Well, they weren¡¯t doctors so whatever. Maybe they¡¯d preferred to let her sleep.

    ¡°My fortune for fresh coffee,¡± Nestra announced.

    Derek looked up from their breakfast table. Those looked like military rations. Some Threshold-issued rations were pretty tasty.

    ¡°You look much better. Unfortunately, I would rmend against caffeine with a healing wound.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s almost fully healed!¡± Nestra protested.

    And indeed, the small mirror showed only an angry puffy red line where she once had a hole in her skull.

    ¡°Operative word: almost.¡±¡°Maybe¡­¡± Weiwei started.

    A yawn interrupted her. Itsted a solid three seconds.

    ¡°Maybe let her? I need some help.¡±

    ¡°Oh fine. In the meanwhile, have a seat. I was reviewing the footage of yesterday¡¯s vid. There is no doubt that the trap was well hidden¡­¡±

    ¡°Can I see?¡± Nestra asked, curious.

    ¡°Sending it to your visor.¡±

    The scene was a messy one, which turned out to be a blessing. Derek apparently cycled through various sights every time he entered or exited a ce, and they¡¯d detected some temperature difference that had made him suspicious. He¡¯d jumped before the explosion. There was precious little to see because he¡¯d been looking away from her. Additionally, the glitches from her true form came with a flurry of angry red notifications and other distortions. It looked like she was in the clear. Fascinated, she kept watching him carry her in. He¡¯d looked down with worry. Half her face had been a pale, lost mask, and the rest had been covered in this blood. She got his fear now. It really looked like she was mortally wounded.

    A part of her looked on the following surgery with a certain fondness. Threshold¡¯s cavernous archives would henceforth and forever carry irrefutable proof that Nestra did, in fact, have a brain. Despite some passing evidence to the contrary. Arguably, Derek had had to zoom but whatever.

    She finished sipping her coffee while looking at the man awkwardly checking that her skull was properly fused. She¡¯d looked so calm it was kind of weird.

    Someone was still going to pay for this, of course, but for now, she was stuck until evening.

    By noon, Nestra was feeling cramped in the cabin with little to do and a constant need for low-attention vignce. A pair of red-robed teens came to check on them for lunch, bringing stew they¡¯d made themselves. Nestra opened the door against Derek¡¯s advice. The envers recoiled when they saw she was hurt.

    ¡°Is¡­ everything alright?¡± the man asked while handing her a bowl.

    His English was hesitant but it was clear he was putting a lot of effort into it.

    ¡°Someone trapped the garden. I was hurt,¡± Nestra said.

    Then she gauged their reaction.

    The woman who¡¯d stayed a little bit behind out of embarrassment looked horrified. The guy went through several stages of grief and horror, the kind experienced by people who realize that their side just started something that might be a tad hard to finish.

    ¡°Ah, hm, it is, that is, I¡¯m sure, errr, perhaps I should¡­ I will let my mentor know.¡±

    Ah, the time-honored tradition of kicking stinkers up the chain ofmand. It reinforced Nestra¡¯s opinion that this might have been caused by a splinter element. She tossed two of her nicer chocte bars to the envers as a gesture for the stew, then went back in.

    ¡°How can you be sure those are splinter elements,¡± Derek grumbled. ¡°Also, you really shouldn¡¯t be eating that stew.¡±

    ¡°It''s homemade chili. It¡¯s pretty good!¡±

    ¡°It could be poisoned.¡±

    ¡°I need the mana and nutrients. No, seriously, I really do.¡±

    Nestra moved her spoon around like a conductor¡¯s baton.

    ¡°It¡¯s a splinter element because we¡¯re still alive. If the envers wanted us dead, we¡¯d be dead, so it can¡¯t be all of them. The tool is also a trap that already blew up: a perfect tool for those who want to remain anonymous. And their anonymity was so important to them that they didn¡¯te to finish the job. And they could have. An arrow, hell, even a knife throw would have been enough to finish us both. Now look.¡±

    Nestra pointed at the cameras. Envers were forming a protective barrier around the tent, looking outward. Whoever was responsible for their security knew there was going to be big trouble so at least they were acting more seriously now.

    ¡°Give me a second,¡± Derek said, before leaving to tell those who¡¯d approached the garden to fuck off.

    ¡°There might be more traps,¡± the man Nestra¡¯s talked to objected.

    ¡°It¡¯s a crime scene,¡± Derek retorted.

    ¡°Oh, like in the vids.¡±

    ¡°Yes, just so.¡±

    The conversation was cut short, mostly due to mutual mistrust between the two parties. This left the Thresholders in a rather awkward position until nightfall. Should they risk leaving the tent now? Nestra was getting an itchy soul, but Derek argued that her mental health would hold for another day until the expedition returned and the situation was resolved.

    ¡°Why can¡¯t we send a runner to r and Watanabe?¡± Weiwei asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s too risky for the C-ss folks here.¡±

    ¡°The portal world is not just dangerous, it¡¯s also fairlyrge,¡± Nestra added. ¡°By the time a messenger reaches them, they will have mostly closed the portal anyway. If one manages to reach them.¡±

    No matter how safe portals could be made, there were often stragglers, which was why raiders stayed with the resource-collecting gleams inrge portal worlds. She wasn¡¯t sure Derek was right about a messenger not making things faster. She just wasn¡¯t willing to have someone risk their lives for herfort.

    At least, now she could stick to her natural sleep schedule without it being weird. The other two just assumed she was recuperating.

    Also, that stew was pretty good.

    ***

    ¡°You know, police girl, sneaking around with shadow mana is less effective when you¡¯re singing the ¡®Spy Gleam¡¯ main theme out loud,¡± Fox Mask said tiredly.

    The mysterious gleam stood under the moonlight at the edge of the jungle, far from the semi-permanent cabins of theirpatriots.

    ¡°First, call me Crescent when we¡¯re out in our gleamsonas,¡± Nestra corrected.

    ¡°I am reconsidering our cooperation.¡±

    ¡°And second, I just wanted to match your style.¡±

    Nestra shook her visor in front of Camille¡¯s face, or rather their very obvious Fox Mask which, upon closer observation, needed to be reced. It was cracked and faded.

    On the visor was a short message sent to Nestra¡¯s visor via secured bluetooth. It was signed with a fox emoji.

    ¡°That¡¯s your call sign? Really?¡±

    ¡°You yourself called me Fox Mask. I thought it would be appropriate.¡±

    ¡°Alright. The Fox Mask opens the masquerade, repeat, the Fox Mask opens the masquerade, over, ksh.¡±

    ¡°For the love of¡­ you remember, <em>Crescent</em>, that we are here to stop a war?¡±

    ¡°I know! Isn¡¯t this exci ¡ª it¡¯s people you know whose lives are at risk, sorry,¡± Nestra said, though she didn¡¯t really mean it that much.

    She didn¡¯t really care about the envers. Her interest was for Fox Mask, their skill, their progress. Their delicious rivalry. That sweet, growing core she could harvest some time¡­ no, no. No eating friends. A rivalry required that her rival remained alive if she wanted to keep it going.

    But if she overtook Camille to the extent that the human could no longer match her prowess, shouldn¡¯t she kill them? Take their core for her own, so that a piece of that memory got carried with her forever? A long fight, a bitter race with only one winner at the end, one who would swallow the defeated to grow even stronger¡­

    Nestra licked her lips, then frowned. Her true form had conflicting feelings about the whole issue¡­ or perhaps her human side was refusing the Aszhii side its snack, preferring pack bonding instead. Very weird. Anyway, no eating Camille. It just wouldn¡¯t be right.

    Unless they were dying, of course. Independently of her.

    ¡°Are you¡­ hungry?¡± they asked.

    ¡°What? No. A little bit? I want to kill monsters but we¡¯re busy right now. Speaking of, how do we stop the coup? I hope you have a n because enve politics isn¡¯t exactly my specialty.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s easy,¡± Camille started with a cold mastermind kind of voice before toning it down. ¡°Well, not that easy. We need to expose Manh¡¯s duplicity to the Patriarch. I am sure Ong already suspects treachery. The fact he hasn¡¯t moved just means that Manh¡¯s position is endorsed by a significant portion of the Elder Council. No, what we need is to prove he broke their trust.¡±

    ¡°I assume he just doesn¡¯t go around leaving messages on unsecured channels.¡±

    ¡°No, ourmunication is almost always oral.¡±

    That¡¯s what Nestra figured.

    ¡°However, there is one channel where written evidence must be kept.¡±

    ¡°Money?¡±

    ¡°Why, yes, absolutely. Very astute,¡± Camille said, sounding pleasantly surprised.

    Nestra pointed a finger at herself.

    ¡°Police girl,¡± she said.

    ¡°Indeed. Well, as you might have surmised, the enve has a¡­ secret warehouse.¡±

    ¡°Where you keep your stolen shit. We¡¯re looking for it.¡±

    Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the vition.

    Camille grew distinctly ufortable behind their mask.

    ¡°As I said before, I expect a reckoning and I will not warn my people. There wouldn¡¯t be enough time for them to move all the goods anyway¡­ and I am not betraying them since you already know about the thefts¡­¡±

    It sounded like Camille was trying to convince themselves, Nestra thought.

    ¡°The warehouse containing the stolen goods lies below thepound.¡±

    ¡°Below? You have secret caves?¡±

    It would be kind of cool.

    ¡°Not secret caves,¡± Camille replied, testily. ¡°The Sword Kings have been digging for decades. There are facilities, dormitories, shelters, and warehouses below ground. Mostly, those facilities remain unused outside of emergencies because people like the sun, but the warehouses are the exception. Elders have their own vaults where they store the goods their families have umted over the years. The stolen goods warehouses are of no immediate interest to us. What matters is that Manh may have secured goods and artifacts to grant his followers.¡±

    ¡°Really? I didn¡¯t expect your folks to be materialistic.¡±

    ¡°You are thinking too highly of us.¡±

    ¡°I thought hatred and fear would do the trick ¡ª no need to add bribery on top of it,¡± Nestra continued.

    ¡°Nevermind,¡± Camille drilymented. ¡°And this is not to purchase help. If Mahn¡¯s attempt is to seed, he needs two things: one, Ong needs to be busy, or in a portal, or, or¡­¡±

    Camille swallowed with difficulty.

    ¡°Or disabled. I do not see this seeding, however. Second, Manh needs to take over the enve by purging loyalists. For this, he needs people, and his people need an edge.¡±

    ¡°Artifacts?¡±

    ¡°Precisely. While I was¡­ shopping in Threshold¡­¡±

    The two stared at each other, with Nestra making it abundantly clear she didn¡¯t think much of Camille¡¯s habits.

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you never stole anything because I wouldn¡¯t believe you,¡± Camille retorted.

    ¡°I did illegal raids,¡± Nestra said.

    And also breaking and entering. Sales of illegally acquired artifacts. Purchase of illegally acquired everything. Possession of unregistered weapons. Assassination, although they had iting.

    ¡°But I never stole stuff,¡± she finished.

    Technically true.

    ¡°So let me guess, you also stole artifacts and tools that can be used to give Manh¡¯s faction an edge. Hypothetically.¡±

    ¡°Yes, and I haven¡¯t checked the warehouse, but I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if some of them were missing.¡±

    Nestra thought about it. That would be a good proof, she supposed. There was only one problem.

    ¡°We are not at thepound.¡±

    ¡°I know! I know, but ording to nning the envoys are supposed to return there tomorrow for rxation and discussions before heading out to the outskirts.¡±

    ¡°Fair enough. I can infiltrate the warehouse then.¡±

    ¡°I was thinking I was going to have to do it, and I was going to ask for your help.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m a great infiltrator,¡± Nestra imed. ¡°But I¡¯m not a thief like you so sure, let¡¯s do it together!¡±

    ¡°I am not¡­ oh, very well. I will get some ns and we can coordinate tomorrow. That is assuming all goes well. You were, after all, almost murdered.¡±

    ¡°r will make a fuss for sure, because he wants reparations and concessions, but I¡¯m sure it won¡¯t be a huge deal.¡±

    ***

    It was, in fact, a huge deal.

    ¡°This is absolutely uneptable. Do I need to remind you that any attempt on a diplomat is an act of war? One of my people was a victim, not of violence, but of an assassination attempt!¡±

    n was fuming. Both Thresholders and Sword Kings stood on either side of the closed portal in an awkward standoff. It would have been more impressive if r had more than Watanabe to back him up as a B-ss raider. Byparison, half a dozen Sword Kings stood at attention, their guards up. Exhaustion made the raiders a little tense. The patriarch himself bristled under the usation, or perhaps it was him hating hisck of control. Nevertheless, he knew he was in a position of rtive weakness.

    It was a credit to him that he managed to force a smile out.

    ¡°Perhaps we should first ascertain what happened before¡­ throwing around usations.¡±

    ¡°Someone nted a monster-killing trap inside of my people¡¯s living space. There is little room for interpretation.¡±

    r signaled. Derek brought a datasheet with the recorded event. Most of the Sword Kings gathered around the sheet, reying the event over the next five minutes and passing it along to those who hadn¡¯t seen it yet. It was a testament to how seriously they were taking this that they yed it at normal speed. Nestra¡¯s mom tended to watch vids elerated eight times because her mind had no issue processing it. It was hard to gauge with gleams, but as far as Nestra could tell, they were very annoyed and made no secret as to their feelings.

    The Patriarch assured r he would look into the matter. The B-ssers scattered while the Thresholders gathered together. Once again, a buzz at the edge of Nestra¡¯s hearing revealed the activation of a sound-muffling enchantment. This would be a private conversation.

    ¡°Agent Padian, I¡¯ll be blunt. Is there anything more you¡¯d like to add that the envers might have¡­ missed?¡±

    What the fuck was he on about?

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°Are there any specific actions you might have taken, or things you might have observed, that might have led to this specific incident, the discovery of which at ater time might embarrass me?¡±

    ¡°Are you asking if I fucked something up that led to the trap being activated? Something that would make us lose face after?¡±

    r sighed heavily.

    ¡°Yes, Padian, that is exactly what I¡¯m asking.¡±

    ¡°Nothing of the sort. We went to the tent as soon as you guys left. It was hot and stuffy inside so I left the ce to check the garden with Derek. I felt mana from a specific spot while Derek perceived an abnormal cold spot.¡±

    ¡°It happens when soil was recently upturned,¡± Derek exined. ¡°The ¡ª¡±

    ¡°I am familiar with the process,¡± r cut. ¡°I just needed confirmation.¡±

    ¡°It was ready for us before we even arrived,¡± Nestra exined.

    ¡°Yes, very well. Right.¡±

    r massaged the bridge of his nose. He looked a little bit worse for wear with some scratches on his armor, a sign he¡¯d fought some of the monsters in person. Nestra wasn''t sure why since they had an army of B-ss raiders with them ¡ª perhaps as a demonstration of force? In any case, he probably needed some rest.

    She thought it better to keep her thoughts to herself.

    r rolled his shoulders, his gaze still on Nestra like she wasn¡¯t the one who¡¯d gotten her skull cracked open. He eventually turned to Nestra.

    ¡°What¡¯s the likelihood that this was an ident? That someone made a misguided attempt to keep mana rats off the Matriarch¡¯s precious rhododendrons?¡±

    ¡°None sir, the trap was deliberately set on the gravel path right next to the tent¡¯s entrance. Even if someone was stupid enough to trap a public spot without notifying visitors, they would have set it outside of the garden next to an obvious entry point in the barrier, or among the most vulnerable flowers¡­ even that would have destroyed them. No, this was meant to catch humans.¡±

    She shrugged.

    ¡°It would be hard to justify otherwise.¡±

    ¡°I see. Since the Patriarch <em>appears </em>to be willing to grant us justice for this attack, I will not order an immediate evacuation. We will return to thepound and reassess. Ah, it appears our hosts are¡­ bringing¡­ someone?¡±

    They were. It was an older red-robed man who looked both lost and terrified. He wore trapper¡¯s gear on his back. Nestra recognized the wire balls hanging from a bandolier as the payload used to slice her skin open.

    ¡°What, really?¡± she whispered.

    The Patriarch, his expression one of thunderous anger, stopped in front of the delegation, dragging the trapper to the front with casual violence. The old man rolled to his knees, expression caught in a mask of abject fear. He nted his face in the soil in a gesture of subservience.

    ¡°It appears my men have¡­ erred in their duty. This sentry admitted to nting the trap in a misguided attempt to catch a particrly cunning mana boar. He was out on duty once the news of youring was announced. Despite being asked to check the perimeter for dangers, he failed to remember to disarm the trap.¡±

    ¡°I am so sorry!¡± The old man mewled with terror.

    Nestra¡¯s visor tranted the Vietnamese babble. The man made all sorts of apologies, mostly to the enve for marring its honor.

    ¡°There is only one sentence for those who cause grave harm through their own negligence,¡± the Patriarch said softly, and the words carried across the silent clearing like a death toll.

    They hung in the air. Nestra¡¯s breath hitched in her chest. She knew what this meant. Threshold¡¯s delegation also froze. Chandra made a gesture with her fingers Nestra didn¡¯t recognize.

    It was abundantly clear to Nestra that she was looking at a sacrificialmb. The old man was going to take the fall for a plot that he could not have hatched, and everyone was going to watch. This was just life in the post-Incursion frontier. There was nothing to do.

    That annoyed her.

    The Patriarch unsheathed his saber, which he¡¯d kept on his back. It was massive, and made of a strange sort of crystal tone that told Nestra this was a portal-made artifact and probably quite powerful as well. Tears rolled down the trapper¡¯s cheek.

    ¡°My family,¡± he whispered.

    ¡°That fault is yours alone,¡± the patriarch replied, not unkindly.

    Oh, fuck it.

    ¡°If it¡¯s about reparations, I¡¯m fine with him just going to prison,¡± Nestra said.

    Her words cut through the heavy silence like a thunderbolt. All attention focused on her. She crossed her arms, daring anyone toment. They knew it was a setup. At least, they must suspect. They were all going through a farce except the punch line was the death of a person. Yes, he was probably the one who¡¯d set up the trap, but he wasn¡¯t the mastermind. Nestra felt oddly annoyed by the circumstances.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t about you, it is about ourws,¡± the Patriarch chided, and the Elders nodded in approval. ¡°Just like all wille to defend one, the one must protect the whole, or pay for it.

    No one from the Threshold side came to her defense. The de was raised. The trapper gave Nestra onest, unreadable nce. The de fell. Fresh blood coated the basalt in a shiny coat of red.

    It was done.

    One of the Elders disappeared and a momentter, a group of red-robed guards descended into the cauldron with a stretcher and a body bag. Nestra stayed where she was while r and the Patriarch discussed what would happen next in private. It was a very short discussion. As soon as it was finished, r grabbed Nestra under his privacy spell again.

    ¡°You¡¯re acting a bit rashly, Padian.¡±

    ¡°By objecting to an obvious pawn being sacrificed under our eyes?¡± she objected.

    ¡°This is a very delicate moment. We need to present a unified front. You knew you had no chance to save that man.¡±

    ¡°No, I didn''t know that. The Patriarch could have relented and allowed exile instead. He decided to go with the execution instead. Are you annoyed because I¡¯m making us look bad and undisciplined?¡±

    ¡°Lacking unity, certainly.¡±

    ¡°Fuck your unity r. You gave us a grand speech about values before leaving but those went out the window ¡ª¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare! I do not fight hopeless battles, but it doesn¡¯t mean that I approve of what they do.¡±

    ¡°If you only speak when you¡¯re sure of sess, then you¡¯re not really fighting, r. It¡¯s easy to be righteous when it¡¯s safe to do so¡­¡±

    r breathed hard a couple of times. Unlike their previous disagreement, this one didn¡¯t end with mana-based bullying. r had learned. His gleam eyes still bore into Nestra¡¯s own with barely contained rage. She returned it. She knew he was mostly pissed at himself.

    ¡°Perhaps it would be best if we took a short rest before continuing this discussion.¡±

    Nestra had already said all she had to say. Not that it mattered since everyone was apparently ok with just killing off people as good faith tokens. The raiders returned to the tent soon after so she used the opportunity to retreat to the garden. The light of dawn showed the flowers were fading, the mana sustaining them long since depleted. Fat flies buzzed over the thick puddle of her congealed blood. It smelled pretty bad.

    ¡°Fuck this ce.¡±

    ***

    The mood was tense and somber on the way back. The trap issue had spoilt the mood. Nevertheless, r and a selection of Elders kept discussing things at high speed far in front of Nestra, a sign the deal was still on. At the speed they were hammering out details, she assumed the coboration would be extensive. She was sweaty and tired by the time they reached thepound mid-afternoon. This time, the constant attention from the envers made her feel more vulnerable. Maybe it was physical exhaustion, or perhaps it was the incident. In any case, her hand kept reaching for the safety on her shotgun.

    ¡°You should take a moment to refresh yourselves,¡± r told the rest of the Thresholders. ¡°Our next meeting will start afterward. Cai, Clint, plot a course for tomorrow morning. I believe it would be best if you returned to the city afterward, for safety¡¯s sake. Your mission here isplete.¡±

    Ah, damn, that would make cooperating with Fox Mask very difficult. Nestra retreated to her room with the rest of the Thresholders, including the weaker gleams. To her surprise, there was someone in her room.

    She closed the door behind her.

    ¡°You¡¯re crazy,¡± she whispered. ¡°There are gleams with us! They could feel your presence!¡±

    Camille waved their hand. A transparent wall spread around the two of them.

    ¡°This should solve the sound problem. As for your users, besides the two leaders, they are terrible at mana perception,¡± Camille huffed behind their mask.

    ¡°Maybe, but our augs have some amazing senses and they have recordings as well.¡±

    ¡°I will be careful. Sadly, I came here because I carry unfortunate news. Ong¡­ the Patriarch, he did not believe me.¡±

    Nestra frowned.

    ¡°I thought you wanted us to gather proof first.¡±

    ¡°I know! I know. I wanted to tell him and bring proofter in case¡­ in case I was found out. He didn¡¯t believe me. He was quite angry.¡±

    ¡°Well assassination attempts have a way of souring negotiations.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t get it! It¡¯s my grandpa! He¡­ he was always there for me!¡± Camille screamed.

    ¡°Hey, hey, same side.¡±

    Riel, Nestra thought, Camille¡¯s so fucking touchy about their family. It¡¯s like they¡¯re apletely different person. Either they were this aloof burr de master who always kept cool, or they were an absolute train wreck. Maybe they were just emotionally stunted.

    ¡°Sorry. Police girl¡­ Crescent. Nestra. I don¡¯t understand. He must be suspicious, but I was brushed off so easily! He should know better! It¡¯s not because I¡­ I¡­¡±

    ¡°It sounds like your grandfather doubting you affected you a lot.¡±

    Silence. It was difficult to gauge Camille¡¯s reaction from behind their mask. There was a series of rapid-fire Vietnamese ending with a sentence, uttered in shaky English.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know why I¡¯m telling this to you, a stranger.¡±

    ¡°Oi,¡± Nestra protested.

    That was rude. She removed her mask, assuming her true form. Two steps, and her index finger was shoved against Camille¡¯s sternum.

    ¡°We crossssed des. You are my rival. Do not dare disrespect me.¡±

    ¡°You¡­ you are right. I was being rude. Sorry.¡±

    Nestra tilted her head. Being in her true form always changed things. Her mind felt less cluttered, but also more impatient and direct. Less diplomatic. Well, she would still give it a try.

    ¡°My mom used to say that the wounded beastshes out. That means you are hurt and so you express your anger in return. I am not your target.¡±

    ¡°Your mother sounds like a wise woman,¡± Camille replied, suddenly very amodating.

    ¡°Do you really mean that, or are you trying to be nice as an apology?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    Nestra shrugged.

    ¡°I suppose I will take it as an apology, and ept it.¡±

    She hesitated afterward. Camille was strangely vulnerable every time they opened up.

    ¡°Ok, let me be very direct. Do you have nobody else to open to? Because you¡¯re both sharing and then getting all angry about it.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not like that! I just don¡¯t have anybody else right now! Before that, I had Nida!¡±

    ¡°What happened?¡±

    ¡°She¡­ she died.¡±

    ¡°Oh, sorry. A raid?¡±

    ¡°No. Old age. Nida was¡­ my dog.¡±

    There was a heavy silence while Nestra hesitated on how to broach the subject. She immediately lost her patience.

    ¡°Camille.¡±

    ¡°What!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re a fucking mess.¡±

    ¡°I know! Fuck you, I know. God¡­¡±

    After a moment¡¯s hesitation, Nestra sat next to Camille who started sobbing softly through their mask. Nestra gently patted their shoulder. All of her dreams of a mighty rivalry were crumbling when faced with the fact Camille was even more isted than Nestra had been. At least, Nestra had Aunt ire, Stibs, and Mazingwe who¡¯d carried her through the Hard Times.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯m here now though.¡±

    ¡°He always believed me,¡± Camille cried. ¡°Before. Why not now? Isn¡¯t it obvious that Manh is fighting against him? I¡¯m so tired. So tired of it all. Why can¡¯t they be nice for one fucking second?¡±

    ¡°Hey hey. We¡¯ll get through this, alright? We¡¯ll gather the evidence and they will see.¡±

    ¡°I shouldn¡¯t need evidence to convince my family that¡­ ah, it doesn¡¯t matter.¡±

    They deted.

    ¡°I did so much for them, hoping for¡­ and nothing. Nothing.¡±

    Nestra waited for the moment to die down, then she very lightly punched Camille¡¯s arm.

    ¡°You are strong in many regards, and hurt in many others. That is fine. Hu¡­ raiders and family can disappoint, but the good news is, you can count on me! Under my benevolent leadership, we will stop the coup, and make your grandfather realize that you are worthy while his other scions are not.

    ¡°Are you not a police officer, and I a thief?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the perfect secret friendship. Come on, I bet I could get you immunity.¡±

    Camilleughed, though it was a bit brittle.

    ¡°As I said before, I¡¯m not ready to give up on the vige yet. You¡¯re expected for dinner. You should probably go.¡±

    ¡°No, you go, I gotta take a bath.¡±

    ***

    An early dinner had been prepared for the return of the gleams, a more modest asion than the previous ones. The round table had been reduced in numbers, and the decorations on the in walls were only half as gaudy as before. The waiters brought dishes with subdued expressions, leaving as soon as they were able to. Only Elders were in attendance on the enve¡¯s side this time. The tale of Nestra¡¯s near-death experience must have spread from the careful gazes and whispers that followed her everywhere. Before leaving, she¡¯d told Fox Mask they had only one chance at getting the data before she had to leave. The operation would be tonight. She was getting a little bit nervous.

    Since she was being ignored, Nestra joined up with Derek and Weiwei, discussing in low voices about the food since everything was being overheard. Watanabe approached her during the meal. He tapped on her wrist, then made a very peculiar gesture.

    It was MaxSec visual code for ¡®be ready¡¯. Nestra blinked. No, it was Threshold military standard code, so it made sense for him to know it. Be ready? Be ready for what?

    ¡°Ahem, if I could get your attention?¡± r said in Vietnamese.

    A toast? Nestra watched as all eyes turned to him with various degrees of curiosity and annoyance. r was breaking protocol by being the first to speak. Her visor did its best to trante his words even as he spoke them.

    ¡°As you may all know, we are close to reaching a functional agreement between our two cities. I would like to take a moment to thank all of you for your patience and efforts in this endeavor. Unfortunately, as you may have heard, we¡¯ve had a problem that endangers the agreement. I feel the need to clear the air.¡±

    Watanabe approached r before handing him a wide-screen datasheet, the kind that could be unrolled. r picked it up with a smile.

    ¡°I am talking, of course, about the twenty-six million credits worth of magical artifacts that you have stolen via an intermediary we know as Fox Mask.¡±

    The sheet disyed the person in question, a nice shot taken as Camille was grabbing some sort of measuring tool.

    ¡°And that you have either sold or are now still in possession of the stolen goods stored under our feet, specifically in Warehouse 3B.¡±

    In the stunned silence that followed, pictures of what Nestra assumed was the warehouse in question appeared on the sheet in quick session. She noted that the same measuring tool stolen on the first picture appeared on the shelves of the warehouse. She turned to Derek, who winked.

    Pilot my ass, this guy was definitely Special Forces.

    ¡°I believe that before wee to an agreement, some¡­ reparations are in order. After all, Threshold wouldn¡¯t want our budding friendship to¡­ implode.¡±

    The threat hung in the air for a few moments, then the shouting began.

 (52)

    (52)

    Fear pped Nestra like a cold napkin. What the absolute fuck was wrong with r? Why did he have to kick the ho¡¯s nest when Nestra was the equivalent of a jam-thered toddler? For a moment, she fully expected the assembled Elders to pile on, or for r to pull a carefully hidden Shinran out of his hat because why else? Gleams were arrogant. Enve gleams were even more arrogant. Now r had gone and pissed a whole bunch off. He and what army?

    Despite Nestra¡¯s expectations, violence didn¡¯t interrupt though the tension didn¡¯t let off. The Elders quickly returned to a sullen, tense silence thanks to their fast minds. Somethingplicated passed between r and the Patriarch. Their dear host had this wounded look that spoke of betrayal, as if saying ¡®I opened my doors to you. How could you do this?¡¯. r didn¡¯t relent. He vaguely shook the datasheet in a way that replied ¡®Promoted state-sponsored grand theft, got caught, and now you¡¯re being a bitch¡¯.

    Nestra turned to watch the augs. Weiwei looked just as baffled as Nestra, but Derek seemed confident. There was something she was missing. Muttering bloomed among the Elders. To Nestra¡¯s surprise, the aggressivity was aimed at each other. It appeared not everyone had been aware of the patriarch¡¯s activities. Now, those pristine fingers that had been left out of the pie eagerly pointed at the guilty parties. Her visor couldn¡¯t follow the machine-gun fast Vietnamese, but she was willing to bet there were a lot of usations being thrown around right now. It looked like the situation was going to devolve into an all out brawl, until the patriarch¡¯s mana spread like a mantle over the assembly.

    For a moment, Nestra forgot how to breathe. The man¡¯s soft brown iris cracked, red light seeping into the world. It was like standing in front of a volcano. Fortunately, it subsided, and Nestra gasped for dear life.

    ¡°Fuck¡­¡± Derek whispered by her side.

    Fuck indeed. The room was quiet now. With slow determination, Patriarch Nguyen addressed r, in English.

    ¡°I assume you want to revisit the agreement.¡±

    ¡°The agreement itself is fine. We separately want reparations for the offense, and all stolen goods returned.¡±

    ¡°We have entered other agreements for some of those goods.¡±¡°And we would be happy to contact your clients,¡± r concluded.

    The patriarch took a deep breath. For the first time, Nestra found that he seemed apprehensive.

    ¡°What do you want?¡±

    r removed something from his pocket. It looked like a mana crystal charged with strange energy, soft and warm, like sunlight in spring. The patriarch¡¯s eyes widened.

    These kinds of aspected crystals could be worth up to twenty times their pure equivalents. Nestra eyed the thing with greed. If she could just touch it in her true form¡­

    ¡®How do you¡­ nevermind.¡± the patriarch said.

    ¡°Surely you do not expect us to miss a repeating B-ss world opening on our small Pacifica subcontinent?¡± r pretended to ask.

    A repeating B-ss world? There were only a dozen around Threshold. They could make or break a megacorporation.

    ¡°We want 50% team allocation.¡±

    Gasps echoed the outrageous proposal. If Nestra understood right, it was half of the wealth and progress gathered from a newly opened, stable world on enve territory. It was worth a fortune.

    ¡°... In perpetuity,¡± r concluded.

    This time, the shouting resumed. Again, Nestra simply couldn¡¯t believe the patriarch hadn¡¯t tossed them out on their asses. What was going on? Did r have something on him?

    The patriarch remained silent while half the room whispered angrily, and the other looked like they¡¯d swallowed an entire shipment of lemons. Nestra checked for the exit out of habit knowing full well that if it came to it, she was absolutely done for. Even her true form couldn¡¯t stop experienced B-ss raiders.To her continued surprise, however, the patriarch relented.

    ¡°Very well, but I want a written agreement signed by the mayor.¡±

    ¡°Agreed, but only after I get into the portal world to verify our readings.¡±

    Nestra¡¯s visor returned a flurry of protests from around half the council. Again, the patriarch¡¯s presence nketed the area. He was clearly head and shoulders above the rest of his followers. It was enough to silence dissent, but not enough to eliminate it. She could see two sides forming around the room. She turned to Derek and made sign for evac, but he shook his head.

    She didn¡¯t share his confidence.

    ¡°Very well.¡±

    The patriarch encased the two of them in a privacy bubble. The Elders spread in small groups, some of them leaving the dining hall entirely. Nestra and the others were left standing awkwardly around, with Chandra furiously hissing at a sheepish Watanabe.

    ¡°We could not let you know, sorry,¡± the bald warrior apologized. ¡°It is not a matter of trust, it is a matter of operational security.¡±

    The elegant gleam had unkind words to say about that but, in the end, it was r¡¯s operation. Nestra was left stabbing her spoon at the remains of her second mango sago, hoping they would be allowed to leave soon. r separated from the patriarch to have a talk with his bodyguard. Nestra felt like a small child at a family event after two members of the family had exploded at each other.

    It was awkward as fuck. And boring. Nestra checked her visor to see a blinking message. It was from Camille.

    <em>¡®I heard amotion. What is going on?¡¯</em>

    <em>¡°r just used the patriarch of theft with photographic evidence of the warehouse. It looks like we need to hurry,¡±</em> she typed.

    The answer was almost instantaneous.

    <em>¡°Has the patriarch replied?¡± </em>

    <em>¡°He agreed to give Threshold ess to a new high value portal. B-ss.¡±</em>

    <em>¡°Really? I thought it was just a rumor.¡±</em>

    <em>¡°Apparently not.¡±</em>

    <em>¡°Then we need to act tonight. Such turmoil will not go unnoticed.¡±</em>

    Nestra sent an agreement in response. Yeah, it was bad. Camille had also sent a n of theplex so Nestra went over it, checking her options. She was interrupted by Watanabe¡¯s return.

    ¡°After discussing it with r, we have decided that I would stay with you for the sake of security while r goes to the portal world with the patriarch.¡±

    ¡°Could you kindly exin what is going on?¡± Chandra angrily demanded. ¡°My reputation as a negotiator ¡ª¡±

    ¡°¡ª was not a concern. The agreement you draw will be respected. This was about the theft.¡±

    ¡°I should have been informed you were going to pull a stunt!¡± she erupted.

    Nestra didn¡¯t expect the gleam to be so vehement. She was almost scary, with her iris zing with fury and barely controlled mana. Almost, but not quite. Her outrage mmed into the wall of control that was Watanabe. It failed to make a dent.

    ¡°The city does not have to exin itself to you, Negotiator Chandra Satya,¡± Watanabe said, insisting on her title.

    The poor woman swallowed her pride. Watanabe¡¯s tone may have been kind, but even Nestra could see the writing on the wall. Chandra was in no hierarchical position to make demands of Watanabe.

    ¡°As I said, some of the Elders¡¯ reactions show a more fragmented council than we expected. As such, we have reassessed the risk of independent actions. I will be guaranteeing your security tonight and tomorrow morning. We will now return to our quarters in good order and stay there until departure. You are not to deviate from that n. Your lives are at risk. Am I making myself perfectly clear?¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± Nestra replied before her cortex could even process it.

    Damn military force of habit. The augs showed the exact same reaction. It took a little bit longer for the diplomats to assent, but they did so without a fuss. They could probably feel it in the air, the tension, like a room full of fumes waiting for a spark.

    The walk to the guest quarters wasn¡¯t fun. There were no gray robes outte practicing their forms this time. The ce was eerily quiet. Even the usual sounds of cooking and washing had disappeared. The windows were closed, the doors locked.

    ¡°Oh, I don¡¯t like this at all,¡± Nestra said.

    In MaxSec, they used to call this the range setup. It meant the ce had been secured so her team could safely get shot at. She wished she¡¯d taken her guns. Nothing happened, though, at least, not right now.

    ¡°I will stay outside your rooms,¡± Watanabe said as they approached. ¡°I will ask you to sleep in your clothes with survival bags ready to go just in case. Leave the tailored suits behind.¡±

    ¡°Is it really that serious?¡± one of the negotiators asked with a worried voice.

    ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be, but if it does get serious, it will be toote for packing.¡±

    Nestra didn¡¯t need to be told twice. She changed into her Wellington on the spot, then picked up her Window Maker and the shotgun just in case. Packing was a matter of minutes with one emergency bag on one side and the nice bag on the other. She¡¯d be mad if she had to leave the nice bag behind. There was at least a thousand two hundred creds in dresses and makeup in that stuff. And her favorite cream. After that came the question of the expedition. She was, very obviously, under surveince. Her n to help Camille was totallypromised. Derek might have let her sleep and noticed nothing, but Watanabe would feel her change from behind the slimyer of wood that was her door. She was stuck here. Out of ideas, she offered to act as overwatch instead.

    <em>¡°Can you do it?¡±</em> Camille asked. <em>¡°You can¡¯t even speak.¡±</em>

    <em>¡°I¡¯ll ping and send messages. It¡¯s better than nothing, right?¡±</em> Nestra typed back.

    <em>¡°Okay. I need to move now. If Manh is going to move, he will do so soon.¡±</em>

    Nestra had to agree. The pot was stirred and, more importantly, the patriarch was gone to a portal. It was weird he¡¯d agreed to do it now rather than wait, to be honest. Wait¡­

    <em>¡°If the patriarch is raiding, then who will stop the coup?¡±</em>

    <em>¡°I can send proof to the council¡¯s loyalists. Although, some have already blocked me¡­¡±</em>

    This wasn¡¯t looking good. Nestra checked her guns onest time. Maybe Manh didn¡¯t have enough followers yet¡­

    The next minutes were tense. Nestra followed Camille¡¯s progress first through their visor, which was hidden under the mask, then through the multiple cameras they ced on the walls. Themon parts were mostly empty, with Camille easily hiding from red robes rushing to and fro. Nestra split her screen to follow the feeds from AI, the cameras and ping when she spotted peopleing. It was clear Camille knew what they were doing when they bypassed several locked doors through the use of lockpicks.

    ¡°Absolutely criminal,¡± Nestra muttered to herself.

    Honestly it was kind of impressive. Nestra followed Camille¡¯s progress with bated breath. They were patient and very precise, a quality that showed in their style. Suddenly, Nestra started to see a lot of movement. Groups of red robes rushed throughout the corridors, baring unsheathed des. Nestra pinged them.

    Camille stopped.

    ¡°We¡¯re toote,¡± they said. ¡°Nestra. Get out of here.¡±

    There were blurs on the feed. C or B-ss people moving at full speed. Far too many to be a patrol.

    It was starting.

    This novel is published on a different tform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

    Shit. Nestra grabbed her shotgun. She heard the dry stato of an automatic weapon discharge somewhere outside. Someone screamed, a female voice. The walls shook.

    Nestra froze. Protocol was to¡­ fuck protocol. She opened the door. There was blood on the ground, a ssh of it on the concrete wall. Already. She leaned forward. To her left, blood on the floor. A red robed Elder clutching his chest, one arm cut. He was disabled. She turned right to see a fierce yet silent battle happening in the narrow corridor. Faster than her eyes could see, Watanabe was holding it against a small squad of heavily armed and armored Elders trying to overwhelm him but so far, the calm warrior deflected and blocked any attempt to go past him. The corridor itself was shaking under thunderous blows yet reforming almost at the same speed, and more strangely, the sounds were entirely muffled. Maybe some sort of enchantment? The next room was open. Nestra could see arge pool of blood and the extended hand of Weiwei, her pilot uniform drenched. A chill crawled down Nestra¡¯s spine.

    They needed out. Watanabe wasn¡¯t going to hold. This entire ce was a death trap. They needed to take the gunship.

    A part of Nestra screamed that this was so fucking predictable and what the FUCK were people doing not listening to Camille or exercising basicmon sense but she pushed it down because it was not helpful right now. On her visor, she sent Derek a request to get the ship up. Meanwhile, she sent another to the negotiators toe out. Derek overtook the chat to confirm that people had to follow Nestra. The doors timidly opened. Nestra aimed towards the free side of the corridor, for now mercifully empty. She moved forward so she could take point. Adrenaline flooded her veins. Her heart drummed against her ribs. This was so fucked up.

    Something got her attention. She wasn¡¯t sure if it was mana, or instincts, or just a random thought that made her look back at that crucial moment when Watanabe, too, looked back. Their gaze met in that brief instant. His was extremely calm. Then, a grievous wound bloomed on his arm but he was pushing the elders deeper along the indestructible corridor.

    Derek was cleared to join. He rushed forward, his face a pale mask, his hands covered in blood.

    ¡°Weiwei?¡± Nestra asked.

    ¡°She¡¯s gone. Go. Go!¡±

    Nestra ran. Behind her, Derek pushed the panicked diplomats out. She had to cut a way to the gunship. Had to. Nobody in the corridor, Nobody on the stairs, up, or down. Someone spotted her getting down, but they mmed their doors closed once they saw the business end of her shotgun. She waited by the door until Chandra Satya got right next to her, dark skin mmy and eyes haunted.

    Nestra was outside. There were red robes in the distance, three young fucks with their swords out. She moved forward.

    ¡°On the ground! Get on the fucking ground! Now!¡±

    They saw the gun. They hesitated. Two of them took a step back. Now if she could just¡­

    Five very loud cks broke the silence and the kids fell, torsos ruined and organs on the ground. She turned, shocked.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t a fucking police operation!¡± Derek spat. ¡°The priority is to get our people out!¡±

    Nestra gulped. She was in human form. The human form followed protocol. What was the protocol here, even? Fuck. She could see their faces now. They were so damn young.

    Nestra shook her head and refocused. This wasn¡¯t Threshold. She wasn¡¯t MaxSec anymore. This was the enve, and the people outside were¡­ were¡­ Fuck. Was there a way to recognize those who were rebels? She wasn¡¯t a murderer.

    Well, at least she wasn¡¯t so casual about it.

    ¡°I had them,¡± she spat. ¡°They were falling back.¡±

    ¡°We don¡¯t have the luxury of¡ª¡±

    ¡°Fuck you.¡±

    Nestra still raced towards the gunship on the only path they knew. It was too exposed, but they had no choice. Lights were turning up left and right. Sounds of fights spread throughout thepound. Five more minutes and the ce might be crawling with hostiles. A brief public service announcement red from a hidden sound system asking people to stay indoors. It was reced by another one rambling about the time to rise against decrepit oppressors. After ten seconds of screams, it, too, fell silent. Explosions shook the training hall.

    ¡°It¡¯s not a coup. It¡¯s a fucking revolution,¡± Nestrained.

    Up ahead, a group of red robes spotted them. They elerated. Nestra stopped and aimed. Her first shot missed on purpose and sttered the first warriors with gravel. One of them threw a shield up. The others charged forward with mana abilities, roaring ¡®death to the freaks¡¯. Right.

    They were fast, but bullets were faster. Nestra moved forward on her feet and pushed the barrel down with a confident grip. Her shots were tight, precise. BOOM. The lead man fell. BOOM. The man who¡¯d jumped from behind his shield stumbled, a hole where his heart used to be. BOOM. One of the side runners copsed among the fields. Derek¡¯s weapon wasn¡¯t as effective. He probably had steel bullets, which didn¡¯t prate mana-coated armor and defenses that well. Fortunately, the survivors hesitated, then fled. Nestra let them go. She moved forward. No time to hesitate.

    Chandra stopped and heaved. Vomit sshed on the cobblestones. Nestra turned with fear but it was just a reaction to the nearest corpse. The nearest corpse was a young woman, her hands gripping the gaping hole in her abdomen. Her dying expression was one ofplete shock.

    ¡°Come on!¡± Nestra ordered.

    Chandra nodded, uncertain. They were running but they weren¡¯t going fast enough. Derek was shooting behind them now. They had picked up a tail. Those were smarter though. They were using ditches and low walls for cover. With a curse, Nestra pushed fresh shells in the loading port. She shot at an enterprising swordsman who tried to slice her bullet midair. It didn¡¯t work.

    These people were insane. She was going to get stabbed by anachronistic assholes. Nestra trotted, covering the front, covering the side, covering the back when Derek reloaded. They were almost at the stairs but there was movement ahead. Red robes fighting other red robes.

    ¡°Fuck.¡±

    ¡°We hold here!¡± Derek said.

    ¡°What?¡±

    This ce couldn¡¯t be defended. Worse, some of the red robes ahead were alreadying their way! Nestra pointed and shot, hitting one in the leg. She fell and the others sought cover. Nestra heard a hum. She looked up to a dark shape blotting the stars. The gunship. Derek was controlling it remotely.

    Derek screamed in pain.

    Nestra turned. He had an arrow in the nk. In the distance, Nestra spotted a yellow robe returning to cover. A group of red robes were moving forward under the cover of arge earth shield. She drew her Window Maker and shot, the handcannon bucking painfully under her fingers. She heard a cry of pain, and another of rage.

    Truong was there. Her face was a mask of white hot fury. The angry woman lifted something over her head, then threw it in the middle of the group. Nestra didn¡¯t need to look to recognize what it was: Weiwei¡¯s severed head.

    The others looked. Derek faltered. The diplomats screamed. Above them, the gunship stopped its descent. Nestra shot at the yellow robe but missed. A second arrow hit Derek while on the other side, the other group of red robes rushed from cover to cover, closing in. The diplomats were in the middle of a full-blown panic. Nestra¡¯s hand searched for more shells in her belt, finding none.

    ¡°Go,¡± Derek told her as he reloaded. ¡°Go!¡±

    Options.

    No time to board the gunship before the Thresholders got overrun.

    No way to hold the position.

    No way up the slope.

    ¡°Through the fields!¡± Nestra roared. ¡°To the gate! Run! Run!¡±

    Nestra grabbed the diplomats one by one, sending them to the monumental gates which currently stood empty. She fired a few more times to keep the red robes at bay. Derek was trying to stand up and failing. The arrow must have hit something important. She took a step towards him. His face turned grim.

    ¡°No! Too heavy.¡±

    ¡°The gleams ¡ª¡±

    ¡°For Riel¡¯s sake, go! Before you catch an arrow!¡±

    The yellow robe had disappeared for now but Derek was going to bleed out, and then¡­

    She was going to lose another partner. And there was nothing she could do about it.

    Nestra turned and ran. She couldn¡¯t carry him and shoot and outrun the gleams. The dry retort of his gun covered her as she raced across the fields, after the gleams who¡¯d finally taken off with all their Riel-damned mana powers. She had onest nce back to see red robes closing in on Derek from all sides, then the gun fell silent. Truong¡¯s cry of triumph was strangely loud. Around the enve, more battles erupted. One of the warehouses was zing like a bonfire, bathing the fields in red light.

    More people were running after her. Two bullets in the hand cannon, four shells in the shotgun. They were still keeping their distances, knowing it was only a matter of time before she ran dry. Three shells. Two.

    One.

    [THRESHOLD CITY SYSTEM OVERRIDE, TRANSFERRING CONTROL OF TAF FIREHAWK 27-A]

    ¡°Fuck!¡±

    Nestra jumped at the prompt popping up on her visor.

    [TRANSFER AUTHORIZED BY USER: CWO. DEREK CLINT]

    [COMBAT AI MISSION SET: EXTRACTION.]

    [PLEASE IDENTIFY FRIENDLIES]

    Nestra sprinted towards the gates because she knew what wasing. Behind her, she heard the shouts of the envers giving up on their cover now that she was legging it. Ahead, the diplomats managed to unbar the gates, slipping through out into the jungle. An overhead view filled one of her eyes. She looked at all the dots representing the Thresholders, then painted them green in the ovey.

    [PLEASE IDENTIFY PURSUERS]

    A prompt painted the red robes gaining on her. Shit, there were a lot of them.

    ¡°Hostiles! Hostiles!¡±

    [ACKNOWLEDGED.]

    [BEGINNING MISSION.]

    What could uncharitably be called a very loud fart broke the rtive quiet of the sword fights, drowning the battle in noise. The ground under Nestra¡¯s feet trembled. Dirt and gravel showered her armor and stuck to her hair. She sneezed. Something wetnded at her feet. She didn¡¯t look too closely. The gate was right ahead. Her muscles strained from the exertion, her breathing harsh, painful. Her head felt a bit light.

    Nestra jumped through the small opening. The diplomats were out there, milling about, uncertain. Right. Gotta save the civvies.

    ¡°Set rendezvous point for pick up,¡± she said.

    ¡°What?¡± Chandra blurted.

    [ACKNOWLEDGED. LANDING LOCATION IDENTIFIED.]

    Nestra checked her map just as she covered the entrance behind her. It was at the top of the trail they¡¯d followed today, on a narrow resting point near a secondary warehouse. It might work.

    ¡°Ok, up the trail,¡± she told Chandra. ¡°To the open spot near the top.¡±

    ¡°Are you¡­ hurt?¡± Chandra asked with horror, looking down.

    Nestra followed her gaze to arge ssh of blood on her leg. There were pieces of something mixed with the dirt. She pulled her armor¡¯s hood up and the ovey gave her confirmation that her status was all green.

    ¡°It¡®s not mine. Now go.¡±

    Perhaps it was fear, or just the numb tendency of scared people to follow those who looked like they knew what to do, but the diplomats climbed the trail with respectable speed. Nestra herself was struggling to keep up with her gear and the cumted exhaustion. She had to look back every so often to check if they were being followed. About halfway up, she noticed a sh of yellow near a jungle tree. She had the armor rey the feed on her visor.

    They had a tail.

    A part of her wondered why she hadn¡¯t been shot yet. The Wellington armor was good but it couldn¡¯t stop a mana arrow. Maybe they wanted her alive? Maybe the gunship could tten their location since they were following at a distance. Before she could find a way tomand it, a burst of mana emerged from one of the peaks.

    A pulse of air mana expanded like a bubble. Pressure forced Nestra¡¯s eyes away, even at this distance. This was the work of a powerful B-ss raider for sure. Shit was really, really going down there if they were tossing ultimate attacks like that!

    ¡°Oof!¡±

    Nestra fell, and so did the diplomats. An arc of pure white energy rushed up like a moon crescent, beautiful yet so very deadly. It tore through the air with a low, impossibly loud hum. Something exploded midair.

    [CRITICAL DAMAGE TO AFT PROPULSORS DETECTED.]

    ¡°Fuck.¡±

    The gunship had been flying too low. Dammit. The Thresholders watched their escape n spin in a trail of smoke before crashing out of sight.

    ¡°Keep going for now,¡± Nestra said. ¡°We need to lose them.¡±

    They climbed for another minute, but it was clear the diplomats were slowing down. Maybe they were tired. Maybe they didn¡¯t see a way out of this. Nestra wasn¡¯t exactly seeing one either. She just knew help woulde, eventually. It wasn¡¯t going to arrive before the Elders did, though.

    [SELF-DESTRUCT SEQUENCE ABORTED. RETRIEVAL TEAM ARRIVAL: IMMINENT]

    Nestra stopped in her tracks. The message wasing from the wreck. Gunships were hardy things so some of it must have survived thending. The message though, it was weird¡­ Arrival imminent? Could it be? She switched the emergency frequency and saw that it still ryed to the gunship¡¯swork.

    ¡°Hello? Anyone?¡±

    No reply.

    ¡°Not so proud now that your precious technology has crashed and burnt, are you?¡± a female voice screamed in Vietnamese from behind.

    It was filled with rage and malice, and a promise of personal violence. Nestra slowed down. The diplomats stopped.

    ¡°Go to the wreck. Find it from the smoke. Help is on the way,¡± she told them.

    ¡°But¡­¡± Chandra objected.

    ¡°I need to hold her off. You go first. I don¡¯t intend to die here,¡± Nestra replied.

    The way Chandra almost broke down wasn¡¯t exactly a rousing endorsement of Nestra¡¯s chances. To be fair, thest two people who¡¯d held off foes were probably dead, so yeah. Chandra still gathered her team for onest push. They moved up, needled by desperate energy. It was a bit painful to see that they could move much faster when she wasn¡¯t holding them back.

    Time for round two.

    Nestra hid behind a rock. The approach to the trail seemed empty with the enve plunged in chaos behind, but Nestra wasn¡¯t fooled, of course. Yellow robe and Truong were closing in. Maybe more people besides. She took a deep breath.

    True Nestra stirred beneath the surface.

    She couldn¡¯t be let out, though.

    Being caught here as an Aszhii would be a death sentence if an Elder noticed her. They would see her as a spy for the city at best, a monster at worst, and a priority target in both cases. On a fundamental level, her confusion and stress was receding now that it looked like the rest of the group was going to make it, or at least, she¡¯d given them good chances. Weiwei and Derek were dead though, and Watanabe¡¯s status was uncertain. What was left behind was anger. Anger at r for pulling that stunt when he could have just been more sly ¡ª he didn¡¯t have to humiliate them so thoroughly to make a point if he didn¡¯t intend to fight them immediately afterward. Anger at Manh for being a disloyal gleam supremacist cunt. Anger at Derek for dying a hero¡¯s death like Shinoda before him. Anger at the patriarch for ignoring Camille¡¯s warnings. Anger at herself for being so weak, and a coward, for not telling r about what she¡¯d learnt about the coup. She could have told him about an ¡®informant¡¯, maybe, or revealed her true form earlier to save Derek, but she didn¡¯t want to die, or to be an exile. Selfish.

    ¡°You dog-stupid bitch. I don¡¯t know how you cheatedst time, but this time, I¡¯m going to kill you! I¡¯ll gut you like a fish!¡±

    Oh, and anger at Truong, of course. Quickly, she reloaded the Window Maker until she had four bullets. The shotgun only had the one shell left, sadly.

    ¡°Talking a lot of shit for someone who¡¯s hiding!¡± Nestra retorted.

    ¡°Can¡¯t wait to rip out your potato tongue, you fat whore.¡±

    Truong couldn¡¯t understand Nestra anyway since she didn¡¯t have a visor to trante. That meant it was probably a distraction. Fortunately, Wellington designed their armor sets precisely to survive stronger predators. Nestra activated her thermals, then side cameras. Nothing. There were sound options as well. She checked for footsteps and got a match to her left.

    No visual. Nestra gripped her shotgun and waited. Truong threw more insults her way, but she was behind thick cover. Nestra was going to get nked for sure.

    A heat signature jumped from behind a tree. Nestra turned and felt something push her arm to the side, but she readjusted and shot. The yellow robe was another young woman with a confident smirk that immediately turned to shock. Blood sttered the trunk behind her. Nestra¡¯d gotten her dead center.

    The shotgun clicked empty. Nestra looked down to see an arrow skewering her left forearm. The shaft was red with her blood.

    ¡°Fuck.¡±

    Truong jumped on her from the trail. Nestra jumped back and raised her shotgun at the veryst moment. The fencer¡¯s overhead strike smashed it from her hands. A face, frozen in a rictus of triumphant hatred. Nestra pulled her Window Maker while pain made stars dance before her eyes. She managed to shoot once as she cleared the holster. By some miracle, Truong caught it with her de.

    The de exploded but so did Nestra¡¯s vision. She was sent up the air before heavily crashing down. A damage report showed she was¡­ okay. The armor had blocked most of the blow.

    Her hand fucking hurt though.

    Truong had kicked her.

    [TRAUMA DETECTED. INJECTING PAINKILLERS, STIMULANT]

    Nestra¡¯s vision cleared. A new energy rushed through her tired limbs like a thunderbolt. In the meantime, Truong had turned to the side with a sadistic chuckle.

    ¡°Mai, I got her!¡±

    The triumph was short-lived.

    ¡°Mai?¡±

    Nestra grabbed a rock. It was just there. Just as Truong noticed her standing up, Nestra threw it with all her strength and an animalistic roar. It caught the young woman under the nose. Blood spurted. Nestra stood and put all her weight on her left foot, swung, and caught Truong¡¯s knee in a devastating low kick. She copsed like a puppet. Nestra was on her before she could recover, punching her face repeatedly with her right fist.

    ¡°You. Wanted. Your. Second. Round. Here. It. IS!¡±

    Truong managed to punch her a few times, but mana couldn¡¯t make up for leverage, or armor. Somehow, the beaten gleam still managed to raise a knee against Nestra¡¯s chest to push her away. Nestra was up on her feet in seconds. Even the pain in her arm felt like just a distant concern. Holding her broken nose, Truong fumbled around for her sword.

    Nestra socked her in the jaw with a very nice hook. The gleam fell like a sack and Nestra was on top of her again, punching down with her good arm. The armored glove fell once, twice, and Truong stopped struggling.

    Nestra remembered she had the emotional support knife in a sheath at her side. She ced the de under Truong¡¯s throat. The girl was knocked out, unable to resist.

    ¡°Stop,¡± a voice said, softly.

    Camille kneeled by Nestra¡¯s side.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t like you.¡±

    ¡°Where were you?¡± Nestra growled.

    rity returned. The negotiators had long since disappeared, at least, and Truong wasn¡¯t going anywhere. Nestra knew she should be in pain but the sensation just wasn¡¯t there. Camille seemed fine though. Their mouth was moving.

    ¡°Searching. I found yourpatriots and assumed you were with them, but I was wrong. I raced back as fast as I could. Nestra, I¡¯m sorry. Please let her live. She is also a victim.¡±

    ¡°She cut Weiwei¡¯s head. They¡¯ll heal her, then she wille after me again.¡±

    ¡°No. It will be over soon. We need to go now and wait for¡­ the end. She will get hereuppance, but not like this. Not in an execution. She¡¯s not a danger to you. ¡±

    Nestra looked up to the mask. Camille¡¯s expression was unreadable. Nestra wanted to hiss. Who gave a shit about morals and protocol now? Bullshit!

    And then Camille¡¯s words hit the right part of her brain.

    ¡°What do you mean, the end?¡±

    ¡°I nted a bug in the mains rooms in anticipation for tonight. Threshold gunships have been hovering at the edge of the enve¡¯s airspace for thest two days.¡±

    Threshold gunships? Just two of them could stay hundreds of meters up and reduce the entire enve to rubble.

    Huh.

    Talk about negotiations.

    ¡°Shit, is that why r was so confident that the patriarch wouldn¡¯t fight?¡±

    ¡°This isn¡¯t the time to wonder, police girl. We need to move. Manh will want hostages before they arrive to at least force some negotiations. His faction is almost in full control. We need to move or things will get very unpleasant for you.¡±

    Only then did Nestra realize Fox Mask¡¯s reason foring.

    ¡°You are here to help me against the enve.¡±

    ¡°Against Manh!¡± Camille protested. ¡°I will not allow this talentless fraud to harm you. He¡¯s already doing enough to harm the Sword Kings. We should¡­ hmm, maybe I should remove that arrow from your arm first?¡±

    ¡°Yes please.¡±

    Before Nestra could blink, Camille had cut two thirds of the arrow away. Nestra opened her mouth to tell Camille to slow down and screamed instead when the idiot unceremoniously pulled the shaft from her bleeding forearm.

    ¡°Ow ow ow hey!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s easier when it¡¯s faster. Do you have a potion?¡±

    Nestra was already imbibing it. Her armor had coagtion pens but she preferred her wounds closed rather than stable ¡ª thank you very much. She cast onest nce at Truong.

    Was she going soft by sparing the girl?

    ¡°Nestra, please.¡±

    ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s go.¡±

 (53)

    (53)

    They ran. Thest dregs of the stimnt cocktail sloshing around Nestra¡¯s veins kept her going at a good pace, for now. She focused on keeping one foot in front of the other.

    ¡°We have to catch up with the others,¡± she said. ¡°I told them to go for the wreck.¡±

    ¡°It would be better if we do not try. You are slowing down, and they¡¯ll be safer if pursuers follow our trail instead..¡±

    Nestra could believe her. She was so tired now, and her mind couldn¡¯t stop wandering. Did r really not know about the coup preparations? Did the patriarch? Should she have done anything more? Wait, she¡¯d already asked herself that, and found no answer. Maybe there was no answer.

    But what did she want to do now?

    ¡°I want no one else I care about to die,¡± she informed Camille.

    Fox Mask stopped and stared. They were past the incline now, and if they wanted to go to the crash site, they should have turned right a moment before.

    ¡°I think you¡¯re exhausted. I¡¯ll carry you.¡±

    ¡°Ah?¡± Nestra asked, and then she was being princess-handled and moving at high speed.It was kinda nice.

    ¡°If you transform, can you fight?¡± they whispered.

    Nestra shrugged, realized Camille couldn¡¯t see it, and opted for a verbal answer instead.

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s two separate things.¡±

    ¡°We are being followed. I know you care about your secret, but¡­¡±

    ¡°Oh, I should change now.¡±

    ¡°No, wait! Wait. We can¡¯t have you fight. I will protect you. If the enve finds out your secret, they will use you of being a spy. They will kill you, and any hope of reconciliation¡­ any hope of it¡­¡±

    Nestra had a solution and that solution was ¡®leave no witness¡¯, but she didn¡¯t think Camille would be very receptive. She had a look back towards the column of smoke rising over the nearest crest, visible behind the red glow of ongoing fires. It wasn¡¯t looking like reconciliation was going to be on the menu. She didn¡¯t voice that opinion either. By then, Camille was still princess-carrying Nestra over the trail like some prince and horsebo all at once, breathing hard from the continued effort since Nestra was in full armor. It made her feel all special and treasured, to be honest, though her happily ever after certainly involved a barbecue and a naval gun right now. Sadly, Camille wasn¡¯t broad enough for Nestra to be able to rest her head. Every harshnding also sent a jolt through her arm which was progressively waking up. Even potions couldn¡¯t fully heal a skewered arm in a couple of minutes.

    There was a pulse of manaing from behind. Camille stopped. They¡¯d been found.

    For a moment, Nestra wondered if Camille could defeat the pursuers. They were surely strong enough to defeat a group of C-ss raiders. Why stop then? The answer came soon enough. Barring their way, wearing a tattered red robe over mail was Manh. He looked surprisingly calm for someone covered in the blood of his own people. The light of distant fires reflected strangely in the gleam of his own red iris. It gave him a devilish countenance that Nestra didn¡¯t like.

    ¡°Truong. You found her. Good,¡± he said, Nestra¡¯s visor tranting him.

    ¡°I do not answer to that name anymore.¡±

    ¡°This is no time for personal drama,¡± Manh said, rolling his eyes. ¡°Nowe. We need to prepare. They will be here soon.¡±

    He frowned.

    ¡°Why are you turned away from the enve? The prisoners must be gathered in a bunker.¡±

    ¡°You are a fool, Manh. A fool, and a murderer.¡±

    His nostrils red, yet to Nestra¡¯s surprise, he managed to keep his cool.

    ¡°I have blood on my hands, yes, and if you had opened your eyes like so many others, I wouldn¡¯t have had to shed so much of it. I warned all of you that Threshold woulde to enve us with pretty words and contracts and other mitments¡¯ and see what happened? Not one week here and we have signed away our metal in exchange for the promise of ¡®technology¡¯, the yoke that will enve us all until we can¡¯t imagine living without it. Tonight, the patriarch was ready to give away half of our new repeating portal world as well, and this time for forgiveness. Forgiveness? As if Threshold didn¡¯t steal left and right.¡±

    We didn¡¯t though, Nestra thought.

    ¡°I warned everyone that we would be the prey to those megacorps, ving away for crumbs that they can withdraw anytime we displease them. Fortunately, there were enough people left with a spine to mount this operation. Those who value strength, freedom, the ability to carry one¡¯s dream with their own hands..¡±

    ¡°I saw your vault, Manh. All this medical equipment I stole, is it what you promised your followers? Is that the ¡®strength and freedom¡¯ they crave?¡±

    ¡°Trades and mana stones are needed to buy the proper tools for every uprising. There are enves on this continent that need it more than we do.¡±

    ¡°Our children die of preventable diseases!¡±

    ¡°The weak perish so the strong may thrive. In Threshold, the cunning and treacherous borgs and dregs have taken power. They enve the strong to guarantee their survival without them realizing it. I will not allow the same degeneracy to take root here. It is the natural order, Truong, whether you like it or not. However,¡±

    He lifted a hand, calming himself down. Camille was shaking.

    ¡°However, once we are free again, I will make sure our people receive proper medical care for their wounds. Right now, we need resources, but after that, all that you liberated will be used internally. I am not cruel. I, too, want everyone to have a chance to prove themselves.¡±

    ¡°Will they be proving themselves when the Threshold strike force arrives?¡± Camille spat. ¡°Will they alsoy down their lives for the mothend while you hide?¡±

    ¡°I am no fool,¡± Manh replied. ¡°There will be no battle, only dying actions. You have studied the history of our ancestors. It does not matter if the invaders are mongols, or French, or American, or Chinese, or monsters, or even Thresholders. We will disappear into the jungle and oust them all. We will strike from hidden shelters at their harvesting teams and their transports. We will blow up their infirmaries, and cut the lives of the borgs and dregs who dare trespass on ournds to remind the degenerates that they can never be safe. Once unclees out of his portal, which shouldn¡¯t take long now, he will have no choice but to side with his family, because it will be toote to bargain with Threshold. If he cannot see the truth, I will remove every other path of his journey until he has no choice but to embrace it, no matter the cost.¡±

    ¡°That cost is always borne by others,¡± Camille retorted. ¡°It is no very to have medicine, or ess to information that could save lives. It is no very to allow others to find another way to live and be happy.¡±

    ¡°You are a de master. You know there is only one superior path in this new world we live in.¡±

    ¡°That is untrue. There are many paths making our lives better without having to shed blood, even for the awakened. I have seen it.¡±

    Manh flinched. Slowly, he took a step back. Nestra recognized it as a swordsman getting ready to draw. Camille was in danger.

    ¡°Then you have allowed the lesser ones to poison your mind. Don¡¯t do this, Truong. We¡¯re not sixteen anymore. I am in the third realm now. You cannot hope to defeat me. Stand aside.¡±

    Camille¡¯s shaking stopped.

    ¡°No.¡±

    Nestra looked up, not believing her eyes. Camille was going to kill themself for her.

    ¡°You should run, Nestra. I will hold him off.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard that before,¡± Nestra said, standing up and brushing herself.

    ¡°Tell the freak to stop talking. Her value as a hostage will not diminish with a broken jaw.¡±

    ¡°Stop. You have gone too far. I do not recognize your authority anymore. When Ong returns, he will put a stop to this madness.¡±

    Manh scoffed.

    ¡°Your precious grandfather is a canny old man. You think he didn¡¯t see me plotting? I know he essed my vault and turned some of my followers. The only reason he didn¡¯t act was because I was useful in channeling opposition while still being loyal to the enve. He knew everything I was doing, he just didn¡¯t expect me to act so soon.¡±

    ¡°What¡­ but¡­ I warned him.¡±

    Manhughed, and it wasn¡¯t a nice sound.

    ¡°Truong, for all of your skill and control, when ites to people, you are so hopelessly stupid. Well, I am going to kill you. All that skill of yours will ount to nothing because this new world is powered by mana, and I have much more of it than you do. The world has picked me to carry on the will of the Sword Kings, to conquer the portal worlds. Me, who represents what mankind needs to thrive. And I am going to kill you. Before that, though, I will indulge a little pleasure since you were always so eager to bring me down.¡±

    He smirked, his hand casually drawing his sword with a swift move.

    ¡°You see, Ong cares very much about the enve and its reputation, more so than anything. That is why he sent you out of sight to be our thief so your presence wouldn¡¯t sully our hall. After all, you were thest trace of his mistake: allowing his niece to bed a foreigner who would then dump her and leave. It was the sort of disgrace that could only end with death. I wonder if he killed her in the portal world himself or he just had her team pull back so the monsters would do it instead.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Camille whispered.

    ¡°You thought a raider as strong as your mother could just die in such an easy world? No no no, your precious Ong was just erasing a mistake. I only wish he had the guts to finish the job, but I guess your talent stayed his hand. Hah, that expression¡­¡±

    A ng. Camille fell on their ass in the middle of the trail while Manh recoiled, surprised that he¡¯d been blocked. He nced down at the sword that had parried his killing blow.

    ¡°Nice speech mate, but now I think we¡¯re gonna kill you with the power of friendship and that big fucking sword I got,¡± True Nestra hissed.

    ¡°You!¡±

    ¡°You are lying! You are lying!¡± Camille cried.

    They looked up, angr features twisted in grief, and rage.

    ¡°No. I am lying to myself.¡±

    ¡°C-rank,¡± Manh sighed. ¡°I do not know what you are but it will not help. I guess I can maim you for interrogation.¡±

    ¡°I have sacrificed so much for so long¡­¡± Camille continued to herself. ¡°So much for so long just to be used like this. How dare you? How fucking dare you?¡±

    If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    Nestra was happy to see Camille finally recing all that sadness with something else. She was also pretty satisfied with her boast. She was equally certain that Manh was going to wipe the floor with her, which was unfortunate. Her arms were still shaking from that one single blow.

    ¡°That¡¯s it. I am done. I am done being your pariah sacrificing my future and my principles for scraps of affection. I am not your dog. I am¡­ I was your family. Fuck.¡±

    They looked towards Nestra who was more than happy to let everyone talk since it meant she didn¡¯t have to get stabbed just yet.

    Also, Camille was obviously having a moment.

    ¡°If I can¡¯t get the love I hoped for then I guess I¡¯ll take loyalty from a stranger instead. We are finished, Manh, so I¡¯m going to say it now. You were always better at wagging your tongue than your de. Fuck you.¡±

    Camille charged with the energy and fury of despair, Nestra close behind. Manh parried the first strikes with depressing ease while Nestra¡¯s brain went through all of her options with sort of panic that came with free falling from a ne with no parachute. This was a B-ss raider, albeit a very weak one. They were experienced C-ss. As a general rule, Three top-level D-ss could hold off a beginner C-ss, ten high C-ss to a neophyte B-ss, and fifty B-ss to an A. Her chances were really, really fucking slim.

    So Nestra stabbed the fucker in the back. Well, tried to. Manh twisted on himself to smack her de aside after she teleported. Camille struck at the same time. Manh was forced to dodge away with a tsk of annoyance. He was armored, yet still concerned? Wait. His skin wasn¡¯t altered yet. His skin wasn¡¯t altered yet! In order to reach B-ss, one had to pick a part of their bodies to remake, then they remade more until their bodies were entirely reforged. It meant that his defenses must still be weak. Maybe they ¡ª

    Bonk.

    Nestra was mmed into the ground by a powerful thrust. By some miracle, she¡¯d still managed to block the blow but her hand shook with pain.

    ¡°Oof!¡±

    Ok, yeah, he¡¯d remade muscles.

    Fuck, this was going to be hard.

    ¡°Water Dragon Dance!¡±

    Camille¡¯s quick session of strikes drove Manh away from the dirt road and into the deep cover of the forest. Nestra followed. Manh¡¯s face was serious, though he blocked every blow. Nestra used <em>momentum </em>to position herself on the other side of a tree, then struck with <em>precision</em>. Her de smashed through in a shower of splinters, missing Manh entirely as she misjudged where he would be. It was still enough to force a reaction.

    ¡°Piss off.¡±

    A wall of magma balls expanded outward in a cloud right in front of her. She used <em>immovable </em>to protect her head. They hit her, painful yet not debilitating. They were fairly hot. Another rain came. She managed to use <em>momentum </em>before the third wave. Nestra recovered at a distance. She was mostly unharmed, her resistances having pulled their weight. Killing all those Obsidian Tails had finally paid off!

    Camille was hurt. It must have happened while she was distracted, so Nestra rushed back in. The two Sword Kings fought a battle that carved a path of destruction through the forest, each one dancing through the harsh terrain with ease. Manh was talented and precise but Camille was a virtuoso, capable of keeping up with their faster opponent by the careful use of mana walls to slow and use as tforms. Nestra yed distraction by attacking Manh in the back and sides every time he tried something fancy. The jungle burned from his attempts at fending her off. Another <em>precision </em>strike from the side stopped one of his fancy namedbos.

    ¡°You annoying TOAD! Rising Crane!¡±

    It was just a down to up strike.

    ¡°What is it with you fuckers and your silly names?¡±

    ¡°You DARE! Lava st!¡±

    ¡°You call this hot?¡±

    He was getting fairly worked up. The problem was, Nestra didn¡¯t see an out. He wasn¡¯t toying with them, exactly, but she could tell from the way he focused on Camille that he was trying to beat her through fencing alone. B-ss raiders had monstrous mana reservespared to her. He should be turning the entire valley into an ash bowl, yet he was holding back. He still had something to prove. Nestra wanted to use it, but how? Despite her best efforts, Camille was already bleeding from a few shallow wounds.

    ¡°Nestra! Take the lead!¡± Camille screamed.

    Huh?

    With only the barest hesitation, Nestra switched with Camille, going on the offensive instead. Manh turned his full attention to her. The pressure mounted. Manh used his overwhelming strength to try and smash her away.

    Compared to Sereth, he really wasn¡¯t much.

    ¡°How¡¯s that superior race working out for you?¡± Nestra mocked.

    She countered, her style much more vicious and unpredictable than Camille¡¯s. Manh cursed every time they engaged in a contest of strength and he failed to crush her. Strong bastard though. Nestra was forced to attack viciously just so he wouldn¡¯t start one of those strange techniques. She used <em>momentum </em>to close in, and <em>precision</em> to push him away. Her <em>intuition </em>made up for theck of familiarity with his style¡­ and then, Camille returned to help. They had swallowed a potion and were looking much better.

    A mana panel blocked Manh¡¯s elbow and Nestra¡¯s <em>precision </em>strike hit him in the ribs. Nestra heard the ng of armor. Had to be good armor because it failed to prate. Much.

    Manh struck the ground. Lava erupted from under Nestra¡¯s feet, forcing her to jump back. When she looked up, Manh was staring at his blood smeared over his fingers. He was struck with disbelief. Nestra attacked, but it only made him more angry.

    And now, he was taking her seriously.

    ¡°Unicorn Rush!¡±

    Pain.<em> Immovable</em> had not sufficed. Something bit into her nk, deflected at thest moment by Camille¡¯s de. Riel dammit, that hurt. Nestra charged immediately while Manh frowned, perhaps surprised. She was a tough girl. She wasn¡¯t going to fall from something named after a damn unicorn.

    This time, Camille was prepared. While Nestra took the lead as a storm of powerful attacks and teleportations, Camille hit with precise techniques and a flurry of panels to hinder Manh. Theynded several blows but unlike Nestra, they failed to prate Manh¡¯s armor. He let the blows nce off, apparently no longer worried.

    ¡°Be ready,¡± Camille whispered, in Japanese this time.

    Manh frowned. Nestra could see his confusion. Maybe he didn¡¯t speak thenguage at all? It was such amon sentence in Threshold vids that everyone home knew it.

    ¡°Anathema.¡±

    Camille¡¯s next technique incorporated Nestra¡¯s movement. It was a seamless mix of enve and Threshold and Padian-exclusive moves. Nestra resisted the urge to say ¡®hey that¡¯s mine!¡¯

    ¡°What? You DARE!¡± Manh roared.

    Camille¡¯s final strike caught him in the cheek. He moved back, bleeding. It was an opening. Nestra filled herself with electricity and rushed at blinding speed. Her next strike was barely parried but Manh was off bnce. She unleashed the electric charge at point nk rage. He screamed in pain. It was a nice sound. Nestra aimed for his head but he was currently protecting it, so she aimed for the chest instead. The dot of potential found his heart. The boltnded true.

    His armor exploded. It was good, but not that good. Blood fell from the hole in thick rivulets. He screamed in pain. The scream turned into a roar of rage. Heat mmed Nestra like a wall. Camille screamed. Nestra grabbed her shorter friend to protect them. It didn¡¯t stop, neither the scream nor the heat. Mana droplets rained down on Nestra who started running away. Around them, the jungle burned. A mountain of fire emerged from the ground, under the floating form of a furious Manh bathed in fire.

    ¡°He¡¯s going to use a secret ability,¡± Camille warned.

    ¡°Can we stop him?¡±

    ¡°Can you fly?¡±

    A fire dragon was dancing in the air above their heads. Yeah, nah, that wasn¡¯t good at all. Nestra needed a solution.

    ¡°Wait, do you feel that?¡± she asked.

    ¡°Feel what?¡±

    ¡°Here¡­ a portal!¡±

    It was a small, temporary one and probably high D-ss only, but it was there. Nestra raced while Manh screamed insults in Vietnamese. She threw Camille at the portal and slipped in just as the spell reached a crescendo. Immediately, the temperature dropped to a morefortable level.

    She wasn¡¯t sure, but her space sense shivered from what must have been the impact. So close yet so far. Nestra looked around as she caught her breath. This was also a jungle world, but here the trees were blue and made out of some crystalline structure. A primate covered in blue gems screamed in the distance.

    Camille was kneeling, breathing hard and applying some sort of healing paste to open burns. Her infiltration set was half melted. Nestra checked her own Skin. The symbiote was sipping on her blood, but otherwise unharmed.

    ¡°Is¡­ is there a n?¡±

    Nestra smeared some of her blood on a nearby rock. Her wound was already closed.

    ¡°Maybe? Let¡¯s just try and stab him anyway.¡±

    The truth was that she had used both aces up her sleeve to get that wound in, hoping it would be enough but¡­ damn B-ss and their resilience! Now they would have to improvise.

    A shape moved through the world¡¯s entrance portal. Nestra aimed her bolt and released it immediately, catching Manh in the left hand. He screamed in pain as soon as he was through.

    ¡°You fight like a coward!¡± he screamed in English.

    Nestra shrugged.

    ¡°And you fight like an idiot.¡±

    Manh rushed her, this time. Scattered pieces of crystal trees peppered Nestra but she grinned. He was trying to beat her with technique, but also his superior physique. It wasn¡¯t working because she was an Aszhii and it was making him so mad. She dodged to the side, then used <em>momentum </em>to get out of the way of a powerful thrust. A well-positioned barrier slowed the next blow, then Camille caught him in another weird technique that seemed to infuriate him to no end. Nestra noticed he was still bleeding.

    Void mana was a bitch.

    ¡°Oof.¡±

    A horizontal attack mmed her against a rock, killing a monkey thing as it was attacking her. She immediately jumped back to her feet for a vicious counter. At this point, she and Camille had reached a good level of cooperation. When Nestra had the lead, she pressed Manh with powerful, precise attacks that he was struggling to block. When Camille had the lead, their mixed technique upset and angered him. It wasn¡¯t enough. The trio ravaged the world, leaving only minced monsters and crushed trees in their wake, but Camille was tiring and Manh was not. Compared to them, he had endless mana and stamina to draw on.

    ¡°This is how it ends,¡± he finally said. ¡°The spy and the traitor, together, dying to their betters. All your skills and your tricks don¡¯t matter. In the end, only power does. We will leave you behind on our ascension with all the other weaklings.¡±

    Next to Nestra, Camille paled.

    ¡°Anyst word?¡± he smirked.

    ¡°Behind you,¡± Nestra said with false rm.

    Manh¡¯s face was an expression of condescending pity.

    And then, Sashimi bit his leg. Blood sprayed on the ground. He screamed in agony, but Nestra was already on him. Ast bolt finally hit his face, leaving it a red ruin. Camille¡¯s de caught him under the armpit. He kneeled. Nestra used <em>momentum </em>to slip behind.

    Her strike decapitated him cleanly.

    Power filled her. It was enormous and so incredibly tasty. She¡¯d gotten help and not been taken seriously but it was a B-ss raider. A sphere above. She kneeled over the bleeding corpse to peel the armor off like shell off the meat of a crustacean. That core. That sweet, sweet core.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    Nestra refrained from hissing. This was her¡­ well.

    No.

    It was their prey.

    ¡°I want his core.¡±

    Camille looked down at the body, her thoughts carefully hidden.

    ¡°As trophy?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°You¡­ feel like the type. Promise you won¡¯t ever sell it.¡±

    ¡°You have my solemn word,¡± Nestra replied, excitement bubbling beneath the surface.

    She carefully picked the gore-drenched red core, pocketing it forter when she would be alone. She felt giddy at her victory, but the hunt wasn¡¯t over just yet. There was the small matter of a revolution.

    ¡°We need to get out of here,¡± she said.

    Camille cast ast nce at Sashimi hovering carefully out of range of their de.

    ¡°Can you exin this? Some sort of summon? I thought you had transformation mana.¡±

    ¡®It¡¯s a package deal,¡± Nestra lied through her teeth. ¡°Sashimi is her own creature though. I don¡¯t truly control her.¡±

    Camille shook their head. Theck of reaction made Nestra a little worried, but the fact the de master¡¯s entire universe had copsed was probably their biggest concern right now.

    ***

    Nestra recovered for all of one minute before deciding that Chandra Satya and her diplomats were still her charges, and maybe it would be nice to make sure they were saved. She pulled a shell-shocked Camille out of the portal world while conspicuously leaving Manh¡¯s body in range of a very hungry squall.

    The first thing Nestra did was try to contact Chandra. Unfortunately, the gunship¡¯s system was down and her visor didn¡¯t connect with anything. She didn¡¯t even know if her fellow envers were alright.

    ¡°Hmm, we could find the wreck,¡± Nestra mentioned.

    ¡°As strange as it sounds, I think we should get back to the enve,¡± Camille replied with a shaky voice.

    ¡°Wasn¡¯t it what we were trying to avoid?¡± Nestra asked.

    ¡°Threshold¡¯s gunships should be here soon. I think this will mark the end of the conflict anyway, and also, I need to pack my belongings.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯reing back with us?¡± Nestra asked, interested.

    ¡°No. Well, yes, but by my own means. There is nothing left for me there.¡±

    ¡°Right. You should contact me. I can help set you up as a masked gleam! We¡¯ll partner up. Hell, you could even crash on my sofa and have some slow-cooking stew if you have nowhere to go..¡±

    ¡°Maybe¡­¡± Camille grumbled, then after a while, ¡°Thank you. Sorry I just need a moment. I think¡­ I need a moment.¡±

    Nestra nodded. Poor Camille didn¡¯t even get a Kero Nut to cope with those drastic changes. Better give them some time. The pair soon left without words to return to the enve where all would end, one way or another.

    ***

    The Sword Kings¡¯ mountain was calmer. Embers still smoldered behind the walls. From the outside, Nestra could see the high walls topped by the Sword Kings¡¯ most important buildings. Camille and Nestra crossed the wall at a slow pace. A tense expectation made the air heavy under rumbling thick clouds. No one stopped them. No one was even looking in their direction. As they approached, they saw the deserted farnds and facilities popted by small squads of colored robes brandishing des, but the center of attention remained the smoking ruins of the training hall. Lit withnterns and floodlights, a circle of rebel Elders stood there next to the bound form of Watanabe. So he was still alive. Chandra and the others weren¡¯t here, a sign they might have sessfully escaped.

    Nestra wasn¡¯t sure what they were still doing out there. It had been more than fifteen minutes since the entire thing had started, possibly more, so holding position here was just asking for grid coordinate deletion by a fleet of gunships or worse. Perhaps they were counting on the presence of a hostage to stop that. Actually, they were probably right because there wasn¡¯t a single sign of Threshold¡¯s presence. Nothing. Nada. No gunships, no explosions, no squads of army gleams in high-tech armor. Hidden in the shadows, Nestra whispered to Camille.

    ¡°Hmm, see anyone?¡±

    ¡°No. But¡­¡±

    And then Nestra felt it too. A presence. She looked up above, under the cloudyer to find a single figure drifting down as if floating. It was a woman with gray hair dressed in a ck bodysuit. Metal floated around her in a constetion of spiked balls, chains, des, and esoteric shape that seemed to change as she watched. Nestra¡¯s mouth fell open.

    ¡°Riel. I thought she wasn¡¯t fighting.¡±

    Ragnhild Lindstrom¡¯s aura nketed the entire city. It was massive, oppressive, and felt like having a metal de pushed against one¡¯s tongue. Nestra couldn¡¯t speak. A cold chill traveled up her spine, even in her Aszhii form. She remembered the feeling of facing the old woman in a duel all those months ago, like it was a chained beast using a toothpick to test the limits of a pup. Nestra didn¡¯t feel that exhrating joy of pushing herself to the limit, this time. No, this time, the beast was unchained.

    There was only one reason for someone like her toe in person.

    ¡°You are here to fight Threshold,¡± she said. ¡°We do not Fight. We are the City that Guards the Gate. We do not Fight.¡±

    Nestra dragged Camille to cover, the fencer barely protesting. They could feel iting as well. The squads of rebels were also scattering, answering the call of their animalistic brains. Only the Elders still stood, though Nestra couldn¡¯t tell if it was pride or stupidity. Or both. Her instincts were telling her to run but she was too curious. This was, after all, a once-in-a-lifetime kind of experience. This power, radiating from the human shape¡­ intoxicating. Nestra gripped a nearby stone, cracking the rock. She wanted to see. She <em>needed </em>to see. One of the Elders made to speak but his voice was drowned by Ragnhild¡¯s sheer presence. Almost there. Almost there.

    ¡°We will recover our children,¡± she said.

    Watanabe¡¯s metal restraints were undone, and his unconscious form rose through the air. The Elders who tried to interfere were pushed away by debris.

    ¡°Your consent is not required. We do not Fight. Not with you. I will show why.¡±

    Contact. The pressure rose to such an overwhelming level that Nestra had to kneel. A torrent of mana smashed through everything, the wind pushing tools and trees aside with the speed of a hurricane. Despite the flying debris, Nestra couldn¡¯t look away from the flickering presence above her. Ragnhild extended her arms. Metal wires emerged from nothingness around her, encasing her entire body into the form of a werewolf and it grew, grew, until it looked like it would blot out the stars. Nestra forced herself to breathe. For an instant, the world quieted, and a voice emerged from the titanic steel beast.

    ¡°Jag ?r vargen som slukar solen.¡±

    Nestra didn¡¯t need her visor to understand. The meaning pierced her mind like the strike of a whip.

    <strong>¡°I am the Wolf that devours the Sun.¡±</strong>

    Ragnaroknded on her feet, cracking the earth beneath it. In a gesture so fast Nestra only saw as an afterimage, she struck with a wed hand. Wires tore the ground open, peeled buildings off the ground, turned every bit of greenery on its path to splinters. House-sized boulders held to fragments of walls by crumbling masonry flew off at dazzling speed. The subsequent ¡®crack¡¯ was deafening.

    It took twenty seconds for enough dust to settle so that Nestra could see again. The pressure returned to ¡®tickled Shinran¡¯ levels of suffocating. From the training hall, surrounding buildings, even the stairs that led them or the Elders that guarded it, there was nothing left. Only naked rock and the asional piece of broken electric line. Nestra breathed deep.

    Yes.

    Yes, Threshold now had two A-rank monsters. Yes, this was power, power to look forward to. One day, she¡¯d do the same, only even more powerful! Yes! Such an amazing show. Truly, humans had such delicious potential.

    Nestra¡¯s ecstatic joy melted when the wolf¡¯s galvanized gaze turned to her. The shimmering mask of living metal didn¡¯t look to please, and neither did the usatory finger. A voice rang directly in Nestra¡¯s head.

    <strong>¡°You. My office.¡±</strong>

    ¡°Oh shit.¡±

 (54)

    (54)

    To add insult to injury, human Nestra now had to wait until Ragnarok¡¯s office was built before she could even get summoned there. Camille stuck around since they had no choice with an A-ss on a short fuse around. It took quite some time for a shuttle tond on the central field carrying supplies and emergency tents, the biggest of which was used to triage and heal critically injured envers. Nestra had never witnessed such bullshit.

    At least people gave her a wide berth. A willowy military medic had just brieflye to check if she was hurt, gave her a regen patch for her bruised arm, and then left for people who actually needed her. Except for that, no one had dared approach either her or Camille. They were just hanging around at the edge of the human equivalent of a kicked anthill.

    As far as Nestra could see, Threshold was really helping both loyalists and rebels, though thetter were confined to a secluded area under solid guard. r and the Patriarchnded sometime after 3AM, likely recalled from the portal world they were exploring. Ragnarok had a fast talk with the local leader by which Nestra meant that they gave up all pretense of humanity to talk at elerated speed, like part of a video moving on fast forward. As for r, he was immediately arrested. His gaze found Nestra as guards carried him to the nearest gunship. They were filled with guilt.

    She was left with a choice. Was she angry with r?

    Well, maybe a little bit. He¡¯d let pride or some other emotion get the better of him. His priority should have been safety, not dick measurement. Because of his decision, Weiwei and Derek had died. He hadn¡¯t meant for it to happen though.

    Nestra was feeling ambivalent. It wasn¡¯t fully his fault. Manh was to me for the massacre, first and foremost, so she gave him the most sober of nods. He closed his eyes. Was it relief? She had no idea.

    ¡°I would have expected you to be angrier,¡± Camille noted.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I guess I¡¯m really tired? I don¡¯t feel negative emotions towards him. He wasn¡¯t the one who killed my friends.¡±

    ¡°You were certainly angry against Truong.¡±¡°Who did kill my friends because she was a sore loser. Anyway, I¡¯m going to catch some shut eye.¡±

    The cocktail of painkillers had long since faded, and it was now clear the hostilities had ceased through the expedient means of A-ss Ex Machina, so there wasn¡¯t going to be a fight after all. Nestra zipped up her suit, grabbed a backpack as a pillow, and then she was gone in seconds.

    ***

    Nestra stood inside of her dream pce, in thearium room where spheres corresponding to her abilities revolved in aary dance. Her feet hovered over a smallke, its waters blue and crystalline. The edges of the smallke stopped at some distance. The waters were not so deep that she couldn¡¯t see a colorless bottom yet. This was the content of her core, an ocean to mirror the sky above.

    Well ok, maybe in a hundred years. But the vision was there! Her reserves had improved massively since she¡¯d started on the path of C-ss, though she was still far from done. She wasn¡¯t sure how theypared with human ones though. She felt like she had too much to work with, but that was perhaps simply because her magicgged behind. Humans were also forced to channel mana in different body parts at all times. As far as she understood, this was more of an unconscious thing for her. Truly, Aszhii would be a threat to all of creation if they weren¡¯t as goofy as Sereth appeared to be.

    With a spark of will, Nestra approached the spheres. Power and Celerity were first, then Resilience, Awareness, and Mind Speed. The magical spheresgged behind, as usual. She felt like she had enough power to form one more connection.

    Right now, she had enough utility as far as she was concerned. <em>Intuition </em>helped with tracking and reaction. <em>Momentum </em>and <em>Passe-muraille</em> gave her all the mobility she needed on top of the electricity spell. <em>Precision </em>was great for specific enemies with tiny weak points. <em>Immovable </em>was a solid defensive tool in the rare cases where she needed to tank something. No, what she¡¯dcked against Manh was a¡­ a finisher. Something to inflict massive amounts of damage that wasn¡¯t her bolt spell.

    She bound mana power and mana control with a tentative link. Images of a power surge filled her mind, strong yet unreliable and exhausting. That was good, perhaps what she needed, but she wasn¡¯t a mage, at least nor primarily. No, what she needed was, well, more oomph to her bonks.

    Nestra linked Power and mana power, the two most offensive abilities she had. The idea of a charged strike filled her mind with the promise of a devastating finisher, but at a cost.

    <em>Arcane strike.</em>

    ¡°Looks like I¡¯m going to need Shinran¡¯s help. This is going to take a lot of practice.¡±

    ***

    Ragnarok entered the room at a brisk pace. Her presence bubbled inconsistently in Nestra¡¯s sense, sometimes a physical weight on her shoulders, and sometimes barely a whisper. The newly minted A-ss raider looked tired. She was also holding two steaming paper cups of good size from which the enticing smell of arabica emerged like an enticing promise.

    ¡°Here. t white, no sugar.¡±

    The A-ss ced the cup in front of Nestra. She grabbed it. She took a sip. Angels descended from the dimension of earthly pleasure to deposit their sweetest nectar on her taste buds.

    ¡°Aaaah,¡± she said.

    Ragnarok sat down as well.

    ¡°And apology epted,¡± Nestra added as an afterthought.

    After all, Ragnarok had called her out with absolutely no proof of mischief and indeed, Nestra had been beyond reproach: no one had caught her.

    ¡°You know,¡± the old woman replied with narrowed eyes, ¡°I think your file is wrong. You do not really suffer from poor social skills, at least not uniformly. You are one third oblivious to a maddening degree, one third aggressively perceptive, with thest third being that you don¡¯t give a fuck.¡±

    ¡°Oooh yeah, the ¡®authority¡¯ thing,¡± Nestra said.

    ¡°See, this is what I mean. I get less lip from some B-ranks than from you.¡±

    She huffed, though it was almost close to a chuckle.

    ¡°It appears I have misjudged you. To my defense, you always seem to be at the center of some disaster.¡±

    ¡°Who sends me there half the time?¡± Nestra asked in a very rhetorical manner.

    ¡°A fair point. In any case, Mrs Satya and her teammended you on your incredibleposure. I would go so far as to say they remained free and alive in no small part thanks to your efforts. Officers Clint and Cai¡¯s sacrifices will not be forgotten, of course. So¡­ well done. Amazing job.¡±

    ¡°Thanks.¡±

    ¡°I must ask, however. Did anyone see your transformed self?¡±

    ¡°No, and nobody saw me turn back. I retreated into the jungle to do so. The only witness of my tr¡­ transformed self is dead. Camille ¡ª that is, Fox Mask ¡ª they saw, but they¡¯ll keep it secret. We killed Manh together.¡±

    ¡°You did what? You killed Manh?¡±

    Nestra froze.

    ¡°Yeah?¡±

    ¡°Where?¡±

    ¡°In a portal world. Camille and I.¡±

    ¡°You and Fox Mask took down a B-rank by yourselves?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    Well, there was also Sashimi but she didn¡¯t count. She was more of a fire-and-forget-Nestra-based ordinance with a stomach and an attitude.

    ¡°Dammit. I¡¯ll call back the search teams. We thought he had escaped and was nning some gueri operation!¡±

    The A-ss left in a storm. Nestra used the opportunity to sip more t white. Unfortunately, Ragnarok was back almost immediately.

    ¡°You should have led with that,¡± she reproached.

    Nestra shrugged. It was so much like the army to tell her to shut up unless spoken to and then me her when she did. Ragnarok remained strangely thoughtful.

    ¡°A very impressive performance, yes. Hmm. I think we can move forward with¡­ but that willeter. I will make sure you are sent back to the city ASAP. You can expect an interview from Special Affairs that I cannot reasonably block. Beyond that, rest and raid. I will make sure you have priority ess to whatever portals we control. Oh, you will probably have the one debrief but after that, I will keep the agents off your back.¡±

    ¡°Will they be hostile?¡±

    ¡°This operation was a disaster due to the loss of life, so yes.¡±

    ¡°What happens now? With the enve, I mean. I also suggested Fox Mask to join the city as a masked gleam in the future. It wouldn¡¯t be good for them to stay and they were sort of forced into a life of crime anyway.¡±

    Ragnarok red, though it didn¡¯tst very long.

    ¡°Did they ept?¡±

    ¡°They were certainly thinking about it. Their rtionship with their n has been¡­plicated as ofte.¡±

    ¡°You know what, this is an excellent idea. After she¡¯s faced justice, of course. They have proven their capabilities, after all. I shall talk to them. I assume you¡¯re willing to sponsor them? As for your question, we are now at peace after what the media will describe as the enve¡¯s internal turmoil, which has now been resolved to our satisfaction. Now, we will close the deal arranged by r with a few modifications.¡±

    While sending him to the Red House in disgrace, Nestra thought.

    ¡°including a special enrolment program for students who wish to learn other raider disciplines than the de. We will be prioritizing girls.¡±

    ¡°Huh? Why?¡±

    ¡°Because of your rmendations,¡± Rangarok said with a pointed nce. ¡°Because you demonstrated that abuseints were either shot down or not filed to begin with. Oh, but that is not all. We will also offer reconstructive surgery services at very favorable rates, payable by raiding around Threshold for those who cannot afford it. Again, all thanks to your observations.¡±

    Rangarok allowed herself a cat-like smile.

    ¡°You¡¯re just going to poach underused talents, aren¡¯t you?¡± Nestra asked.

    ¡°You need to ept that Threshold can be generous and serve its own purposes at the same time, young Padian. Threshold lost precious people in this adventure, and I¡¯m afraid dear r¡¯s career will be on hold for a decade after he¡¯s promptly exonerated ¡ª that should happen shortly after the elections. Fortunately, the Sword Kings will be part of our sphere of influence beyond the walls, as well as provide us with a permanent raiding base and supplier for a few of the new continent¡¯s more exotic resources. All in all, a great gain at a rtively minor cost.¡±

    She raised a hand to deflect Nestra¡¯s condemnations.

    ¡°I know, human life is sacred. But if I have to spend Threshold¡¯s blood then I will get all I can out of it. And by Riel, we just did. Off you go now. You deserve rest.¡±

    Nestra left the tent, only to find the negotiation team along with Chandra Satya standing at the exit. They¡¯d changed and showered at some point of the night which made her irrationally jealous. The smile and nods were nice though. It made Nestra¡¯s shriveled ck heart all warm and mushy.

    ¡°Hey, you guys are alright,¡± she said.

    ¡°Yes, thanks to you. We were picked up near the gunship¡¯s wreck! Poor Donovan stepped on a wasp nest but otherwise we¡¯re all in one piece. You saved us!¡±

    Donovan, whose face had doubled in volume, gave her a pained smile.

    ¡°We were just here to say thank you,¡± the negotiator concluded.

    The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the vition.

    Several others nodded. A tall man pped her on the shoulder in a very awkward way.

    ¡°Never seen someone so calm in my life. It really helped me stay grounded despite¡­¡±

    He faltered.

    ¡°Hey I get it. I¡¯m just d it¡¯s all over now.¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± another said, ¡°I can¡¯t wait to be back. I need a drink.¡±

    ¡°Several,¡± a third added. ¡°Tea, preferably.¡±

    Nestra made some small talk before leaving. This was one of the prizes, honestly. To get people safe, or at least, as safe as she could make them in this ce. She basked in that precious light when she said bye to Fox Mask who was going to get their own golden parachute to Threshold if Ragnarok was to be believed. The trip back was quick: she was repatriated in an empty shuttle that had brought supplies there. They wouldnd at the Threshold airport, the military one, south of the city. She hadn¡¯t been there in ten years.

    Her visor beeped as soon as they were close enough to get a signal. The top message left after a long series of beeps came from Helena.

    <em>¡®Holy shit Nes you absolutely popped off. You¡¯re so wired! Wow!¡¯</em>

    <em>¡®What?¡¯ </em>she immediately texted back.

    In response, Helena sent her a short video, an extract from one of the city¡¯s more popr newsworks. An anchorman with more work done than the average house spoke confidently to the camera.

    ¡®... enve where a government delegation was caught in a session crisis, causing the death of two pilots. The rest of the delegation was only saved by the heroic intervention of their legal expert, an ex-MaxSec agent by the name of Clytemnestra Padian, who managed to extract them from thepound by force. Representative Sun has questioned the circumstances that led to such a disaster ..¡¯

    A grainy footage of Nestra firing her shotgun on someone out of sight moved on a loop to the right of the screen. She was looking pretty badass, she had to admit. The focused expression and good posture made her look confident and not half stressed to death. She was surprised the footage had escaped censorship, to be fair. The city tended to keep things under wrap until they¡¯d finished all they wanted to do.

    ¡®You¡¯re famous!¡¯ Helena added.

    But all Nestra could feel was dread, a deep fear that lodged itself in her stomach like a ball of ice. A few secondster, as if driven by fate itself, she received a call.

    There was no escape.

    ¡°Hi Mom.¡±

    ¡°Clytemnestra Padian, where the hell are you?¡±

    ¡°On a shuttle heading to the airport where I¡¯llnd in a couple of minutes.¡±

    ¡°Right. <em>Don¡¯t move.</em>¡±

    Nestra sighed. Not like there would be much of a choice.

    ¡°Look,¡± her mother btedly added, ¡°I know you can take care of yourself. I just don¡¯t know why you leave on diplomatic missions, and then I check the news and what do I see? My daughter fending off gleams with a goddamn shotgun? Can you exin?¡±

    ¡°Well. It was unexpected. Took me by surprise to be sure.¡±

    ¡°How surprised were you if you<em> brought your shotgun with you on a diplomatic mission</em>? I was with you when you purchased it, remember? Was it also part of your attribution, miss legal expert? If someone had told me my daughter who can¡¯t remember to close the damn bathroom door would be the authority on any sort of rules, I would have strangled them. Afterughing myself prone. This is such an obvious cover that I don¡¯t know how you can even say this to my metaphorical face. And showing off your sword skills was also part of the legal work? Good form, however. Your father is very proud.¡±

    ¡°What, you guys saw the demo?¡±

    ¡°Yes. I assume it was better footage than you blowing people¡¯s brains out, so we got to see that one on the news. As I said, your father is very proud and so am I for saving all those people. And you¡¯re right, we must trust you to fight, just like we do. But we would also appreciate some foresight so I don¡¯t spit my damn coffee all over the table again? Please? Where are you now?¡±

    ¡°Still up in the air heading to the airport.¡±

    ¡°Right. See you soon.¡±

    Nestra didn¡¯t need radar to know a flying object had just taken off from Threshold¡¯s residential area. Someone was going to get a speeding ticket.

    She just hoped they wouldn¡¯t hug her too tight because her ribs were still tender from Truong¡¯s kick.

    ***

    Nestra drummed her fingers on the table. Ragnarok had warned her that she would be interrogated, but it was now past 2PM and she¡¯d only eaten an energy bar in the past 18 hours so her patience was running thin.

    ¡°Can you again, in your own words, describe the way you disabled the two gleams?¡± the Special Affair gleam asked in a motherly tone that didn¡¯t match her youthful air. Seriously, the woman was younger than Nestra.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you have the footage? I think I sent you the footage. Five minutes ago, as a matter of fact.¡±

    ¡°We are asking you.¡±

    ¡°I already told you twice and it should match the footage.¡±

    ¡°Agent Padian, we ¡ª¡±

    The small room shook ever so slightly. The old school datasheet in front of the gleam slid towards Nestra by a few centimeters, as did a few other loose metal items in the room. It suddenly grew cold. Nestra could see frozen dendrites crawl over the ceiling like grasping fingers. The gleams also felt the long, suffering mana sighing from outside the door.

    A few secondster, one of her superiors entered the room with clear displeasure.

    ¡°Not done yet?¡± she asked in a very cavalier fashion.

    ¡°I was just checking a fewst details with Agent Padian here.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure it can wait, hm?¡± the superior asked, red eyes shing dangerously. ¡°Miss Padian, you are free to go.¡±

    Nestra happily left the pair behind. Once again, she was saved by her ¡®guanxi¡¯, herwork of acquaintances. Meanwhile, the junior interrogator was going to get a lesson on prioritization and political awareness. A part of Nestra felt disgusted that one could get into trouble for doing their job properly. On the other hand, interrogating the heroine of the day as if she were a suspect was the sort of inept use of working time that needed to be addressed sooner rather thanter. Common sense ought to prevail over protocol.

    Also she was hungry.

    Nestra returned to the waiting room to see her mom, dad, and Helena sprawled over the bench in the same way a pride of lionszed on the savannah, with hooded eyes that told everyone they were full for now but could go for an extra. Sadly, Ulysses wasn¡¯t here, which wasn¡¯t a surprise. Aunt ire wasn¡¯t either. She was probably raiding somewhere.

    Nestra sighed. Straight out of the frying pan and into the napalm.

    ***

    Nestra¡¯s family let her go homete in the afternoon. She immediately turned around to drive to the Emporium, the gleam marketce. It was good to visit its cavernous arena filled with visiting gleams of all levels of power and affluence. She saw a nervous young awakened inspect staves with someone who appeared to be his mother, and her heart felt a prick of nostalgia for what could have been¡ªall those special moments she¡¯d missed out on. She approached the counter, only for one of the attendants to greet her in person. He had the perfect butlerposure and the cold blue eyes of an ice user.

    ¡°Hello, Miss Crescent. Wee to the Emporium. Will you be requiring a new de?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°We have one prepared for you made of ck Steel, an unusually resilient material normally reserved for B-ss armor. General Lindstrom authorized the use of restricted materials for this case.¡±

    The man left, soon returning with a case, muscles bulging under the impable suit. Nestra opened it with relish. Swords were much lighter than most people realized, except this one apparently.

    ¡°Bnced ording to your preferences and¡­ adjusted size.¡±

    He gave her a long look. She didn¡¯t react. Size changes were pretty standard for transformation powers. Most of the time rted to the user¡¯s mana reserves.

    ¡°We also have an assortment of powerful yet useless armor sets that could be of interest to you. Artifacts of good value.¡±

    The Skin was growing a bit more discerningtely so shitty apprentice-made artifacts of cheap steel leaking mana like a drunkard leaked piss wasn¡¯t cutting it anymore.

    ¡°Tell me,¡± she suggested.

    ¡°A suit recovered from a sunken ruin by divers: C-ss. Made of awakened olivine. Very durable. It allows its wearer to breathe in the abyss despite the pressure.¡±

    ¡°That sounds rather useful.¡±

    ¡°Provided the user has gills.¡±

    ¡®Much less useful then.¡±

    ¡°Indeed. We also have an extremely heavy full te armor that can stop heat as high as 800 degrees, including fire mana spells. It is suitable for people no taller than 140 centimeters.¡±

    Those were clearly designed for other species. Nestra wondered if this was a glitch of the portalwork, or maybe a leak? She hoped she had nothing to do with it.

    Actually if it was someone¡¯s fault, it was definitely Sereth¡¯s. Fucker kept punching holes in reality.

    ¡°I mean. A strong child?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid not. There is also a dearth of users affected by dwarfism, so I¡¯m afraid we have a very limited demand. I also have a heavy gauntlet that heals people it hits. It also weighs over five hundred kilograms. The gauntlet must be mmed on the wounded person for the regeneration to take effect. I¡¯m told the punch is fully felt by the victim, that is, the patient, sorry.¡±

    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t healers keep it as a deterrent?¡±

    Mazingwe would probably love to have it in his office as alternative treatment for the most annoying of his Aszhii clients. As a matter of fact, she should probably take it now before he learned of its existence.

    ¡°Sold. Anything else?¡±

    ¡°I have horse armor, or centaur armor but it makes little difference, a leather cape of invisibility that only works inplete darkness, and an explosive bone shield that explodes on both sides. The grand total will be three hundred and twenty thousand credits.¡±

    Nestra would cry if she could. That would wipe her out. On the other hand, she could earn that much again in less than two months of serious raiding now that she was C-ss. And besides, money wasn¡¯t good when you were dead.

    ¡°Oh alright then.¡±

    The man smiled before packing all of her stuff. She isted herself in a separate room for safe consumption. An atrocious vition of thews of the universeter, the Skin assimted hertest findings. She had a close look at how it was growing.

    She had shoes now, and even an integrated mask if she asked for it. The skin was thicker than most bodygloves now, with a rather thin chest te, bracers, and greaves. Bony extensions protected her neck while a diaphanous cape floated behind her shoulders like a fancy shawl. It would only deploy properly if she tried to hide. The garment was dark and crossed with geometric lines on her limbs where the armor remained thin. It still looked like she was wearing really thick socks rather than proper shoes. It was still fine though.

    Now she only had to be obscenely rich and all her armor issues would be solved.

    ***

    ¡°Hello Crescent.¡±

    Nestra sat up instinctively from herfy sofa. Ragnarok had to be the busiest woman on the right now, so the fact she took the time to talk was significant.

    ¡°Yes?¡±

    ¡°Right to business if you don¡¯t mind. I have a promising young prospect by the name of Andre Iorescu freshlynded from the Bucharest enve who has been missing his appointment. Unfortunately, the appointment was a court summons and the cause is that young Iorescu sent a driver to the hospital after causing a hovercraft ident.¡±

    ¡°Very daring.¡±

    ¡°Indeed. Now, Mr. Iorescu has a bright future ahead of him if and only if he understands that we take the rule ofw very seriously here. He is currently holed up in the VIP section of the Sling.¡±

    ¡°Oh, fancy.¡±

    Everyone knew of the Sling. It wasn¡¯t as popr as it used to be back when she was a teenager because new and more ¡®wired¡¯ ces had opened since then, but it remained a pir of Threshold¡¯s nightlife. Getting admitted to the Sling on sight was a sure sign that someone had made it. It was also considered neutral ground, a sacredw few dared to breach.

    ¡°I need you to go there and retrieve him. I will have a car ready, should you ept.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I need to rify a few things.¡±

    ¡°Mr Iorescu is a very proud, top level C-ss boulder at the ripe age of 23. He will not be armed but he might have followers. Let me be absolutely clear. You are not to kill him, and you are not to maim him, however you are allowed to use violence. His psychological profile shows he had an extremely rough childhood and might see Threshold¡¯s authorities as weak as a result. I want him to be ¡ª what is it the younglings say these days? ¡ª ah yes. Wire checked. My people will make sure he awaits my return in a cell. Again, do not kill him and do not maim him.¡±

    ¡°Understood.¡±

    ¡°Your diction has improved, by the way.¡±

    Nestra blinked. It was true that she hadn¡¯t hissed at people for some time now.

    ¡°Getting used to this form.¡±

    ¡°Good. Now please go fetch me my raider. Payment as usual.¡±

    It would be the perfect opportunity to test her Skin in public.

    ¡°On my way. Oh wait.¡±

    ¡®Yes?¡±

    ¡°Will they let me in?¡±

    Ragnarok didn¡¯t reply. She chuckled, then hung up.

    ***

    It was past 11PM. Even the most ambitious of office drones were out, and the night was pleasantly cool. Nestra rode down the ramp to the nondescript warehouse that hid the Sling, its secrecy ruined by parking spots filled with high-end cars. It didn¡¯t really matter that much. The Sling was a victim of its sess. It was a legendary spot featured in more than a dozen gleam vids as the hip ce young up anding raiders visited to mingle and rx after bloody expeditions.

    Nestra slowed down her nice motorcycle before the entrance and the queue of hopefuls who might see the insides of this exclusive venue. A gleam valet strode to her with a smile that did little to hide his concern. She waited until he was close enough.

    ¡°Wee to the Sling, Crescent. May I ask, are you here for business or pleasure?¡±

    Ah so she was famous. Nay, infamous.

    ¡°Business,¡± she replied. ¡°Iorescu.¡±

    ¡°Ah.¡±

    The valet fidgeted. Nestra had thew on her side. Being Ragnarok¡¯s attack dog meant that people naturally assumed she was there on the old monster¡¯s behalf. Most of the time, they were right. She was basically telling them to pick a side between a rowdy upstart and the¡¯s newest A-rank who also happened to be on the side ofw.

    She was confident about their answer.

    The valet checked his visor for around three seconds. The verdict fell ording to Nestra¡¯s predictions.

    ¡°VIP section. Second floor. Please do try to keep damage to a minimum?¡±

    She clicked a key and the front and right side of her motorcycle opened, revealing the hilt of Nestra¡¯s new ymore. She grabbed the hilt.

    ¡°No promises.¡±

    She ced it on her back while the bike left to park itself. Far behind, a police truck drove down the ramp. Mr Iorescu¡¯s carriage, she presumed.

    She was let in by a bouncer only slightly shorter than she was.

    The warehouse gates opened into a quiet antechamber, not unlike an airlock. Once the front doors opened, she was hit by a wall of sounds, smells, and leaking mana. The bass-heavy song made her eardrums shake with every beat. It was a powerful,pelling call to dance. Dancing was nice. It had been a very long time since she hadst danced just for the hell of it. Unfortunately, it also smelled of sweat, perfume, and arousal. The heady cocktail woke her up from her hesitation. She was here to hunt.

    Nestra strode by a cloakroom that doubled as an armory, apparently. A hauntingly beautiful aug with cat-like imnts made a gesture to stop her, but then she touched her visor and let her through. The music doubled as soon as she stepped down from a tform and into the mass of bodies.

    Gleams danced with a grace and speed that no baseline could match, and that was doubly true for well-trained raiders who made up the majority of the people there. Their eyes shone on the vast floor to mirror the strobe lights above them in blues and yellows and greens and more exotic hues besides. Their mana leaked with every frantic pulse. This wasn¡¯t a ce for socializing, but one to forget, a celebration of life done with full abandon, from people whose life always hung by a thread. Some people were making out here or against a wall. There was a lot of flesh to be seen. Bare arms. Bare midriffs. Sometimes, questing fingers disappeared down garments.

    Nestra parted this living mesh of predators like a sea. They felt or saw her, and they stood aside, their gazes curious and hazy, but not afraid. Never afraid. They were here for a little fun, she suspected. Sex would do, but so would a little scrap, so long as it provided a good show. She wasn¡¯t sure but she thought some of them recognized her.

    She had expected it from valets and bouncers because it was their job to recognize people. It was weird seeing nods and res from people she¡¯d never even met.

    Two C-ss bouncers stood aside to let her through the VIP stairs. She took her time climbing them, enjoying the vibrant mess she was leaving behind. Humanity had taken a hit these past fifty years but they were clearly not out.

    The second floor was designed for drinks, whispers, and showing off. Large seats designed to amodate couples gathered around ss tables loaded with liquor, flutes, and snifters. It was a study in crystals catching the lights above, reflecting it in liquids, and in eyes, and then fading away in the ever-present dark. Raiders lounged there with thenguor of those whose bellies and wallets were equally full. Many of them were C-ss. The cream of the crop at their age. Enthroned in the middle with beautiful raiders on either side was Iorescu himself. He was a short man with small piercing eyes against a tall brow. Powerfully built, he emanated a trickle of brown mana. The file marked him as a strong bruiser while hispanions were a mage and a markswoman, respectively. It made Nestra want to test them. It also filled her with a strange sense of exhration. She was an Aszhii wearing the disguise equivalent of a fake mustache, yet none of those hunters around recognized the alien facing them. They didn¡¯t know. If they did, they would kill her. Or at least, they would try. But they didn¡¯t, and so she was practically screaming her otherness in their face, and their only reaction was to reach for another shot of rum.

    The dozen or so raiders at the central table tensed as she approached. One by one, they adjusted their postures. Nestra wasn¡¯t too concerned.

    She stopped in front of Iorescu who purposely ignored her. In one swift movement, she leaned forward and pped a ss from his hand as he was going to take a sip.

    She had his attention now. He was still smiling but his rage bubbled at the public disrespect. Nestra was fine with it. She wasn¡¯t here to negotiate, this time. She reached for her back sheath and picked up a folded piece of paper from there. Threshold could be old school when it came tow.

    She unfolded it under the rapt attention of the gleams.

    ¡°This is a summons to a court ofw in which you stand used of a variety of crimes. You are alreadyte. You will being with me, one way or another. I¡¯m giving you ten seconds to decide.¡±

    Nestra stood back to her full height. Behind her, a drunken reveler broke the silence.

    ¡°Come ondy, chill.¡±

    He was the only one to make the attempt. Iorescu waited, an amused smile on his face while she counted down in her head. He raised his hands at the veryst moment.

    ¡°Alright, alright.¡±

    He slowly stood. Nestra wasn¡¯t duped. He was going to choose violence. She could feel it.

    And he did.

    Iorescu kicked the ss table her way. She kicked it back almost at the same time. It broke on the bruiser¡¯s sturdy frame, showering his twopanions with broken shards. Music thrummed dangerously in the background while Iorescu threw a punch. Nestra did as well, at the same time. His blow nced off her shoulder. Hers mmed in his jaw. It was incredibly hard for a C-ss, and might have broken the hand of an unprepared fighter. Not Nestra, however. The hooknded with a nasty crack that made him stumble. She¡¯d really put her hips into it.

    She punched him again with all of her power. The first strike had left him blinking but standing. The second made him kneel. The third was an uppercut that broke through the reinforcement to smash him down into the couch. She grabbed him by the cor as he sputtered ¡®Ce Naiba!¡¯, which she assumed was Romanian, and also a curse. She grabbed him before he could recover and punched him in the gut, hard. He threw up some very expensive gleam liquor on the ss-strewn floor.

    ¡°Holy shit,¡± someone said.

    The raiders were standing now, but none were intervening. Even his twopanions sullenly watched from afar. She grabbed Iorescu by the neck, had onest look around.

    No one made any move to stop her.

    Crossing the dance floor again felt like a coronation. The gleams didn¡¯t even stop dancing, but they gave her space as she walked across it at a sedate pace, a dazed Iorescu firmly held in her grip. The bouncers opened the gates to let her through. Outside, the queue of people waiting for answers gasped when she appeared. She heard the click of unmuted visors taking pictures and videos.

    The police truck was waiting, alongside a pair of D-rank officers who took possession of the neutralized raider. Nestra left without a word. She moved towards her bike which was parked at a short distance.

    There was a man waiting for her. He was a tall anglo with an honest face and the shiny golden eyes of a light user, reminding Nestra of Mazingwe.

    ¡°Hey Crescent. Sorry toe to you unannounced. I¡¯m Dr. Daniels with the Center for Magical Studies.¡±

    An American? She resisted the urge to frown. What the fuck was he doing here?

    ¡°Look, I¡¯ll be direct. We¡¯re very much interested in transformation powers. Would you be interested in knowing more?¡±

    ¡°Absolutely the fuck not,¡± Nestra replied.

    She jumped on her ride, slotted her de, then drove away.

 (55)

    (55)

    Nestra¡¯s parry flowed into a slice, then a thrust immediately after. Her footwork was a blur, each step preparing the next in a chain of mighty blows. She was on edge. A counter woulde any time.

    Shinran¡¯s training facility had an uncanny ability to give her exactly what she asked for, and then make her regret everyst second of it. The foe facing her was the defensive duelist she¡¯d asked, yes, and he was technically C-rank yes, but he must have been some genius who¡¯d undergone hellish training because by Riel she couldn¡¯t crack the fucker¡¯s guard open. Not without opening herself to a counter.

    The creature was some sort of scaled bastard who gave off a ¡®wise turtle mentor¡¯ vibe that was starting to piss her off. He (presumably) fought with a huge cleaver he moved conservatively, but also had a quirk of physiology that allowed him to block with bone ridges protruding from his shoulders. She was far more dexterous and yet every attack was blocked. Sometimes, he would counter with a massive blow that had propelled her backwards the first time.

    This was the training world. It was here to challenge her every time.

    ¡°It¡¯s ok,¡± she told the illusion. ¡°I need to manage the Aszhii hubris anyway. I totally want to be humiliated on asion.¡±

    Another series of strikes. She narrowed her range of motions. Most of the time, her stupid strength allowed her to destabilize her foes but here the fucking turtle dude might as well have been made of condensed lead so fuck it. Speed it was.

    Using <em>Precision</em>, she attacked around the creature¡¯s throat. It changed its guard slightly to offset her attacks.

    ¡°It reminds me that I am not¡­¡±

    She bluffed high and struck low, severing a finger. The creature flinched.¡°... the best¡­¡±

    It countered. This time, she had been expecting it. She moved into the blow, letting the de whistle past her. Her own counter mmed into the creature¡¯s face, just below a dark eye. Dark blood gushed from the wound.

    ¡°... <em>yet</em>.¡±

    Recoil. The creature tried to push her away with a side blow. She blocked the first strike, then jumped over the next. A brownyer of mana suddenly covered her target. She assumed it was another defensive tool for when he needed a moment to recover. Unfortunately for him, she had just the answer.

    Nestra slowed down. it was still taking her too long to call upon it inbat, so she needed an opening. That opening hade. Her mana saturated her de, not just a sheath but an unstable potential begging to be unleashed. Nestra struck down.

    Both spells exploded on impact. Her de cleaved the turtle in a cataclysmic strike, cutting it in half.

    ¡°Hah!¡±

    The world faded to gray nothingness around her. No energy came to fill her core. The battle was over though, and she¡¯d won. Again.

    It was a shame arcane strike needed so much of a wind up, at least for now. It was also unfortunate that all C-ss warriors were told to interrupt or get out of the way of obviously telegraphed attacks. That was ok though, she¡¯d just learnt the skill. And she¡¯d been a gleam for a few months only. And she was already C-ss.

    Patience, Nestra, patience.

    ¡°But I want to kill stuff harder,¡± she groaned to herself.

    That was why training in Shinran¡¯s world was important. Nestra was still in the early stages of C-ss with plenty of opportunities for progress and improved resistances, and she could already take on a B-ss with some help. It made her feel superior and that was a deadly sin. Hubris was just too dangerous for her. She felt it cloud her judgment, like a couple of weeks before when she had dragged that punk neer by the neck. It whispered to her she was invincible, or rather, that she ought to aim for bigger prey, for better hunts. It wanted her to push herself to her limit, but it was a trap. It also made her want to rush in, to show her superiority by doing stupid shit like fighting with only one hand. This wasn¡¯t the human way, or the MacSec way rather. A good hunt meant a sessful one. A sessful hunt meant preparation, thought, not a brazen disy of ego. Hubris was not her friend.

    It was just a damn shame it made her feel so damn good when she indulged in it.

    The training world directed her to the exit using that passive aggressive notification system it used to remind her she was a parasitic gnat tolerated because Shinran had ordered so. The weird monk was nowhere to be found in the deserted lobby. She wondered where he went when he wasn¡¯t training.

    This ce had many secrets.

    Nestra approached a wall, only for something to scan her in a very obvious way. She suspected advanced, technologically inclined civilizations may have a way to track Aszhii intruders by searching for anomalies. The facility was clearly one such ce. Sometimes, she felt like whatever governed this derelict was intelligent, somehow.  ???¨¯???

    Nestra quietly went to one of the side corridors. Usually, Shinran came from there. She stopped when she heard a distant hiss. A quarter of a secondter, Shinran stood in front of her.

    He looked embarrassed.

    ¡°Hah, you¡¯re here, haha. Good. Shall we head back?¡±

    ¡°Yeees?¡± Nestra replied, frowning.

    He was already gone by the time she finished talking. It was, she found, both unsurprising and disappointing that he would smell strongly of arousal. If one had master ess to all manners of simtions then she should have obviously expected him to be a bit of a pig about it. The curious thing was that he went to a remote part of the facility to do so. Maybe there was a special sex room or something? Was it normal? Maybe?

    She shrugged. It wasn¡¯t her business how he used his time. Maybe he really needed it to offset his celibate life back on earth? Whatever.

    Nestra lost interest. She took the portal back and ran away from Shinran¡¯s home, refusing his polite offer for tea. Her car wasn¡¯t parked far. She got in, but as soon as she turned back to her human form, her visor red in rm.

    Message from her mom. Highest priority and it only said ¡®call me back ASAP¡¯. With dread settling in her stomach, she made the call. Her mom picked up instantly.

    ¡°Nestra, don¡¯t be too rmed, ok?¡±

    No one had died yet. Huge relief.

    ¡°But Aunt ire was stuck in a portal while it closed.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Her beacon activated, ok? She¡¯s safe. Well, no, but she¡¯s alive, alright?¡±

    ¡°What? Aunt ire? <em>Aunt ire</em>?¡±

    No, not her. It couldn¡¯t be.

    Raiders died every day. That was a fact of life. Some others were also caught in copsing worlds if they didn¡¯t reach the exit portal in time. It was much moremon inrger, higher-level portals due to abination of size andplexity. Some guardian battles required someone to stay behind to block reinforcements. Some even had several guardians. It was a bit of a mess, and so it wasn¡¯t fairly unusual for someone to be left behind.

    In the vast majority of the time, the person ended up dumped on earth at some distance from the portal, usually in a rather simr biome. There was little research on the subject given theck of ways to gather data, but Nestra suspected that portal worlds were entangled with two different realities: her native one and the ¡®invading¡¯ one. When the world copsed, foreignponents were either dumped in either one of the realities. Most of the time, it was earth, but sometimes it was the other. ire had been lucky this time.

    Actually, the other reality might have been the lucky one. A mobile, offensive B-ss with an attitude and a strong desire to return home didn¡¯t sound like a good thing. Anyway, Aunt Clecle was fine and somewhere on earth.

    <em>Yeah, she was going to be ok.</em>

    Breathe. Everything would be fine. She was just lossssssss..

    ¡°HSSSSSSS.¡±

    ¡°Nestra? I¡¯m getting weird glitches.¡±

    Nestra pulled her true self back, changing to her human form. It wasn¡¯t like her to lose control like that. Aunt Clecle wouldn¡¯t be rescued by some idiot rushing in. Nestra put the roadster on autopilot to home first. She needed to pack.

    ¡°Sorry I was under a tunnel. Anyway, I assume we¡¯re going to get her back? Where¡¯s the rescue signaling from?¡±

    ¡°Your father and I discussed your involvement.¡±

    ¡°I will literally stinger your ne out of the sky.¡±

    ¡°And decided that you knew how to take care of yourself and that it would be much wiser for us to keep you near in case you took a ne on your own.¡±

    ¡°Very wise.¡±

    ¡°The good news is that the beacon is in Asia. The bad news is that it¡¯s in China.¡±

    Nestra held back a curse. They needed a ne, which was pretty much expected. They would also need diplomacy. That tended to be moreplicated.

    ¡°Have you contacted the city yet?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re hammering out the details with the town. They are very keen on recovering lost raiders, so we¡¯ll get help there. The team said ire stayed behind to collect a specific core. I have no idea why this little idiot¡­ uggh. Anyway, we know the biome is supposed to be a mountainous forest.¡±

    ¡°Super helpful.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be like that. Oh, wait a moment, I got a double call.¡±

    Nestra sat back, resisting the urge to y with the wheel. Should she contact Ragnarok? Yeah of course, at least so the old hound would know Nestra would be out of town. She sent a quick message on her raider phone. The reply was instantaneous.

    ¡°I know. I assume you will go with them. Our best people are on the case. Rest assured that despite my annoyance at ire, I will do everything in my power to get her home in one piece.¡±

    That was reassuring. In Nestra¡¯s mind, ¡®everything possible¡¯ meant the Threshold air force would drop Ragnarok herself on top of the area until Clecle was back home safe. Unfortunately, her boss was now considered a strategic asset, so that made unannounced visits paramount to a deration of war. Unfortunately for Nestra, both of Threshold¡¯s A-rank were of the opinion that things ought to be done ording to the rule ofw.

    Nestra¡¯s visor beeped again. It was her mom.

    ¡°Nestra, we¡¯re meeting at home in 90 minutes. Can you be there?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll swing by my ce to grab some clothes and sundries. Meet you in 90.¡±

    ***

    The receiving room had turned into an improvised headquarters. Clecle¡¯s team was here alongside the Padians. Nestra and Ulysses had ignored each other since the start, preferring to watch the army gleam set up. He was a short, unassuming anglo with short brown hair¡ªthe kind of guy even Nestra wouldn¡¯t have paid attention to in the street. Even his eyes were gray and indistinct, shining just enough to show what he was.

    ¡°Thanks for having me,¡± he soon began. ¡°My name is Major Winslow, with Threshold¡¯s Recovery division.¡±

    A spook. Nestra should have guessed.

    ¡°I will be acting as liaison for the Threshold government. Our primary goal is to bring ire home <em>without </em>an international disaster. Due to past experiences, we have decided that ns would always be included in the rescue efforts but I want you to keep in mind that we can withdraw our support if you abuse it. We¡¯re here to help. We¡¯re not here to let you start a war.¡±

    Pretty bold. As far as Nestra could tell, he was probably a C-ss raider capable of hiding his aura. It was like a doberman telling an entire lion pride to behave. Her dad nodded though. He was also a stickler for order. Up to a point.

    ¡°Good. Now here is what we know. The beacon¡¯s location was sent to us by a ry set in the Shanghai Fortress. It was faint, but we got a location to¡­. here.¡±

    If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the vition.

    A map opened on Nestra¡¯s visor, showing a red dot near the south-western most province of China, at the border with Laos and Myanmar. It looked like the ce was pretty high up. She checked the elevation. Over 3000 meters.

    Yeah that might affect her. Threshold was almost at sea-level.

    ¡°This region is officially named Shangri-La. Although nominally under Chinese control, it¡¯s a remote region sporting few portals and a single enve. None of the portals are higher than C-rank. The beacon moved there at a slow speed matching that of a motorized vehicle, then, twelve minutester, the signal was switched off.¡±

    There were a few gasps, including Nestra¡¯s own. Her heart was trying to escape her ribs.

    ¡°I want to insist that right until the beacon switched off, ire¡¯s vitals were stable. Concerning, but stable.¡±

    ¡°So someone deliberately turned it off?¡± her father asked.

    His voice was dangerously low. He was quiet, tense. It made her want to behave.

    ¡°It would appear so. We are clearing an emergency flight with the Chinese government as we speak. We will most likely be joined by a representative who will¡­ coordinate our efforts.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯ll keep an eye on us, you mean,¡± Mom grumbled.

    ¡°Yes, of course, because you are a n with several renowned B-ss raiders. I expect your full cooperation in this matter. I expect the flight to be tomorrow at dawn. Your team must consist of eight people max. Gear is fifty kilograms per person, max.¡±

    Dad cleared his throat.

    ¡°Unless the weight is somehow mitigated. Be sure to have your passport with you. We will take care of the rest.¡±

    He nodded, then he was gone. Nestra felt a shimmer of strange mana that reminded her of darkness, but not quite.

    ¡°I¡¯m going,¡± she told the room.

    ¡°Deborah, Ulysses, Clytemnestra, myself. That¡¯s four,¡± her father said in a tight voice.

    Nestra felt the urge to go clean up the room.

    The door banged open. Helena was there, holding an axe. It looked sturdier than the ones she¡¯d started with.

    ¡°I¡¯ming or there is no house when you return.¡±

    ¡°Helena¡­¡± her mom whispered.

    ¡°We were barely older when we started,¡± dad said.

    ¡°But¡­¡±

    ¡°She cane. We will protect her, if needed. That¡¯s five. Who else?¡±

    A discussion began, weighing the pros and cons. Nestra noticed that there were a few raiders she didn¡¯t know, possibly from the Century guild who were House Padian¡¯s current partners.

    Nestra retreated to the entrance for a quick call. She returned five minutester with an offer.

    ¡°May I suggest a drone expert?¡± she said, interrupting the unintelligible babble of B-ss assholes talking at full speed.

    ¡°We already have enough scouting abilities,¡± her dad said.

    ¡°Can you run real time trantions? Can you listen to a conversation in a house two kilometers away? Can you see in infrared?¡±

    Her dad hesitated for all of one second.

    ¡°If the report is to be believed, we already have enough power. Alright. We will find someone.¡±

    ¡°I already got someone. Stibbs, my old teammate. She¡¯ll have the drones ready in two hours.¡±

    Her dad mulled the offer.

    ¡°She¡¯s your responsibility then. Vassily, will youe as well?¡±

    ¡°Of course,¡± the veteran replied.

    Vassily was high C-ss, on the verge of ascending. His nature alignment and calm persona made him a perfect support caster despite hisrge size. Sanae was next, a loner pyromancer who brought ranged firepower to the team. Those were two of the House¡¯s most respected retainers.

    A part of Nestra reminded her that she would be taking Vadanak¡¯s spot. The offensive fencer would have been more useful for the rescue but¡­ maybe not. Maybe they needed some diversity.

    It didn¡¯t matter. She was going.

    Nestra left the room for onest call. Gorge picked up after the second ring.

    ¡°Padian, it¡¯s been a while. Any reason why you¡¯d call sote?¡±

    ¡°I need an anti-materiel rifle and I need it tonight.¡±

    There was a short silence, then Gorge replied, and he sounded quite amazed.

    ¡°You know what I like about you, Padian? You may be batshit but you¡¯re never boring. Now stop pretending you¡¯re some sort of vid action character spewingme one liners and give me a proper report. Now.¡±

    ***

    Nestra woke up with a jolt. She brushed tiredness away from her eyes and resisted the urge to swear. The interior of the small jet felt stuffy and crowded with the number of people present, not to mention her gear. Carrying all her gear through multiple security checkpoints had been a major pain, as tired as she¡¯d been. Now she smelled faintly of sweat, and that embarrassed her. If she could smell it then the B-ss could as well. Also, she wanted to pee.

    The B-ss themselves lounged in the private jet seats like statues, lost in meditation, perhaps. Sanae was watching something on her visor. They all wore the bodysuits they¡¯d keep under their armor, all fancy custom jobs that made them look like old school superheroes.

    Except for her little sister who wore travel clothes.

    Helena smiled at Nestra. She returned that smile ¡ª the girl looked a bit worried. As for Stibbs, she was sleeping at the back of the ne. Nestra was pretty sure it was her first time flying. She didn¡¯t look like she was enjoying it.

    Nestra managed to clean up in the ne¡¯svatories. She¡¯d been up until 4AM practicing with her new rifle in a private range near the walls. As for how Gorge had managed to ess the ce, she still wasn¡¯t sure. Helena weed her back by pouring coffee from a mug with religious care.

    ¡°I said, only one cup,¡± their mom warned from the front.

    ¡°It¡¯s for Nestra!¡± Helena replied with outrage. ¡°I heard you the first time, ok?¡±

    ¡°Alright, sweetie. I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    ¡°Hmmm. Okay, sorry as well,¡± the teenager replied, her anger deting.

    She just returned to worry. Nestra wanted to hold her sister and tell her they¡¯d find Clecle and bring her home but the girl would never believe her. Their parents had too many funny stories about people who hadn¡¯t made it, who remained stiff smiles captured by cameras, memories, people who¡¯d once been champions of humanity alongside her parents. And now, they were dead. There were no heroes here, no forces of fate that would save Clecle. She could already be gone.

    But Nestra knew how to distract someone.

    ¡°Do you know what a spotter is?¡±

    ¡°Is it some sort of cricket yer role?¡±

    ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m shitting you Nestra, of course I know what a spotter is. I know you brought a rifle. I saw it on the X-ray.¡±

    ¡°Right, so mom and dad said you had to y it safe and behind with me, but that doesn¡¯t mean we will be useless.¡±

    ¡°You are not useless,¡± her father said from the front. ¡°Knowing you are here puts our heart at ease.¡±

    He sounded very serious about it too.

    ¡°Alright. We can be more than just glorified mascots,¡± Nestra amended.

    She sipped her coffee while a few teasing chuckles were aimed at her dad. To his credit, he turned from his seat to give them both a smile.

    ¡°So the role of a spotter is to find targets, give me info on the wind and whatnot, and also tell me if I hit the target. Now, I¡¯m not a sniper so we won¡¯t engage at ranges where it bes important to know the coriolis effect, but I¡¯ll still need quick eyes to find targets and for that, you¡¯ll need this.¡±

    Nestra brought up a special telescope, a gift from Gorge. It was a simplified version of what the army used, and basically was meant for hunting but that was ok.

    ¡°Very nice, Nes. Not like we¡¯ll need it with drones and B-sses in the air.¡±

    ¡°You never know when other people will be busy doing important stuff so pay attention. Here is how you operate it¡­¡±

    It took only a moment from Helena to go from nervous wreck under ayer of humor to fully focused. Nestra managed to distract her sister for a good twenty minutes, then Stibbs woke up, only to be officially named the team¡¯s nker. A good-natured Stibbs did a short presentation on what she could do and how. After that, Major Winslow dragged her to the back for a private conversation. Nestra was left stewing on her own anxiety. There was no more news on Clecle.

    Why was she taking so many risks? Nestra remembered a time when the woman purposely opted out of raids so she could go surfing. What could be worth risking her life over like this, again and again? She was B-ss. As far as she understood, raiders at her level didn¡¯t really age, so there was no rush. This time, Nestra would get the truth out of her. This was getting ridiculous. Ridiculous!

    ¡°Have an orange,¡± a soft, deep voice said.

    It was Vassily. Nestra took the orange with gratitude, relieved by the diversion. The raider¡¯s massive mitt rested on her shoulder for a little while. Nestra didn¡¯t mind. She¡¯d known Vassily since they were pretty much children.

    Nestra sat back with her orange. Maybe she should just try and take another nap.

    ***

    The nended in Hongqiao airport without fanfare. From the air, it looked partly abandoned with entire buildings overgrown. Nestra wondered what it would have looked like in the golden ages of civil aviation, before scarcity and flying monsters struck.

    A stern woman in uniform weed them. Her ck hair was pulled back in a tight bun. With the crimson eyes of a fire user, she had a sort of devilish appearance, not that of the yful temptress but the twisted bureaucrat. A good twenty armed soldiers apanied her, though they were not in battle gear. As far as Nestra understood, it was less an actual security force and more a reminder the Padian n was here by grace of a bteral agreement, and that grace could be withdrawn at any time. She made a beeline for Major Winslow, who was the first to disembark, though she waited until everyone had stepped down to talk.

    ¡°Hello, and wee to Shanghai. I am Captain Tian. I will be your liaison for this rescue operation.¡±

    Her voice was crisp and her English only had the slightest of ents. She frowned, surveying the mass of killers arrayed in front of her. Her eyes widened ever so slightly when she found Nestra.

    <em>Yep, still a freak.</em>

    A light drizzle fell from the gray sky above. The captain waved at the terminal entrance.

    ¡°We will talk on the way.¡±

    Nestra followed the group as they moved on. She couldn''t really follow what was being said too well on ount of her baseline hearing. Apparently, they were taking another ne to the local provincial capital. Nestra wasn¡¯t surprised. Shanghai was only two thirds of the way to their destination.

    What followed was a long list of rules and regtions the Padians would have to follow. The short version was that they had to let Tian talk first and they were not allowed to use force unless specifically attacked.

    The group waited in a decrepit room for the cargo ne to get final approval. They were fed reheated meal sets and tea. The meal sucked ass, but at least it was hot and healthy.

    ¡°Can I ask you a question?¡± she asked Major Winslow as he helped himself to some bananas (she pocketed one),

    ¡°Sure.¡±

    He did something and the mana around her grew hazy. The sounds outside of the room became distorted. Nestra frowned.

    ¡°Smoke user. No, steam?¡±

    ¡°That is not a question,¡± Winslow replied with a smile.

    He looked like some sort of middle school teacher ying a minor prank. It was uncanny.

    ¡°Ok, so why are we assigned only a C-ss person to monitor us? Seems a bit light-handed.¡±

    ¡°October is a busy season for local gleams. Monsters load up on calories before winter, which makes them very aggressive. Especially the portal break ones. Shanghai isn¡¯t like Threshold. The density of portals is much lower and they don¡¯t haverge walls outside of the very center, so they take a more proactive approach to hunting. Tian is with us because that is all they are willing to spare right now. We are low priority. Well, we were.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°I may have¡­ omitted a few details from my report. Like the weapons we were bringing or the exact number of B-ranks.¡±

    He smiled.

    ¡°Not that I don¡¯t trust our Chinese partners, of course.¡±

    He totally didn¡¯t trust them.

    ¡°But wildlife rescue and hostage rescue arepletely different things.¡±

    ¡°You think my aunt is being held hostage?¡±

    ¡°For ransom, yes, most likely. This is a typical money-making scheme for isted enves. Your aunt must be weak and wounded from the portal dump ¡ª all those we recover are. She¡¯s a very valuable and vulnerable individual right now.¡±

    Nestra kind of hoped he was right because it meant Aunt ire was alive.

    Winslow had a few more things to say about coordinating their efforts. Essentially, the rescue team wasposed of two groups: the Padian raiders on one side, and Nestra Helena Stibbs on the other. Nestra¡¯s job was going to be to keep an eye out while the juggernauts went to town. Well, Winslow hadn¡¯t phrased it that way but she knew what was what.

    Tian called for people to depart a few minutester. Nestra eyed her gear.

    Why did it have to be so damn heavy?

    To her immense surprise, Ulysses detached from the group. He grabbed the rifle case ¡ª the heaviest one. His gunmetal eyes shone in the dim light. His expression was unreadable.

    ¡°Truce?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Truce?¡± she repeated, a bit hesitant.

    ¡°Yeah. I mean, you came. I¡¯ve got to respect that.¡±

    His eyes narrowed as a warning that he still didn¡¯t trust her, but Nestra would ept whatever she could get. And that case was really damn heavy.

    They boarded the ne ten minutester. It was an ancient military transport ne and so it was awfully ufortable, but every second counted and so she couldn¡¯tin. Nestra¡¯s ass was starting to hurt from all of the sitting though.

    She slept some more, lulled by the low drone of the antique turbines.

    ***

    The bus rambled alongside the mountain road. There was some traffic there, mostly diesel trucks loaded with mining equipment. A vertiginous cliff led to a river far below to Nestra¡¯s right. Triangr gs attached to strings shook in the wind Nestra could feel from the half-open windows. It was a bit dark here, but that wasn¡¯t the problem. Her breathing was faster than usual. Her lungs were grasping for oxygen.

    She wouldn¡¯t get the time to adapt either. Judging from Stibbs¡¯ pale face, the drone operator was struggling as well.

    ¡°What the hell, I¡¯m out of breath just existing,¡± sheined.

    ¡°Have courage. At least it¡¯s not too hot,¡± Nestra replied, as someone who had a long experience of things getting worse.

    Tension was ramping up again for Nestra. Wasn¡¯t Clecle supposed to be awake by now? There wasn¡¯t anyone capable of holding her down, if the local enves really had only C-ss gleams. Was she really badly hurt?

    Had someone killed her? They could have decided not to risk anything and killed her for her core. They could be harvesting it as¡­ oh Riel. No, don¡¯t think about it. Nestra breathed deeply, aware of the B-ssbatants sharing her small bus. They were disturbingly unmoving but sometimes, she thought she could feel an undercurrent of mana waiting like stale air around her. Like the world was holding its breath. It made her shiver.

    She leaned towards a window, catching a breath of cold air. Stibbs grabbed her hand.

    ¡°I know you¡¯re worried,¡± Stibbs said, ¡°but I need you to focus on the operation. We¡¯re almost there.¡±

    The bus was going pretty fast, but not fast enough. Nestra knew her mom was dying to grab Captain Tian by the neck so she could fly them to their destination. It still took an hour of meandering swings through a tight mountain road to finalize their approach. Steep cliffs and deep ravines became narrower still. The constant wind shook the tall trees clinging to the mountainside. If this were a walled spot, Nestra could have rxed and enjoyed the view, but this was the wilderness. There could be monsters anywhere. Her mind knew she was safe but her instincts screamed that this wasn¡¯t right, that you never knew when a breach would ur. They really had to have a low concentration of portals and some decent patrolling for this to work. It made her a little pissed, somehow.

    The bus stopped near a bend in the road.

    ¡°We¡¯re here,¡± Tian said. ¡°I will ask for a little¡­¡±

    Nestra was among thest to stand up.

    ¡°... restraint.¡±

    The B-ss were already halfway through their armor, except for Dad who just called it upon him. The pieces of his titanic te armor just flew to him as if they were made of paper, encasing him in shiny gray. Thest rivets fused together while Nestra was still putting on her Wellington. No one minded that she was in her underwear. These were raiders. Sometimes, they even showered together.

    Helena was thest to be ready. She needed help putting on her training armor. Nestra picked her weaponst. It was a Touhou Compact, one of the smallest AMRs on the market. It chambered 20mm rounds and was mostly designed to take down D-ss beasts from very, very far away. Or armored cars sometimes. Nestra wasn¡¯t much of a long distance shooter but that was fine. There was an integrated visor that would help her with calctions if it really came to that. She clicked the barrel on the bulky receiver and slotted a magazine of five general purpose bullets. They would punch through two walls clean.

    When Nestra stood up, Winslow and Tian now waited in front of a group consisting of three B-ss raiders, two C-ss raiders, one D-ss spotter, one sniper, and one drone operator. It was a force sufficient to take over a small city, guilds included, and that was without the Aszhii ace. Dad was now over two and a half meters tall with a giant hammer on his back. Mom hovered in a coat of ice while Ulysses looked like some broody prince charming with a long sword ¡ª the asshole. Nestra looked at his left glove where the threads he used would be stored.

    Vassily was wearing armor and a shield, but no visible weapons. Sanae was so unassuming in her ck robes, one might have thought she was a dark user.

    Meanwhile, Nestra andpany were the quiet operative type. It was a nice mix. Winslow smiled faintly. As for Tian, she looked like she¡¯d opened her lunch box only to find a cobra inside.

    ¡°I must insist that you let me talk,¡± she finally said, and to her credit she was standing her ground.

    ¡°So go and talk,¡± Dad replied with a t voice.

    Tian turned, albeit reluctantly. They moved past the bend to find a small vige, built vertically over terraced rice paddies. Pastures dotted in cow droppings extended past that, then it was a tiny forest and more mountains. ck, hairy pigs ran to and fro, without supervision. The vige sported some rudimentary walls more designed to slow down than stop, though there was a guard tower manned by someone currently rolling a cigarette as far as Nestra could tell. The raiders moved at what must have felt like a slow walk to them but was actually closer to a jog. Nestra immediately ran out of breath.

    ¡°What the hell,¡± Helena rasped. ¡°There is no air here or what?¡±

    Nestra just focused on breathing. The guard finally spotted them. He rang a small bell with some hesitation, twice, which Nestra assumed was for visitors. The sound was discordant and a bit ridiculous.

    The gates opened because Nestra¡¯s dad pointed and there were metal parts in them. A viger in hot brown garb froze on the way to a nearby lever. Not literally, of course. Nestra¡¯s mom was still calm.

    It took less than thirty seconds for a baseline vige leader toe and Nestra had to admit his colorful hat was pretty cool. Alongside were a gleam woman with silvery eyes, low C-ss and pretty old, and one of thergest, fluffiest dogs Nestra had ever seen. She wasn¡¯t in any mood to admire it, however. By then, Stibbs was already half-lidded and quiet, a sign her drones were in the air.

    Tian opened with a quick stato of Mandarin. The leader answered with abject terror. And guilt.

    ¡°How can we humbly help you?¡± the guy asked.

    ¡°Yesterday at 3 in the afternoon,¡± Tian started in a dry voice.

    Nestra ignored her. Stibbs was just sending her a video feed of the inner courtyard behind thergest house. Arge sheet had been hung to dry and on it were very obvious stretches of dry blood. Nestra¡¯s belly turned to ice.

    ¡°Chemicalposition matches blood,¡± Stibbs messaged.

    ¡°DNA?¡±

    ¡°You won¡¯t get a match if this went through hot water. Not with the gear I have.¡±

    It was enough. The patterns clearly matched a heavily wounded body. She started to walk.

    ¡°And¡­ where are you going?¡± Tian asked, harshly.

    ¡°They know exactly why we¡¯re here. They reek of guilt.¡±

    The dogs barked but Nestra ignored it and the woman held it back. Everyone followed her to the backyard. Nestra studied the couple¡¯s reactions in the drone feedback. They knew. They knew they were fucked.

    ¡°She was covered using this,¡± Nestra said, pointing at the sheet limply moving in the wind.

    ¡°Enough bullshit,¡± her dad said.

    His mask pulled back to reveal grim features, the kind that preceded violence.

    Tian turned to the couple with fury.

    ¡°You are lying to me,¡± she barked in Mandarin.

    ¡°They will kill us if we talk,¡± the man whispered.

    It was a very, very stupid thing to assume the Padians wouldn¡¯t. Nestra saw the exact moment her dad went cold. His head slowly swiveled to the still barking dog.

    ¡°Enough,¡± the silver-eyed woman said.

    The vige leader stood dejected. He didn¡¯t move while she talked.

    ¡°There is a gang deeper in the valleys. We told them. They took her.¡±

    ¡°Was she still alive?¡± Nestra¡¯s mom asked in a clipped Mandarin.

    ¡°Yes, yes! She was moving. Moaning. We gave her water. She was in a bad way, but she was not dying. Men came and took her.¡±

    ¡°Where?¡±

    ¡°Shangri-La. There is a market there.¡±

    ¡°A market?¡±

    ¡°A ve market. Soon.¡±

    The sheet froze solid.

    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and

    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

 (56)

    (56)

    There were no immediate bloodbaths, thankfully. Nestra¡¯s mom would have probably fried the vigers where they stood if she were alone, but this was a diplomatic mission and so they let Tian handle it, and would probably keep doing it so long as things moved forward at a sufficient pace. Nestra hoped they would.

    The first thing Tian did was gather and interrogate the vigers in a separate shed. She returned ten minutester with a detailed map of where they would find the market, courtesy of a driver who¡¯d been there once to deliver pu¡¯er tea discs (Nestra was going to see if she could grab a few). By the time the interrogation was over, Tian was livid. She threatened the vigers, then melted the only local antenna with some angry fire spell to prevent them from using their phones. Nestra was willing to bet the whole vige would be gone by the time the cops came for a ¡®follow up¡¯.

    ¡°Can we head there directly?¡± dad asked with a voice that wasn¡¯t asking an actual question.

    ¡°Yes. By car it ¡ª¡±

    ¡°No car. We will run there. I will carry Mrs. Stibbons. Debbie dear, if you would take Nestra? Ulysses will take Helena.¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s getting heavier by the year,¡± Ulyssesined, though he was smiling.

    She gave him the finger.

    ¡°Wear proper armor and you¡¯ll get proper muscles.¡±

    ¡°We are in agreement then?¡± dad pretend-asked again.¡°I can carry you if you need assistance,¡± Vassily offered Tian.

    She was clearly not interested. Nestra was grabbed and princess carried without a chance to protest, then she was in the air elerating so quickly that it made her teeth click.

    Up and down the hills they went, guided by Winslow who somehow had a great sense of direction. Nestra would have enjoyed thendscape of tall hills and lush valleys, alternating with ins of brown grass were it not for the great difort she was in. Her mom was doing her best, but she was still an adult carrying another adult of simr size, with little neck protection and a lot of gear digging into Nestra¡¯s back. At that speed, it only took a bit over an hour to reach the city but it certainly felt like more. It didn¡¯t help that her mom was tense and quiet the whole time.

    There were a few pulverized corpses of monsters along the way. Dad was venting.

    Nestra was more than happy when they finallynded at the edge of a picturesque walled town overlooking ake of cid water, its old tiled roof glowing in the afternoon sun. She was out of breath just standing up again. A part of her wanted to draw oxygen supply from her suit, but something told her she was going to need itter.

    ¡°We need to learn where they are, exactly. One of the city¡¯s officials ought to know. This,¡± Tian said, pointing at a curved roof building standing in the center, ¡°is the town hall.¡±

    ¡°How about asking those guys?¡± Winslow suggested.

    He pointed at a couple of foreigners standing around a nice car near a wall gate. They were busy talking and drinking, shaded under a few trees near what appeared to be some sort of restaurant. The fact there were structures right outside the walls was something Nestra still had difficulty epting. If this were Threshold, that ce would be a nest in under a week. This just felt so unsafe.

    ¡°Yes, good thinking,¡± Tian said, crimson eyes zeroing on Winslow with increasing suspicion.

    The demure man just looked harmless and goofy though, so her anger didn¡¯tst.

    The two of them were gone a minuteter. The rest of the team took the opportunity to munch on energy bars. Nestra made herself some instant coffee. It had been a very long thirty-six hours with no signs of slowing down. She couldn¡¯t afford to be sleepy.

    The two scouts returned some timeter. The foreigners were conspicuously gone though their car was properly parked, and no cries of rm emerged from the restaurant. Winslow confirmed they were in the right spot. As for Tian, she left to talk with someone on a huge phone with a long antenna, the kind that could probably connect to a wifiwork on the moon. Her rapid-fire mandarin was so hasty that even Nestra¡¯s visor struggled to trante it. There sure were a lot of requests being made though. After a while, she seemed to calm down as she listened to an answer. She was back in control by the time they hung up.

    ¡°Your attention please,¡± she says, and Winslow stood by her side with the smile of a fat cat who just caught a really stupid mouse.

    The Padians gathered around. They recognized the briefing voice.

    It sort of annoyed Nestra that it worked on her too. It was like a pavlovian response to the promise of imminent, state-approved violence.

    ¡°Our interrogation has borne fruit. We have learned where your rtive and quite a few other people are being held. The ve market will take ce in the next valley north of the city, on the site of an abandoned five stars resort. There is only one ess road from here, but the resort has a helipad and a road to a makeshift airport. The ¡®buyers¡¯ will being from there.¡±

    Her nostrils red with anger.

    ¡°I can only assume that they are using the fall monster purge as a cover for this¡­ this vition of the borders and territorial integrity of our nation!¡±

    No reaction from the crowd.

    ¡°My nation,¡± Tian amended. ¡°The market was moved forward to amodate the discovery of a¡­ a special prize. I assume it is ire.¡±

    The temperature dropped a few degrees. Mom breathed deep a couple of times.

    ¡°The bad news is that I will not get reinforcements within the next six hours. The monster purge means that most of our raiders are engaged. For obvious reasons, I cannot trust localw enforcement ¡ª they cannot be unaware of what is going on here. I am unwilling to wait until ves are sold and then taken out of the territory, as I am sure you are.¡±

    ¡°Correct,¡± mom hissed.

    Tian nodded.

    ¡°As such, I propose that we¡­ intervene. I was granted discretionary powers for this operation. That means two things. First a squadron of fighters is on its way here. They will cover our evac. Second, I am authorized to temporarily draft you into the PLA, with your consent of course. That would mean that you¡¯d be legally authorized to use lethal force within our borders. Preemptively. You would be considered mercenaries for the length of the operation. I hope this is eptable.¡±

    The titan that was her dad moved forward with loud thuds that made Nestra¡¯s body vibrate. He leaned forward.

    ¡°Lady. You have a deal.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d swear allegiance to the ghost of Christmas past if I get to save my sister.¡±

    ¡°This would dishonor my ancestors,¡± Sanae said, ¡°However I don¡¯t give a shit.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s fucking go already,¡± Helena added.

    ¡°Language,¡± Mom said, but Helena just shrugged.

    ¡°Before we begin, there are two short details I need to clear. First of all, you must be paid a hiring bonus byw. The pay shall be¡­¡±

    Tian checked her visors, then her pockets.

    ¡°Two hundred and seventeen kuai and five chocte bars.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re rich,¡± Vassily said. ¡°and well fed.¡±

    ¡°And second, you need to swear allegiance. I, uh, I need to trante it.¡±

    Winslow stood forward, smile growing with every passing minute.

    ¡°Solemnly swear to follow the chain ofmand, rescue the hostages, and neutralize everyone else.¡±

    Tian red, then she shrugged.

    ¡°Well, that works.¡±

    ¡°The Threshold government approves of this agreement. House Padian, if you would?¡±

    ¡°Follow the boss, save the goodies, kill the baddies aye!¡± Helena summarized.

    Others followed suit with varying degrees of enthusiasm. Nestra wondered if she could nab one of the chocte bars right away.

    ¡°Alright,¡± Winslow said. ¡°Let¡¯s get a good look at the prison.¡±

    The group moved quietly up steep stone cliffs, hiding among the branches of dry pines. Mom and Winslow took point while Stibbs¡¯ drones provided overwatch. They stopped near a ridge with a full view over the valley.

    Nestra had to give it to the people who¡¯d built the resort, they sure knew how to pick their spot. The main road traveled straight through lush low trees to a checkpoint that might have been the hotel¡¯s lobby at some point, but was now fortified with machine gun emcements and steel barriers. The mix of ramshackle fortifications and old but elegant tiled roofs was one of the marks of early post-incursion years. Low gleams and auged soldiers patrolled the outer edge.

    Past that, an innerke fringed by old trees shimmered at the foot of a tall pagoda, its dpidated red floors taken straight from a history book. Rows of vis then stretched left and right along dry canals. Only half of them had been renovated. The rest had crumbled past guard towers and a hastily built concrete wall. Further roads led deeper into the valley, one to a visible helipad and the other out of sight, presumably to the airport. There were a lot of soldiers and gleams present, as well as quite a few luxury cars parked at the security checkpoints. Well dressed men and women strutted around near theke, mingling and soaking up the afternoon sunlight.

    Behind that, far in the far distance, were white mountains. They were gorgeous and majestic, backlighting the entire resort to offer a breathtaking view worthy of some high-budget vid¡¯s intro shot.

    Nestra had watched people skiing before. She wondered if it was possible to do it there, also.

    The Thresholders surveyed thend in silence. Stibbs was the first to talk.

    ¡°Visors on please.¡±

    The raidersplied. A map of thepound as seen from above appeared with red circles and signs where the important bits were. Nestra was familiar with the symbols Stibbs was using, but she exined them anyway in case the raiders weren¡¯t.

    ¡°There are security checkpoints here, here, here, and there.¡±

    Basically all approaches were covered, though the wall was not.

    ¡°I spotted security cameras in key locations and around the walls. There may be more. The barracks and motor pool are there¡­¡±

    Nestra noticed the symbols for APCs next to two heavily armored vehicles. Those would clear the sky of D-ss fliers and helicopters pretty quickly. They would also instantly kill Nestra if they got to fire on her. They looked old though. Like incursion old. She still didn¡¯t think her rifle was up to the task.

    ¡°They have a radar system.¡±

    The camera zoomed on a parked van hidden behind one of the vis. Rotating antennas were visible from up high.

    ¡°Have you been spotted?¡± Tian asked.

    ¡°Nope. I¡¯m using Threshold state-of-the-art stealth drones. They¡¯re too small to get caught by those antiquities. Your fighter nes are probably safe as well.¡±

    ¡°It still needs to go,¡± Tian said.

    ¡°Yes. There is also arge ry drone here.¡±

    She pointed at the sky above thepound. It took some time for Nestra to find the small ck dot hovering on a background of fluffy white clouds.

    ¡°Part of their systems. The center is probably in the vi next to the van, given the size of the antenna. There is an additional ry in the checkpoint leading to the airport¡­ there.¡±

    ¡°If we destroy them it might hinder theirmunications,¡¯ Tian said.

    ¡°I can do the checkpoint ry,¡± Nestra said. ¡°And take care of the drone too.¡±

    She patted her rifle.

    ¡°There is the matter of the prisoners. They need to be extracted first.¡±

    ¡°I have a suggestion,¡± Winslow said.

    Tian wasn¡¯t even trying to look suspicious anymore. It was absolutely clear Winslow was some sort of spook and he was only keeping up the charade as a matter of principle. The rest of the Padians had long recognized the wolf in sheep¡¯s clothing, and so they gave him their undivided attention.

    ¡°I will infiltrate thepound through a lightly defended section of the outer wall on the western side, locate the prisoners, and then mark them on our map. The Padians will provide a distraction through a frontal attack along the main city road. I will use this opportunity to free people and get them on the way.¡±

    ¡°<em>We </em>will use the distraction,¡± Tian said.

    She didn¡¯t look like she was going to back off. It was Deborah who spoke next, however.

    This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    ¡°There are six hostile B-rank raiders in this valley and the next.¡±

    This time, even Winslow paled.

    ¡°We will proceed as follows. The girls will take position here.¡±

    She pointed at a small, easily defensible incline with an ess path that couldn¡¯t be seen from thepound.

    ¡°Stibbs will identify all cameras on the western section of the wall. Winslow will close it with Tian as support. Winslow will mark all cages and possible cages. Once this is done or you are at risk of being caught, send a signal. The main squad will attack straight north towards the main checkpoint and take it, then engage the B-ss revelers near the pagoda. At the same time, the support team will take out the drone, the far antenna, and any reinforcement they can see. The main squad will then provide cover while Winslow and Tian start evacuation, with Vassily healing the wounded as needed.¡±

    ¡°Tak.¡±

    ¡°Once we are sure we have everyone, we will retreat towards the south west, opposite to the makeshift airport. Your birds can tten the ce once we¡¯re gone. Helicopters might be nice considering we¡¯ll have people in need of care.¡±

    ¡°I¡­¡± Tian said.

    She blinked. Nestra¡¯s mom didn¡¯t.

    Sometimes it was easy to forget that the peppy woman was a ny year old veteran of the incursion.

    ¡°You¡¯re right. I¡¯ll ask for them.¡±

    ¡°Good.¡±

    ***

    Nestra checked the base through her visor, cycling between several filters. Helena dutifully did the same by her side while Stibbs was hidden farther down, busy handling her drones.

    The hill had been trapped. Thankfully, Nestra and Stibbs had both spotted them and avoided causing any issues, but the incident was enough to shake Helena and remind her this was serious. The traps were more designed to kill dokkaebi than people but a spike nted in a sternum via pneumatic release was bound to make anyone¡¯s day miserable. The base itself was a hive of activity. The outside shell of thugs and disreputable mercenaries protected an inner core made of elegantly dressed, masked merchants sipping bubbly from Champagne flutes. Like ayer of shit over a more expensive core of still shit, but painted gold. She checked the rifle¡¯s software onest time, the way Gorge had shown her. Everything was working fine.

    ¡°Look,¡± Helena whispered.

    A white limo was approaching from the unseen airport. Nestra¡¯s mana perception wasn¡¯t all that good in human form, but even she could tell there was someone powerful in there. Not A-ss powerful, thankfully. There were a couple of assholes among their ranks but they couldn¡¯t move around so easily, and they wouldn¡¯te here anyway. People went to them.

    That still made the seventh hostile B-ss raider around. Nestra had to swallow with some difficulty. Seven against three and some support. Not good odds. It wouldn¡¯t stop her parents though.

    She was starting to wonder if this was the day her identity was discovered. If any of the B-ss broke through, she would have to choose between secrecy and the survival of her family and Stibbs. She knew exactly what she would pick.

    Nestra understood why her parents had brought Helena. It was supposed to be a simple rescue operation, and Helena was notoriously hard to handle to the point she might have just bought a ne ticket to Shanghai herself if someone had tried to stop her. Now that it was international crime raiding stuff, her parents were certainly regretting their decision. It was still toote to change course now.

    Or maybe they just thought they were the same age when the very first portals began to appear.

    It didn¡¯t matter. Aunt Clecle was down here somewhere. They were not leaving without her.

    ¡°In position,¡± Winslow whispered on the public channel.

    Nestra watched a suspicious patch of grass shake along the southern road, the one leading back to Shangri-La city. Vassily was pushing it a bit. From theck of guard reactions, he was doing a fine job though.

    Stibbs updated the map with the first of the prisoner¡¯s locations. It looked like there were two main prisons hidden between vis, both of them buried which would help limit the chances of coteral damage. Winslow sent a picture of a male ve being dragged, dazed, out of a ground gate. He was wearing a toga of all things. She wondered if the captive gleams were sedated or if it was some exotic affinity at work. Sedating gleams was always a gamble.

    Those guys had balls to be trafficking gleams. They must be really confident in their B-sses. Nestra really, really hoped they were wrong.

    ¡°Winslow, be advised that a B-ss is moving in your direction,¡± Dad quickly said.

    ¡°I know. I think I tripped something going into the prison. The guards are alerted.¡±

    ¡°Call it.¡±

    ¡°Stand down. I need to be sure.¡±

    They were talking so fast Nestra had trouble following them. Winslow sent a series of pictures showing cells, locked tight. He was moving fast as well. Helena used her spotter visor to send her a picture of a tall man with long hair and city clothes covered in chains, as in, actuallyyers of some chains in a dark material that didn¡¯t look like metal. He was talking with guards on the way to the prison. His gaze was ck like coal though not the same liquid darkness Helena had. A B-ss raider, and clearly muscle. Winslow was on a timer.

    ¡°Winslow?¡± Mom asked.

    ¡°I need to make sure. Hold on, I think I got it.¡±

    He sent onest picture. It was taken through a barred window and shown a bandage-covered figure resting on a bed, her brown hair matted. A scarred white arm was barely visible but the pattern was immediately familiar.

    ¡°It¡¯s her,¡± mom whispered.

    ¡°Right. Assault squad status?¡±

    ¡°Ready. Standing by,¡± Dad replied.

    ¡°Diversion please,¡± Winslow said.

    Dad¡¯s voice was suddenly much louder.

    ¡°Light them up.¡±

    The valley was a peaceful, scenic spot with partying folks, smoking sentries. Another limo traveled up the southern road. Another drove up the road from the helipad at a cid pace.

    The limo snapped in half with a ghastly clunk. Itpressed to the size of a yoga ball, upants included. The ball impacted the main checkpoint like a cannon shot. Every machine gun, every piece of furniture containing metal, every car, every barrier flew like they¡¯d been struck by a hurricane. The main radar station exploded in a wave of fire, as did a sentry tower to the west. Battle erupted near the ravaged checkpoint in an orgy of unleashed fury. Body parts flew alongside the debris.

    Nestra perceived all of this as she pressed the trigger.

    <strong>THOOM.</strong>

    The rifle was so loud, it echoed through the valley in an expanding wave.

    The main ry drone exploded.

    ¡°It¡¯s scrap,¡± Helena said. ¡°Antenna next.¡±

    ¡°Adjusting sights.¡±

    A real sniper at a real distance would have paid more attention to the wind and coriolis and a bunch of stuff the rifle¡¯s software solved for Nestra. She merely had to adjust the reticle.

    ¡°Ready.¡±

    <strong>THOOM.</strong>

    ¡°Woo! It¡¯s gone!¡±

    ¡°Target status,¡± Nestra curtly said.

    ¡°Shit sorry. It¡¯s gone.¡±

    Nestra aimed to the right. The center of the base was now in total chaos. Growing nts spread to the pond which was striated with actinic arcs, corpses floating near the surface. It seemed to be Padians on the left near the prison, and vers on the right near the ruin of the center. Everything moved too fast for her to see so she had no idea how things were going, but at least the prisons were on their side of the battlefield. It also meant it was pointless for her to fire at anything there since it was a B-ss battlefield. She was just supposed to cover the approach.

    ¡°Bravo four,¡± Helena said.

    Nestra aimed towards the airport road.

    ¡°Contact.¡±

    ¡°Technical,ing from the airport. Three gleams at the back.¡±

    It was over a kilometer and a half away but closing fast. Good call.

    ¡°I see it. Adjusting.¡±

    Nestra let the soft adjust the sight. She lined it up.

    <strong>THOOM.</strong>

    A shower of debris and blood. Ok, Gorge hadn¡¯t been fucking with her. That thing could kill vehicles.

    ¡°Target destroyed. Alpha six.¡±

    ¡°Contact.¡±

    ¡°Near that guard house. They¡¯re deploying something.¡±

    Nestra turned sharply right. It was very close to the helipad. A group of augs were taking and assembling something from a case. It looked big andplicated. It also looked automatic which was going to be a pain for the C-sses.

    ¡°Got it. Adjusting.¡±

    Better get the hardware. The augs didn¡¯t count.

    <strong>THOOM.</strong>

    The thing exploded before it could deploy, showering the augs with debris. They ran for cover. The battlefield had changed again with the vers pushed back to the edge of the field. Somehow, her people were winning and winning hard. The APCs were burning wrecks, courtesy of Sanae. There was now a hole through the western wall, to Nestra¡¯s left. An old truck was driving through it, probably taken by Tian.

    ¡°I gotpany in the back!¡± Stibbs said.

    A group of three guards were approaching the hill at a dead sprint,ing from behind. Shit gear and shit augs, Nestra judged.

    ¡°Helena, with me.¡±

    ¡°Doyouneedhelpdarling?¡± her mom asked on thes.

    ¡°Should be fine.¡±

    ¡°I got APCsing from the airport too, aiming towards us,¡± Stibbs added.

    Well this position was cooked. Four shots was all they¡¯d get. Nestra dragged Helena to a copse of trees to the side. There had been a trap there.

    ¡°Let¡¯s wait here.¡±

    The guards were visible now: two auged riflemen and one shield-bearing gleam without affinities. They were vaguely aiming towards the top of the hill to Nestra and Helena¡¯s left. Amateurs.

    ¡°Let them get closer,¡± she whispered to Helena.

    ¡°I get the gleam,¡± her sister whispered.

    The guards vaguely spread out. Nestra leaned from behind a tree and calmly lined a shot with her window maker.

    The first aug fell with a hole in his chest. The second was dead before he could fully turn.

    Helena was on the gleam in a moment.

    It would be inexact to say Helena didn¡¯t have a sense of strategy. It was just that she also had an axe, a strength affinity, and a mana type so aggressively destructive it even messed with her body. The onus of stopping said axe was firmly on her opponent. This one failed spectacrly.

    ¡°Clear,¡± she said.

    Stibbs climbed down the hill. She was already out of breath. Her eyes found the axe murder victim.

    ¡°Seriously? Nestra, what have you taught her?¡±

    Helena hissed yfully. The sound was eerily close to an Aszhii taunt. Nestra gave her a warning look.

    ¡°Not in public.¡±

    ¡°Sorry.¡±

    ¡°Ok you two,¡± Stibbs said. ¡°Tian and Winslow are heading this way. They got her.¡±

    Excitement and relief filled Nestra¡¯s heart. Winslow appeared a momentter, bleeding from a scalp wound. He had a familiar shape in his arms. The truck roared not far behind. It was Clecle. She was in a bad shape with more scabs than clean skin under her medical shift. Some of the flesh was missing under the bandages, and she was short a few fingers but that was nothing to a B-ss. Winslow had a first aid kit in his backpack. He applied some spray to his scalp wound while handing Nestra an injector.

    ¡°Alright, shove this in her chest. I need to get back to Tian.¡±

    A reanimator of sorts. Nestra thought Winslow was stupid to leave a baseline to puncture a gleam, but the needle somehow went in Clecle without issue. It had to be some sort of advanced stuff.

    Clecle gasped, bolting upright. Her arm mped on Nestra¡¯s. It hurt through the armor.

    ¡°Ow ow ow ow ow HEY!¡± Nestrained.

    Clecle¡¯s gaze zeroed on her. It was a bit frantic. Also, her right eye couldn¡¯t fully open.

    ¡°Nestra? Where am I? Where is this?¡±

    ¡°You got portal dumped. We¡¯re rescuing you from a ve camp in the ass end of China.¡±

    ¡°vers? They dare? Where¡¯s my damn spear?¡±

    The two sisters tried to pull their aunt down with reasonable arguments such as ¡®you¡¯re barely alive¡¯, but it still took a few seconds before Clecle would calm down. Meanwhile, Stibbs¡¯ horrified re went from one of the rtives to the other. It was like she was having a revtion.

    ¡°What?¡± Nestrained.

    ¡°It¡¯s gic. And hereditary.¡±

    ¡°Shit where¡¯s the core? I need to get it back,¡± ire yelled.

    ¡°You need to calm down,¡± Nestra objected.

    They fought some more, until Winslow talked in Nestra¡¯s earpiece.

    ¡°Please inform ire that I have her gear in the truck.¡±

    Of course the nitwit went for the truck. Nestra gave up. It arrived soon after anyway, an ancient diesel thing that stank to high heaven. There were dazed and sleepy people at the back, all lookingpletely lost. A great many were gleams, but there were also conventionally attractive people of various ethnicities. Some wore the togas Nestra had seen, others wore prison uniforms and a couple were naked. Tian was at the wheel and she didn¡¯t look happy.

    Something thrummed to Nestra¡¯s right,ing from the top of the hill. Looks like something was firing at where she used to be.

    ¡°Nestra!¡± her mom¡¯s voice came, panicked.

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Oh thank God. You¡¯ve moved?¡±

    ¡°Yes. We need to keep going though.¡±

    ¡°The assault squad can withdraw. We have secured the prisoners and need cover,¡± Tian said, voice tense.

    ¡°Sanae is dealing with the armored cars. Don¡¯t worry¡­ we¡¯re almost done on our end.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    But mom didn¡¯t reply. Instead, Stibbs'' feed showed the gleam battle petered out.

    The resort was devastated. There wasn¡¯t a building left, and everything was on fire, thick smoke climbing high. Ulysses stood near the half-dried pond, holding a woman in rich garb and a mask at the end of the threads he held in his left hand. Her body sometimes shook from the static. There were fried bodies impaled on ice spikes like ghastly decorations anywhere that wasn¡¯t actively burning. Thick trees that were not here before showed where Vassily had taken position. Only one duel was still ongoing: her father against the chain user.

    They were mostly moving too fast for Nestra to perceive but sometimes they slowed down enough that she could catch glimpses of the guard¡¯s long ck chain wrapped around her dad¡¯s hammer¡¯s shaft. He was an obsidian user, a rare and powerful affinity. Clearly his n had been to disarm and crush dad and clearly, it wasn¡¯t working well. Nestra was surprised. They were supposed to be super good against hard targets.

    Actually, all of her folks looked alive and well. A few of the enemy B-sses were apparently fleeing towards the airport, but she couldn¡¯t see the others. It had been¡­ surprisingly one-sided.

    It took only a few more seconds for the battle to draw to a close. The chain user was left on his knees, or what was left of them rather. Her father had slowed down enough that they could talk. He was sharing his feed. Maybe the vers still had people or cameras on the battle.

    He was doing it on purpose.

    ¡°You have no idea who you¡¯re messing with,¡± the guard said in heavily ented English.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Dad just stood there like a metal titan, his armor covered in gore but otherwise invite. The background was a hell of fire, metal, thorn growths, and peoplecicles bleeding carmine droplets, but frozen in time. Only his eyes were visible: gray, and without mercy. His voice didn¡¯t carry any either.

    ¡°We don¡¯t care. We are here to tell whoever thought they could enve one of us¡­ that House Padian sends their regards.¡±

    His hammer crushed the man¡¯s skull. The headless body fell to the side in a pool of blood.

    Helena made some ¡®woah¡¯ noise, which made Nestra a little concerned. It took only a few more seconds for the assault squad to regroup with the truck. ire disappeared under shameless hugs and shoulder pats. It was done, or so it seemed. Nestra wasn¡¯t so sure. Her Aszhii self mored to be let out to make sure, to track and kill anything the humans might have overlooked. She felt blinded and hobbled in this form.

    ¡°The heli will pick us up in Shangri-La since it appears the battle is¡­ over?¡± Tian added.

    She didn¡¯t sound so certain. Nestra wasn¡¯t either, but that was probably just paranoia and alien instincts. No one stopped them as they retreated down the south road, the only one still intact and free of cars after her dad had given the limo the trashpactor treatment. Most of the gleams plus Nestra went on foot while Stibbs joined the wounded with her drones ¡ª she just wasn¡¯t in any state to run without some more oxygen.

    Nestra had to wait for her mom to unglue herself from Aunt ire before she could climb into the back to sit next to the woman. Clecle was already hard at work scarfing down raider food and taking sips of some sort of potion. She was healing remarkably fast, probably because her wounds were caused by ripping through space and not the mana-infused attacks of powerful monsters. She still looked like a mess and it made Nestra¡¯s chest tight.

    ¡°Ok, so tell me. What¡¯s so important about this core?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s got the perfect mix of electricity and ice, to the second decimal! I got it from a humanoid enemy too, as requested. It¡¯s absolutely perfect.¡±

    ¡°As requested by whom? Perfect for what?¡± Nestra insisted.

    She was getting pissed off.

    ¡°Look, it¡¯s big news. Really big news. I wanted to save it as a surprise but I guess I need to tell you now. I was very busy because¡­ I have found a way to repair your core! I needed some research done and apatible core and¡­ it¡¯s allplete now! We¡¯re flying to Zurich, Nes!¡±

    She was ecstatic.

    ¡°So you were raiding so hard for that? Getting wounded on repeat and everything? For months?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    Nestra pped her aunt. Hard too. Stupefied, ire didn¡¯t even try to stop her.

    The truck fell silent.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to be a gleam nearly as much as I want my aunt alive. Alive, you hear? You fucking idiot.¡±

    ire¡¯s joy sobered up. She slowly pulled Nestra into a hug. Nestra allowed it, resting her head on the raider¡¯s strong shoulders.

    ¡°Ok. I¡¯m sorry. I was just¡­ very worried for a long time.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t die for me?¡±

    ¡°Ok, I promise.¡±

    They stayed quiet for a while.

    ¡°It¡¯s still very ¡®cool aunt¡¯ of me though.¡±

    ¡°Shut up.¡±

    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and

    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

 (57)

    (57)

    Nobody bothered the truck as it slowly made its way to Shangri-La, to Nestra¡¯spleteck of surprise. Vassily was keeping an eye on the freed ves who were still high on something, while Aunt Clecle kept chugging various medicines, half wrapped up in nkets. Nestra¡¯s paranoid nature kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. It didn¡¯t. The universe was vexing her by being on her side.

    Between the rtive calm and with Aunt ire within arm¡¯s reach, Nestra finally allowed herself to calm down, at least a little. The adrenaline fading from her system made her tired. At least she wasn¡¯t hurt this time.

    It also gave her time to think.

    A gleam, huh. She¡¯d waited for so long for that, and she¡¯d also found her path. The true form. Having a proper gleam mask now would be¡­

    It would be really fucking nice. But also it was sote in her lifepared to everyone else. She would be hopelessly behind. She would also finally, finally be in the race.

    There was no doubt that she would ept, of course. There was no question, not after the efforts aunt Clecle had gone through. The only thing that could stop her would be Sereth warning her it would lead to her discovery. If the operation failed, then that would be it, but what if it seeded? Would she be like some of the people she despised? What would Stibbs think? What would it change about her life? Fuck, so many things to consider.

    But she wanted, she really, really wanted it, because it meant her parents might love her again. Wait no, not like that, more¡­ they would know how to show that love. How to treat her like their daughter with normal gleam bonding moments: the training, the first raids.

    She wanted that.

    She wanted that so bad. Please, let it be that it wasn¡¯t some sort of mistake. Or a scam. Let her have her hope. Her hopeful reverie stopped alongside the truck. In front of them, the walled city of Shangri-La was a buzz of activity. Not one, but three helicopters were visible in its skies with one clearly being a military transport disgorging auged soldiers on top of the town hall. Nestra frowned as she jumped down from the truck.

    ¡°What the fuck? Are they invading?¡±

    ¡°In a manner of¡ª¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°Gah!¡± Nestra screamed when Winslow appeared next to her.

    ¡°In a manner of speaking,¡± Winslow finished with a congenial smile.

    He was back to being the kindly middle school student beloved by everyone. His face was, at least. The rest was still a blood-stainedbat suit.

    ¡°Don¡¯t scare me like that.¡±

    ¡°Miss Padian, I was standing right here.¡±

    ¡°You were hiding,¡± she reproached. ¡°Steam and a minor in shadows for sure.¡±

    Winslow appeared surprised, but the expression was so brief it might have been Nestra¡¯s imagination.

    ¡°As I was saying, there is no way for the auction to have urred without local help. There are few things a government dislikes more than citizens fearing criminals more than them, but officials bribed by foreign agents is fairly high on that list. I¡¯m afraid the hammer ising down, and it¡¯sing down hard.¡±

    ¡°Is it bad for us?¡±

    ¡°I would hope not, not after we helped them.¡±

    He didn¡¯t seem too concerned though it was hard to read a spook. Here was a man who seemed to know what was going on though, and Nestra had questions.

    ¡°Look, can I ask you something? I¡¯m still a bit worried.¡±

    ¡°If I can answer, I will,¡± he replied with a knowing smile.

    ¡°Ok, so didn¡¯t the battle strike you as a bit too easy?¡±

    Amusement and pity warred on the spook¡¯s face. It pissed her off a little.

    ¡°Miss Padian. I will merely say this: Threshold stands at the forefront of the raiding world. The Padians stand at the forefront of Threshold. There is a reason why your house received immediate and unconditional support in the recovery of your aunt, and it is not just kindness on our part.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re not one of Threshold¡¯s top families,¡± Nestra said.

    She knew this was true. House Padian was mid-sized and unaffiliated. They were no heavy hitters. Well, not the heaviest hitters around in any case.

    Winslow was not amused. He looked like an impatient educator now.

    ¡°Miss Padian, your criteria for what constitutes ¡®the top¡¯ are far too restrictive to urately represent reality. Perhaps living with them as a family has skewed your perception of reality. While you were obviously concerned, I am telling you, I was not.¡±

    ¡°Huh.¡±

    Winslow closed the conversation with assurances that Nestra could rx and that she was safe now. And indeed, nothing bad happened. In fact, nothing happened at all. The truck stopped in an open za filled with temporary tents and crawling with soldiers. An army of paramedics took charge of the rescued captives with terrifying efficiency. The only catch happened with Ulysses¡¯ catch, so to speak. The woman he¡¯d captured was still sullenly following him.

    ¡°We will be taking custody of her,¡± Tian said, backed by a group of augs.

    She was wearing heavy manacles of a make Nestra didn¡¯t recognize. She wasn¡¯t familiar with gleam restraints. She just knew there were several kinds and MaxSec used a mana-resistant basic model for the kind of gleams she might have faced.

    ¡°That¡¯s Seraphine Velion. There is a price on her head in Threshold. She was my uppersswoman!¡±

    ¡°And now she is a captive here.¡±

    ¡°My captive,¡± Ulysses borated.

    Things grew tense, with the Padians giving them their attention. At a distance, augs stopped what they were doing to see if things would escte.

    ¡°There is no extradition agreement between our nations,¡± Tian said, very calmly.

    ¡°That is correct, young master Padian,¡± Winslow said, moving to the front. ¡°I¡¯m afraid our agreement does not cover Miss Velion here, and so I will respectfully ask you to surrender her to their custody.¡±

    ¡°Wait,¡± the woman said in a broken voice. ¡°You can¡¯t do that. Do you know what they do to their gleams? Wait!¡±

    Winslow replied in his ever-calm voice.

    ¡°Rest assured that your status and condition will be reported to the Threshold authority. We will be negotiating on your behalf for your safe return, of course.¡±

    Seraphine was on the verge of a panic attack. Nestra didn¡¯t feel much sympathy for a ver.

    ¡°Please! Help.¡±

    ¡°We will provide assistance, of course,¡± Winslow said, and his gaze was quite cold. ¡°But you understand that your¡­ choice of profession, or the fact you escaped Threshold to avoid a prison sentence for murder will not work in your favor. Goodbye for now.¡±

    They dragged her away. Tian returned a momentter, much more confident than before.

    ¡°Right. Regretfully, I cannot guarantee you a return before tomorrow morning. In the meanwhile, I have taken the liberty to reserve you a suite in the town¡¯s best hotel. It is normally reserved for government officials.¡±

    ¡°I could kill for a shower!¡± Aunt Clecle eximed.

    Many eyes turned to her.

    ¡°Metaphorically of course. You guys need to chill.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s all chill! Do they have hot spring things here?¡± Helena asked.

    Tian escorted them to the hotel herself. The few guests present were being sent out by armed guards and the staff was utterly terrified so they had ster service. Nestra made sure to ask for her chocte bar payment from Tian who delivered it with a half smile. She also assured them that the service would be free for the night so Clecle rushed to the baths with a bottle of Japanese Umeshu, a very sweet plum liquor. The women caught up to her in the secluded ce though Nestra was loath to leave her gear behind. It didn¡¯t feel safe.

    Aunt Clecle was showering and alreadythered. The water at her feet was brown.

    ¡°Damn. That¡¯s a lot of scars,¡± Nestra remarked.

    On her mom too. Most of the scars were fading or faded, some on the verge of disappearing because B-rankers had full control over their bodies, but still, the fact they even had those spoke of gruesome wounds inflicted with mana-charged attacks or spells. Attempts to kill that had failed but not by much. It made Nestra worried for them.

    ¡°Speak for yourself youngdy. Why do you even have stab wounds?¡± her mom asked.

    ¡°I got stabbed.¡±

    Nestra shrugged.

    ¡°Hey, hey, I¡¯m cool as well!¡± Helena said.

    She pointed at one of her only scars. It was on her leg where a fae warrior hadnded a sessful hit the first time she and Nestra had raided together ¡ª the one when Sashimi had proven she could be useful.

    Terror gripped Nestra¡¯s heart.

    ¡°How did you get this? The school didn¡¯t notify us.¡±

    ¡°I, uh, I was testing my coating.¡±

    They didn¡¯t buy it.

    ¡°With a knife¡­¡± Helena finished miserably.

    The four women stood in a circle with Deborah Padian made ready to deliver her judgment.

    ¡°I wanna drink,¡± Aunt ire said.

    ¡°Oh very well, but Helena, we will be discussing experimentationter. This is clearly self-harm¡­ if you¡¯re telling me the truth. Don¡¯t do that again.¡±

    ¡°Sorry mom.¡±

    ¡°Come on. This is a happy reunion!¡± Aunt Clecle said, flying to the rescue.

    ¡°Oh you¡¯re right. Forget about it honey. Let¡¯s just have a good time.¡±

    ¡°Cool! Can I get some of that booze as well?¡±

    ¡°In your wildest dreams, perhaps.¡±

    ¡°I was in a battle! I deserve it, no?¡±

    ¡°You are mercifully unharmed and so will your liver remain,¡± Mom concluded and there would be no argument.

    ¡°Into the bath, the lot of you. You stink!¡± Clecle joked.

    They didn¡¯t jump into the bath. As Helena reminded them, the proper etiquette was to shower first. Sanae joined them soon though she went to a side room ¡ª she was very much a loner. Sshing sounds on the other side of a separation wall indicated that the menfolk were soaking as well. At least all entrances were covered, Nestra thought.

    Nestra used the rxed mood to ask the same thing she¡¯d asked Winslow.

    ¡°So¡­ Didn¡¯t it feel a bit too easy?¡± she asked her mom.

    Deborah Padian opened azy eye. She was reclining against the stone wall of one of the hotter baths.

    ¡°You were severely outnumbered,¡± Nestra insisted. ¡°Three B-ss to seven. I know you are strong. Those are still long odds.¡±

    ¡°Darling, you are treating our opponents like a team while in reality they did not trust each other one bit. They were more interested in saving their skins than in cooperating to take us down. That¡¯s one. Two, we have excellent teamwork forged over the years facing countless monsters as well as other teams: humanoid monsters but also humans.¡±

    ¡°You mean, like practice bouts?¡±

    ¡°That and¡­ let¡¯s just say the world was not a good ce after Riel saved us all. Three, and I think you need to remember¡­ we¡¯re first gens, Nestra. We survived hell.¡±

    ¡°We really did,¡± Aunt Clecle added from her corner.

    ¡°We¡¯re really, really hard to kill. You need to trust in us a little more, right?¡±

    Nestra nodded. She wasn¡¯t really convinced in her heart because she was just scared, but intellectually she could ept that her family was dangerous. It was just hard to reconcile this knowledge with her love for them. Or at least, it was difficult to do it while everyone was having a good time.

    ¡°Nestra. We got her. She¡¯s safe. You need to wind down now.¡±

    ¡°I know, I just¡­ this is our first time outside and my first time rescuing¡­ sorry, helping with the rescue of a member of my family.¡±

    Her mom put a hand over Nestra¡¯s shoulder and drew her in for a side hug. She felt very solid.

    ¡°This is a trauma response, darling. You¡¯re hypervignt. We are safe. You will sessfully be a gleam. Trust me.¡±

    Nestra took a deep breath. A very deep breath.

    ¡°Ok, ok.¡±

    She did her best to rx. It worked a bit.

    ¡°Did you know Aunt ire was raiding for me?¡±

    ¡°No. She refused to tell me why she was working so hard,¡± mom replied.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t want to tell anyone in case it didn¡¯t work,¡± Clecle said with the bottle in her hand. ¡°Damn that thing is too sweet. Anyway it will work. We¡¯re sure of it.¡±

    ¡°Okay¡­¡± Nestra said. ¡°Okay.¡±

    Exhaustion finally caught up to her. She yawned,pletely worn out.

    The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

    ¡°Have a short nap on the bench, darling. We¡¯ll wake you up for dinner.¡±

    And since they knew what was good for them, they actually did.

    ***

    ¡°It¡¯s our greatest pleasure to offer you thismendation, as well as a well-deserved promotion to Senior agent,¡± the government official told Nestra with a thousand-megawatts smile that was probably whitened every five business days.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Nestra eloquently replied.

    She was sitting in the ¡®debrief room¡¯ after a safe flight home. She was expecting some sort of sterile interrogation room out of sheer habit since that¡¯s where she tended to end up, but this one was nice with actual coffee offered and everything. What a nice change. It still didn¡¯t exin what the fuck were they talking about. Was Ragnarok pulling strings? Was it her nepo superpowers at work again?

    The official was a sleek Pinoy in a navy suit. He had an assistant with him, a in anglo woman in a pink ensemble who exuded confidence and the HRbel.

    ¡°Surprised?¡± the man said. ¡°As for us, this is a happy urrence. At least, I prefer it very much to firing people.¡±

    He chuckled. Nestra was a bit hesitant in her response.

    ¡°I¡¯m just used to having disciplinary hearings and the likes. People tell me I have a problem with authority.¡±

    ¡°Well, none of those usations have stuck¡­ or they might not have been particrly egregious.¡±

    He nodded to the HR woman. She swiped her datasheet with some amusement.

    ¡°Perhaps you spent too much time in MaxSec. Between the two of us, closing departments tend to be a bit toxic. Nevertheless, your track record speaks for itself. One of the youngest epted candidates, the only female CQC expert ever to be granted reditation. One hundred and twenty-eightbat operations with a close to perfect sess rate. You have arrested users!¡±

    ¡°Not many¡­¡± Nestra mumbled.

    Honestly only Jason Wong had been a trained fighter. The rest hadn¡¯t offered much resistance since they correctly guessed they¡¯d have a better chance in court.

    ¡°You have received stermendations from your superiors Lieutenant Camus and MacMin.¡±

    ¡°Gorge gave me apliment?¡±

    ¡°Rock solid and lethallypetent, is what he said.¡±

    ¡°Wow.¡±

    Nestra leaned back into her chair.

    Well, Gorge and her were buddies now but the report must have been written shortly before MaxSec was liquidated ¡ª right before they went into business together. It was a surprise. He truly was the most soft-hearted cunt she¡¯d evere across.

    ¡°You are credited for single-handedly stopping two squads of gangers, both heavily augmented, saving the life of Officer Shinoda ¡ª may God rest his soul. You took down Cleaver who was considered a high D-ss threat with no specialized gear.¡±

    ¡°Technically it was done by Valerian of House Nephrite.¡±

    ¡°Who mentioned sneaking behind the heavily wounded aug to deliver the coup-de-grace. Both Valerian Nephrite and Shinoda Yuuji-san also heaped praises upon you. You were instrumental in recovering and deciphering data that led to the uncovering of a massive criminal conspiracy, the arrest of ringleader Jenkins, and the fining of Gidung for a total of 780 million credits at the end. You received ster des from Officer Baatar and freshly promoted Financial Crimes Captain Kim for the lead role on the arrest of Captain Ito in andmark case that also led to the imprisonment of Mrs. Shinoda, a major political figure of the opposition. During the Sword King fiasco, you sessfully prevented the death or capture of the diplomatic corps in a daring escape through gleam territory ¡ª I saw the footage. You are a <em>machine</em>, Miss Padian. And I mean this as apliment.¡±

    ¡°Thanks. Wow, Kim got promoted! I need to congratte her.¡±

    ¡°Then you can congratte each other. There are also redacted elements concerning a serial killer case and, I would wager, the recruitment of a very valuable user given the department involved and Ragnhild Lindstrom¡¯s personal stamp. You may have a problem with authority, Miss Padian, but it certainly doesn¡¯t have problems with you. Themendation is for the Threshold¡¯s Order of Merit, with Valor. Recipients of this distinguished award get easy ess to specific career paths I assume will be of little interest to you, however it also lifts restrictions to special high-government-only facilities such as recreation centers and¡­ restaurants. I was informed you might be interested.¡±

    ¡°What kind of restaurant?¡± Nestra asked, stomach waking up with a gurgle.

    ¡°I will send you a list. You get a raise as well.¡±

    Nestra was earning almost three and a half thousand credits a month after tax. It wasn¡¯t massive but it would have been pretty nice. Enough to buy a house with an okay mortgage and livefortably. It showed how human Nestra and Aszhii Nestra just didn¡¯t live on the same either. A single C-ss raid could earn her forty thousand credits in mined raw materials and monster parts, and that was without cores or rewards. She could do a C-ss raid every night if she really wanted to ¡ª and had ess to the portals.

    It was simply insane.

    Nestra pushed those thoughts back. Her life was good for now. No need to think about something she couldn¡¯t solve.

    ***

    There were two parties upon the Padian¡¯s triumphant if secretive return. The first was a family one, and Nestra was super happy to attend after Aunt ire was discharged from the hospital. The city had cleared everything for them. It was a pleasant evening, with a lot of gleam games of address and quite a bit of booze. Nobody mentioned Nestra going to Zurich. Maybe they didn¡¯t want to jinx it.

    Ulysses sort of ignored her most of the evening in a quiet but not exactly subtle way. It was Nestra who sought him this time. She wanted to know if there was a chance for a truce no matter how obnoxious he was.

    ¡°So, any chance you¡¯ll stop the quiet game if I be a gleam?¡± she asked after they isted themselves near a balcony.

    ¡°I don¡¯t despise you because you were a drab, though it didn¡¯t help. I despise you because you cut off and left. You¡¯re not aplete reject though. I can tell you worked hard, and kept working hard, but now you¡¯re just back because circumstances pushed you, not because you¡¯re any better of a person. And now you are going to leech off mom and Helena to catch up. I don¡¯t trust you. You were all high and mighty for our entire childhood until you fell and now it¡¯s just you returning to your normal self out of everyone else¡¯s expense. I know even dad is d so I won¡¯t fuck with you but don¡¯t think I¡¯ve forgotten. You keep to your side, I keep to mine, we stay courteous and that¡¯s it¡­ unless you do a dick move, of course. In which case, the glovese off. And remember, I¡¯m at the top now.¡±

    ¡°At least you¡¯re consistent,¡± Nestra replied.

    Ulysses turned away without replying. Nestra shrugged. She decided here and there to give up on the asshole. He would be someone she tolerated from now on and there was no need for her to make any efforts.

    Nestra returned to the group. She had fun for the rest of the evening, but decided to go home early. She had another party the next day.

    ***

    ¡°To us!¡±

    One thing about those private government restaurants: the food was absolutely amazing. Nestra¡¯s ss clinked against Kim¡¯s who looked really much better recently. The usually stuffy official was wearing a lovely hanbok, a traditional dress that really suited her nicely. Valerian was here as well as Mazingwe and a lot of Nestra¡¯s work friends, including her old superior Camus. Even Seth hade as Stibbs¡¯ plus one. It was a nice party to celebrate the double promotion.

    ¡°I can never thank you enough for sending my previous boss to the mmer,¡± Kim drawled.

    ¡°By the way, what happened to no longer dedicating your life to your career?¡±

    ¡°It appears the Threshold dating scene for my age bracket is dreadful, so I¡¯m taking a short break. But don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll find Mr. Perfect. Someone who will not pale when I mention being a high levelw enforcement agent specialized in finance.¡±

    ¡°Maybe just date someone very poor so they don¡¯t do tax evasion.¡±

    ¡°I will take this under advisement. In the meantime, let¡¯s mingle.¡±

    Everyone seemed to be having a good time. Nestra used this opportunity to thank the tall and muscr Camus ¡ª who was now a philosophy professor of all things ¡ª and Gorge for their nice ratings.

    ¡°I only yelled at you to keep you in line, Padian,¡± Camus assured her.

    ¡°I prefer to call you a twat to your face,¡± Gorge added. ¡°It¡¯s more sporting. I save the ass licking for the bureaucracy.¡±

    ¡°Well thanks for that.¡±

    Only Valerian looked a bit upset. When Nestra pressed him, he readily opened up.

    ¡°Just some trouble with my family. They really don¡¯t approve of some of the new spells I¡¯ve submitted to the archives. We can discuss when we raid next.¡±

    Nestra assured him it would happen after a short break. He was doing ok after all, thankfully, but she¡¯d have to keep an eye on him.

    ***

    ¡°It was amazing. I didn¡¯t know my family was so strong!¡± Nestra told Sereth.

    She took a sip of weird mocktail. It was fruity but not too sweet, and also loaded with mana. Sereth was experimenting with different cuisines recently, eager to explore human tastes. Right now he was in a Bulgarian phase, and Nestra was eating white balls that tasted powerfully of cucumber, yogurt, and dill. Sereth was grilling a lot of meat as well.

    It was just really nice to go to his ce for food and conversation. She had to admit that it was no wonder Stibbs had fallen for him considering she didn¡¯t know he was a Kero Nut thief.

    ¡°I was there,¡± Sereth mentioned.

    ¡°You were?¡±

    ¡°With Stibbs and you present? Of course. I was interested to see that your world is so far from being united. Back on my ne, the Celestial Throne dominates all continents.¡±

    ¡°Huh.¡±

    ¡°And I should keep quiet as I am not supposed to share this knowledge with you just yet. Did you ask to see me because you wanted to talk about the surgery?¡±

    ¡°Yes. A core, for me¡­ I was hoping you could tell me I can go.¡±

    ¡°Yes I can ¡®greenlight¡¯ it,¡± Sereth said, tranting the expression into Aszhii like he was savoring a rare dish. ¡°Core wounds be more frequent once raiders are resilient enough to survive them. I know little about healing myself, only that it should work on you. Just do not change shape during the process, obviously.¡±

    ¡°What if¡­ what if my body eats it?¡±

    ¡°Your human body cannot eat a core, and your Aszhii self no longer starves. In fact, your training should make the process easier. I am guessing they are trying for a core transnt.¡±

    ¡°It sounds that way.¡±

    ¡°They will ¡®liquify¡¯ it, then imnt it into you. It means the physical core will disappear and its content will reform in your mind pce. Since it¡¯s a B-ss core, a lot of the material will be lost, but it also means that your newly awakened core will be as strong as it should have been if you hadn¡¯t cannibalized it. It¡¯s not a risky operation for a D-ss. It¡¯s just that normally, D-ss users would not have survived the loss of their core.¡±

    ¡°Huh.¡±

    ¡°It will be fine, Nestra. You are going to make it.¡±

    ***

    So flying to Zurich wasn¡¯t apparently as easy as showing up at the airport. First, the ticket cost fifteen thousand credits and she would have to wait for three days because that was the only time there was a ne actually going there. Second, Nestra needed an emergency passport made which was only possible because she was connected. Third, that emergency passport needed a visa, and then an additional validation because Threshold had ssified her as a D-ss equivalent threat ¡ª thank you very much you fuckers. That was a lot of headache, but at least it wouldn¡¯tst very long. In order to rx, Nestra shipped her Crescent ass to the Beacon for another assignment so she could vent by turning monsters to fine paste.

    s, Rangarok trapped her in the most vicious way possible.

    ¡°You can¡¯t be sssserious,¡± Nestra said in her seat in the old woman¡¯s office.

    Anger was making her hissy.

    Remarkably little had changed after Ragnhild Lindstrom¡¯s ascension to A-rank. She was still fulfilling the same role, and only raiding very asionally. It appeared she still needed some time to stabilize her new powers. Nestra felt her presence all the time though, in ways that she didn¡¯t with Shinran. It just went to show the amount of control that fake monk had.

    ¡°Dr. Daniels petitioned the government for help. He has considerable pull among the American leadership, especially when ites to research. A lot of cooperations between our universities could suffer if he is brushed off too aggressively.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t give a shit. I¡¯m not interested in research being conducted on myself!¡±

    ¡°There is no shame in being a transformation power gleam, Crescent,¡± Ranghild said.

    ¡°I know this. Do they?¡±

    Ragnarok conceded the point with a tilt of her head.

    ¡°Crescent, North America has a much higher incidence of transformation power than we do. This trend hase with its own set ofplications. Transformation users tend to be¡­ more unstable. There are regr cases of loss of control. It¡¯s a serious issue.¡±

    ¡°For them.¡±

    ¡°For all of us,¡± Ragnarok connected. ¡°We are all humans trying to decipher a new world, with new rules. It has taken hundreds of thousands of years for homo sapiens to build the kind of civilization we lost during the Incursion, and even that was imperfect. It has only been sixty years since then. We need keys of understanding, and if you can help them out, I will ask that you at least talk to them in an interview.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not like the other transformers. They are close to regr or imaginary animals.¡±

    ¡°For all we know they are real in¡­ portals,¡± Ragnarok said.

    Nestra noticed the strange dy. Ragnarok probably believed there were other worlds out there, which was amon opinion. Why the hesitation?

    Bah it didn¡¯t matter right now.

    ¡°And yes, you¡¯re a demon. The only humanoid one we know of. That is why your insight into your own power could be uniquely valuable.¡±

    ¡°How do they even know I¡¯m a transformation gleam, by the way? I never appeared without a mask.¡±

    ¡°Crescent, your eyes arepletely ck, sclera included. Of course you are transforming to some degree.¡±

    ¡°Gah. I¡¯m stupid.¡±

    ¡°No, since you have never removed your mask and should never do so in public.¡±

    Nestra needed to keep track of who knew what with a list. Here were the people who knew she was an Aszhii: Sereth, Helena, Stibbs, Mazingwe, Shinran. Here were the people who knew she could change shape: Camille, Ragnarok, Valerian, Gorge, and his spawn. Here were the people who didn¡¯t know shit: the rest of the. The rest of the didn¡¯t know shit.

    Nestra amended that opinion. Her family was on that list. It wasn¡¯t nice to them to say they didn¡¯t know shit.

    ¡°You will at least hear Dr. Daniels out. I notified him you wereing. He is in another room nearby so neither of you will have to wait long. Crescent, I can technically order you to attend the meeting, not as a masked user but as a citizen of Threshold. I will ask instead. Just hear him out. You might be helping people.¡±

    Nestra sighed. She wouldn¡¯t help people because she wasn¡¯t a transformation gleam. Any data they¡¯d get from her would taint the pool, so to speak.

    ¡°I can help him out. As an outlier, I¡¯m just not sure how much help I can be.¡±

    ¡°Thank you. As an additional incentive, remember that I am helping your trip to Zurich by elerating everything I can. Does it rte to the fact you can¡¯t ess your core while untransformed?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Nestra said. ¡°I should be able to use mana in human form afterward.¡±

    ¡°At C-ss level?¡±

    ¡°Probably not at first,¡±

    ¡°It might protect your secret identity then. As for the interview, I know it¡¯s unpleasant but I¡¯ll ask that you do it for me as a gesture of gratitude, if you won¡¯t do it for mankind.¡±

    ¡°Ah, stop it. I¡¯m already convinced.¡±

    Nestra stood up. She had resigned herself to her fate.

    ¡°Oh, onest thing,¡± she said, grabbing her backpack. ¡°I got you a gift to congratte you on your ascension¡­ since I wasn¡¯t invited to the party.¡±

    She gave Ragnarok a bag of round pale biscuits with red, jam-filled ¡®A¡¯ carved in the middle.

    ¡°I used a robot to help with the letters. The flour is mana rich but I couldn¡¯t get mana raspberry jam, sorry.¡±

    Ragnarok picked the bag with great speed but also a surprisingly gentle touch. She soon had one between two wizened fingers.

    ¡°Halongrottor cookies. Homemade then?¡±

    ¡°As I said I also used my cooking robot,¡± Nestra said.

    ¡°Most people offered me rare metal ingots, which was also nice of course. Thank you dear. It was very thoughtful of you. I believe I will have some coffee now. Off you go, though. My secretary will guide you.¡±

    Nestra left with a smile. Truly, food was almost always a good offering.

    ***

    ¡°Thank you for agreeing to see me,¡± Dr. Daniels said with a kind voice.

    He was tall but also muscr now that he was only wearing a simple shirt. His neat brown hair and golden eyes of a light user gave him some sort of corporate messiah feel she couldn¡¯t trust. He was also B-ss and a strong one too. That was a concern, because it was clear he had no qualms about pulling strings. He had her cornered both socially and physically.

    She felt trapped.

    There was another male anglo gleam with short brown hair next to him, slightly more meek in appearance. He was C-ss despite having no affinities locked which hinted at an older civilian. Perhaps a researcher. He had not introduced himself yet, and would not meet her eyes.

    Nestra didn¡¯t reply because she hadn¡¯t agreed. She hadplied. To her, there was a difference.

    ¡°I am Dr. Daniels, still with the Center of Magical Studies based in Austin. This is Dr. Nichols. We are experts in transformation powers ¡ªas far as the term ¡®expert¡¯ can even be applied. I appreciate that you didn¡¯t initially want to talk to us and I wanted to thank you for agreeing anyway. We have crossed the ocean to see you, haha.¡±

    Nestra didn¡¯t reply. She found it much easier to remain quiet as an Aszhii anyway. Maybe they weren¡¯t that big on talking, as a species.

    Nah Sereth was aplete bbermouth.

    Maybe she should y nice. Ragnarok had asked and Nestra owed the old woman some help. She was a good person.

    ¡°Yesss?¡±

    ¡°Right. Let¡¯s not waste anymore of your time. We have a few questions if you don¡¯t mind.¡±

    Nestra gestured that they may ask.

    ¡°Your power is very unusual. Many transformations lead to bipedal hybrids but you are the first and so far only pure, fully humanoid one. That makes you an interesting reference, a halfway point should we say. Are you familiar with transformation powers? Beyond your own.¡±

    ¡°Not really. Basic research only.¡±

    ¡°Right. The first transformation is usually considered an extremely traumatic event by most participants. How would you describe your own?¡±

    ¡°Not very painful. Scary and confusing.¡±

    ¡°I see. And if I may ask, was there any coteral damage?¡±

    ¡°Damage?¡±

    ¡°For the first transformation. Most losses and damage normally ur during and immediately after the first transformation while the user¡¯s control is at the lowest.¡±

    He smiled a bit more.

    ¡°Users will be confused, we understand. In pain. It leads to poor judgment, a perfectly normal reaction of course.¡±

    ¡°No damage. I was home.¡±

    ¡°I see, I see. So you didn¡¯t leave your home during the first transformation?¡±

    ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°Did you perhaps have any memorypse? Moment where the world felt unreal or that the transformation was happening to someone else? Unexined movements through the house while you didn¡¯t remember how you got there?¡±

    ¡°No. I was conscious. Afraid and confused but conscious.¡±

    ¡°I see. Have you felt instincts that you would qualify as inhuman while in your transformed shape? Something that you wouldn¡¯t do normally?¡±

    ¡°Eeh¡­ Raw meat.¡±

    ¡°Eating raw meat?¡± Daniels asked with sudden interest.

    Nichols shivered. His terror was so obvious Nestra could smell it. He was perspiring heavily as well.

    ¡°Yeah.¡±

    ¡°What sort of meat?¡±

    ¡°Monster.¡±

    ¡°Monster meat?¡±

    ¡°Yes. With tabasco.¡±

    ¡°With tabasco¡­¡± Daniels whispered, seemingly confused.

    ¡°Have you had any desire for human flesh?¡± Nichols asked with undisguised horror.

    ¡°What the fuck is that sort of question?¡±

    ¡°Sorry,¡± Daniels said. ¡°What my colleague wanted to know is if some of your instincts push you to favor one particr kind of meat.¡±

    ¡°No. Variety. And not just protein. I mentioned raw meat because I normally dislike it. Upsets my stomach.¡±

    Nestra didn¡¯t like where this was going. Those people¡­ were they really researchers? What the hell were they researching? Those questions were so loaded.

    ¡°Changing topics,¡± Daniels continued. ¡°What do demons evoke for you?¡±

    That caught Nestra off guard.

    ¡°Pardon?¡±

    ¡°As you might know, transformation powers stem from a strong familiarity with mysticism, an obsession with mythology, or shamanic traditions. Most of those who transform were already intimately familiar with what we call a localized Jungian archetype, the local interpretation of a myth like the werewolf or the jaguar warrior. Hmmm.¡±

    He drank a bit of coffee. He was carefully handling the flow of the conversation in a way that made Nestra suspicious.

    Maybe he was just good at conducting interviews. Was she growing paranoid again? She resisted the urge to fidget. She could always jump back through the wall but light users were stupidly fast¡­

    ¡°So I was wondering if you had any ideas about what a demon is, ording to any mythology? It is present in Japanese Shinto faith as Oni, or Chinese tradition as Mo. There is also the Christian faith, naturally¡­¡±

    He waited for her reaction.

    Honestly, Nestra was stumped. Her parents had been so ufortable about faith growing up that their awkward ¡®well of course you can believe whatever you want sweetie¡¯ just led to a general sense of disinterest. That wasn¡¯t what the two assholes wanted to hear, though. If she were really a human gleam, then she absolutely had to be familiar with demons to take the guise of one.

    Nestra picked one of her favorite childhood cartoons, a twenty-years old story about angelsing to help a post-incursion mankind by binding with random children. In retrospect it had been a sort of coping story for kids who felt powerless in a hostile world.

    ¡°Hmm. Cartoons actually. I really liked Neressa from ¡®Light as a Feather¡¯.¡±

    She¡¯d been an ambiguous devil character who frequently helped the good side. She also used a sword and didn¡¯t take shit from anybody. Definitely a good role model for Nestra.

    ¡°I see. A cartoon character. I see, I see.¡±

    They didn¡¯t look like they were buying it.

    ¡°Do the urges you feel while transformed also impact your human form?¡±

    Another loaded question. One that implied urges to begin with.

    ¡°No strong urge while transformed. Better battle instincts though.¡±

    ¡°Do you ever feel apulsion to, shall we say, transgress? Demons are often seen as creatures that oppose thews of heaven, the status quo and fatherly authority. They are rebels, at least in the Christian tradition.¡±

    Nestra shrugged. Those guys were just weird. What sort of question was that? Were they not interested in her powers or some such? It felt like being interrogated by an expert who was trying to build a case against her mental health.

    ¡°Not really, no. It¡¯s about freedom and hunting monsters.¡±

    ¡°No urge tomit crimes for example?¡±

    Nestra shook her head.

    ¡°Yet you were registered for the first time as C-ss. Unless you were C-ss to begin with, that means you were illegally raiding for an extended period of time, right?¡±

    ¡°That was a conscious decision to get the best anonymity protection as a masked gleam,¡± Nestra deadpanned. ¡°And I was punished for it.¡±

    ¡°You made a conscious decision to break thew?¡±

    ¡°Yes. To avoid situations such as this one, but you would also know about my civilian identity,¡± Nestra finished.

    ¡°I see, I see.¡±

    Nichols was furiously writing something on a freshly pulled datasheet. Nestra had a bad feeling about this.

    ¡°Tell me, how do you interpret the notion of sin?¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t answer theological questionssss,¡± Nestra said, losing patience.

    ¡°Please, it is important for our research. Indulge us?¡±

    Nestra considered her options.

    Fuck it, they weren¡¯t going to advance the cause of science with her anyway.

    ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°Perhaps we should return to itter¡­ or not at all! Our purpose is not to make you ufortable,¡± Daniels continued with his trademarked winning smile. ¡°Would you mind talking about your monster hunting experience?¡±

    It was a raider¡¯s favorite topic, at least before the first big losses. Nestra wasn¡¯t having it though.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think your line of questioning aligns with any research I¡¯d like to be a part of. I am leaving.¡±

    ¡°No please, we could also just listen to your experience. It¡¯s valuable data.¡±

    ¡°No thanks.¡±

    ¡°Alright, onest thing before you leave. Your superior gave us authorization to get a few samples¡­¡±

    Nichols grabbed a ck bag from next to his seat, revealing syringes.

    Hell no.

    ¡°No one can give that authorization but me. No.¡±

    ¡°Please, this is important.¡±

    Nestra was done. She stood up, and so did Daniels. His mana red.

    His jaw locked in a sign of anger she¡¯d seen before, as a cop. She turned to the side, offering her left nk. Void mana pooled in her hand.

    Their eyes met.

    Daniels rxed so fast it was uncanny. He gave her onest smile.

    ¡°Regrettable, but I understand. Thank you for your help so far. Goodbye, Miss Crescent.¡±

    Nestra left the room without turning her back. What the fuck had Ragnarok unleashed upon her. A ten minute dive in depths of the inte brought her an answer, and she sent Ragnarok a furious reply.

    ¡°You set me up with fundamentalists! Daniels works for a lobby that seeks to regte transformation gleams. He wants to create ghettos!¡±

    The answer was instant.

    ¡°Yes? I assumed you followed transformation-rted news? What I said about him being influential was correct. I assumed you knew and that was why you were reluctant to talk to him.¡±

    Fuck, it was Nestra¡¯s problem for not working on her cover more a bit more.

    ¡°I don¡¯t follow international news,¡± she sent back.

    ¡°That is not my problem. Your passport has been delivered to your house. You¡¯re flying tomorrow. Good luck.¡±

    So it was happening, and quickly too. She chased Daniels from her mind for now. He couldn¡¯t do anything to her that she couldn¡¯t agree to.

    She was going to be a gleam.

    If everything went well.

    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and

    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!