The man before them stood taller than the both of them, dressed in a brown vest, an elegant top hat, and a small bag strapped to his belt. With a wide grin, he asked “Why are you in a boring old server room when there’s a festival outside?”

  Felix aimed his pistol at the unknown figure, “Who are you?”

  In spite of his reaction, it was clear to the both of them that man in front of them was significantly more dangerous than the guards they faced before.

  “I apologize for my rudeness, please allow me to introduce myself, I am one of the guards here you see.” He took off his top hat, revealing his brown hair as he bowed.

  “Don’t lie to us.” The blue-eyed agent sharply remarked.

  The blood-covered man put his top hat back on, responding, “Well, I can’t tell you that, but please refer to me as Harbinger. I was employed recently here in order. Pleased to make your—” A knife brushed against the side of his head before he could finish speaking.

  “What kind of guard kills his own men?” Maria clicked her tongue. Her palm steadily descended back to the onyx table. Her happy-go-lucky demeanor turned cold and frigid.

  Harbinger nervously laughed and continued to feign ignorance, “My, please enlighten me, whatever do you m—?”

  Before he could finish talking, a gunshot sent him slamming towards the door.

  Felix blew out the wisp of smoke flowing out of pistol, his glowing blue-eye radiating through the darkness, his body silhouetted against the moonlight.

  As he lowered his gun, the table beeped with a high-pitched sound.

  “Looks like our download is complete.” Maria perked up, grabbing the drive.

  “Harbinger, he said…”

  She tilted her head in curiosity, “Oh, how foreboding. What about it?”

  “I recognize that name codename… Rank twenty-seventh, a veteran who went MIA months ago. He must’ve been the one who tried to work with the Robin outside. The first intruder that caused them to be high aler—”

  Maria pushed him to the side as a sharp blade spun between them.

  As it struck the window wall, a soft cackle followed. The man Felix had just shot got back on his feet, “I see my reputation precedes me.”

  “You’re still alive?” Maria shifted her gaze to the knife embedded in the window — it was the same one she threw at him.

  “You both are from the agency, aren’t you? Did bullet-proof vests stop being standard issue while I was away?” Harbinger scoffed, brushing off his brown vest as if nothing happened.

  “He must be the agent that the Robin told us about.” Maria pulled out her weapon from the cracked window, sliding it in its sheathe.

  Felix aimed his gun once more and began firing, only for the man in the top hat to hop away, dodging his every shot.

  “How rude. From what I gather, you and I are on the same mission. So would you please give me a moment?” Harbinger suggested, hiding behind one of pillars.

  Felix paused to reload his pistol, his mismatched eyes never leaving his target, “And what mission would that be?”

  “First off, I introduced myself. Alliance protocol dictates that you grant me your codenames.” Harbinger’s voice echoed through the large room.

  “What for?” Maria asked sharply.

  “Codenames let the other party know what they’re dealing with. It’s in the treaty to let an unwilling participant go unharmed if they’re associated with the alliance.” Felix elaborated in a low voice, while Maria readied herself for combat.

  She turned to him and replied, “I’m surprised you know this.”

  He glanced over to her, “I’m surprised you don’t.”

  Harbinger walked out with his hands above his head, responding, “Something tells me you two haven’t been in the field for too long. So I’ll cut you a deal, if you please give me a copy of the information, all parties will be able to go on their merry way.”

  “You wouldn’t happen to have a drive on you?” Maria asked, putting the drive in her back pocket.

  “I do… but after dealing with the guards…” Harbinger replied as he pulled out a broken flash drive from his vest pocket.

  “That sucks. You didn’t think to bring a back up?”

  “Did you?”

  “I—” Maria wanted to argue, but the two of them only had a single drive. She then drew her blades, two sharp combat knives, “Even if we did, we wouldn’t hand it over to you.”

  “That’s a shame, I can’t come back empty-handed.” Harbinger drew his gun.

  With two daggers in her hands, Maria took her stance, her fangs in full view.

  “Harbinger, engaging.”

  “Venom Vanguard…” She hooked the table’s leg with her foot, then kicked the table towards Harbinger, “Engaging!”

  A glassy onyx wall made it’s way towards Harbinger, but he swiftly jumped over the airborne obstacle with his gun ready. But before he could even plant his feet, she closed the space between them in a single beat.

  The edges of her steel blades clashed against his gun before he could even aim, and he was forced to use it to parry each of her explosive blows.

  As their weapons clashed, her unnatural strength quickly overpowered him, to the point where he found himself struggling to keep her daggers away from his chest.

  Unable to aim, he kicked Maria’s diaphragm, and hopped away to a safe distance.

  “Venom Vanguard… The serpent who kills with a single cut, with blades laced with neurotoxins that could kill an elephant in minutes.”

  “Are those the rumors going around?” The dark-haired woman hissed at him while rubbing the lower part of her chest.

  “Quite. I have to say, disabling someone’s motor functions is quite a scary gimmick for a little girl.”

  Maria got back up and threw another knife towards him, “So you know who I am, yet you’re not backing down?”

  Harbinger shifted his body and effortlessly avoided the attack. In response, he raised his gun at her, but before he could fire, a bullet struck him in the chest, which slammed him against one of the pillars.

  “Right… forgot about the other one.” He huffed as he got back up, quickly moving away as two more bullets shot at him.

  “So what about you, boy… whoa!” Harbinger spoke to the darkness while avoiding the shards of lead aimed at his head, “May I please ask for your codename?”

  “…Ch-Child of Stars.” Hidden behind the server, Felix accidentally let his first thought slip out of his lips.

  “Child of…? That sounds oddly familiar.” He perked up curiously while the Venom Vanguard leapt at him. The two danced with gun and blade, while simultaneously attacking each other with words.

  “It’s rather odd for an Elite Agent to prefer fighting in close quarters.” He remarked.

  “It’s odd for an Elite Agent to be mouthing off the way you do, and yet here we are!” She pushed back.

  Felix continued to attack from the darkness, behind the countless blinking lights of the data servers. But Harbinger simply dodged the bullets coming his way, “My, my, you sure lack presence. If it weren’t for your glowing eye, I’d have taken you for a ghost.”

  Though he fancied the shadows, his glowing blue eye betrayed him as its light reflected on the glassy surfaces of the servers, letting Harbinger pinpoint his location.

  He continued to fire at Harbinger from behind one of the servers, supporting from a distance while Maria acted as the vanguard.

  But as the two clashed once more, Harbinger parried her knife, then raised his leg. Maria, who was not gonna fall for the same counter twice, raised her guard and steeled her body. But Harbinger grinned, finally able to push back against her, he aimed his gun and fired.

  Cracks formed in the knife.

  Maria’s hands trembled as she tightened her grip on the knife’s hilt. The impact radiated through her veins as she just barely blocked the bullet with her knife.

  Felix whipped out his cobalt gun, and a dull pulse echoed. Invisible rings rippled out, distorting the air it passed through.

  While Harbinger fought on the offensive, and a numbing pulse ran through his muscles. The blast had struck him with full force, causing his entire to freeze.

  Frozen, Harbinger’s eyes searched forwards, where he saw the reflection of Felix’s glowing blue eye in one of the glass panes.

  Felix raised his pistol and pulled the trigger, but only silence followed — his gun was empty.

  The old man mustered up his willpower, and felt a twitch in his hands.

  In the few seconds it took for Felix to grab a fresh magazine from his under his coat, Harbinger broke free from his stunned state and spun around to shoot at him.

  Dozens of glass fragments splintered through the air as the bullet narrowly missed Felix.

  “What a cute toy!” Harbinger gleefully unloaded the rest of his shots.

  Panic ran through the black-haired agent and he darted behind another server.

  With his back pressed against the ebony machine, Felix breathed and looked at the top of his gun, the glassy black grid was now glowing red, a sign that it was almost out of battery. He only had a second to look disheartened expression, as the sound gunfire reminded him that he was still in a battle.

  “Does he ever run out of bullets? Wait… does Marie ever run out of knives?” Before he could ponder either question, one of Harbinger’s shots struck him in the shoulder.

  Though the projectile could not tear through his black cloak, the impact felt like his bones shattered like glass, “ARGH! Bollocks!”

  Felix let out a feral growl and kicked the server with immense force, flinging it towards his enemy.

  Harbinger was startled by his enemy’s inhuman strength, but as it black pillar hurtled through the air, he simply ducked beneath it, barely breaking a sweat.

  It crashed into the other servers, toppling them down like mechanical dominoes.

  “The Child of Stars…” Harbinger made a curious stare as he dropped his gun and pulled out another one from his thigh.

  But as those questioning words escaped his mouth, another blade sliced through the air and left behind a thin trail of light. The knife grazed his cheek, and a stinging pain started to radiate across his face.

  Bloodlust leaked out of Harbinger as he rained down lead in response, angrily firing one round after another in quick succession, breaking apart every server.

  But Maria moved as quickly as he aimed, leaping above one server after the next.

  Felix felt a strain in his arm, the bandage that was wrapped around it began to feel warm. He took a step forward, lifting his arm once more.

  But before he could return to the battle, his body froze as his eyes followed a grenade that came in his way.

  Yet before it could fall, he heard the sound of an unwinding cord, and watched as it was caught in the claw of a grappling hook.

  With the bomb in her grappling hook, Maria improvised a weapon that slithered perfectly to her will.

  The explosive whipped up and down, left and right, leaving no room for Harbinger to go into the offensive. He was cautious of both Maria’s bomb whip, and of Felix, who had resumed shooting from the rear.

  He was left to defend himself and bide his time, waiting as his wounds accumulated. He only needed a few seconds.

  With a grin on his face as the explosive began to beep, he grabbed the cord on Maria’s grappling hook and threw the explosive back at her.

  — Click.

  Her eyes widened in response.

  “Get down!” She yelled.

  The grappling hook, which was swinging side-wards, took a sharp, unnatural downwards swerve.

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

  With a deafening boom, the explosive slammed into the ground, and a cacophony of crumbling followed.

  All three combatants were thrown back by the fiery burst.

  Debris rained down above them as the ceiling snapped. Thousands of black glass shards clattered on the ground. The powerful blast left a dark crater on the ground, which quickly collapsed into a large hole.

  The window walls around them had cracked, and let the frigid air slowly seep out with a silent whistle.

  The tremors from above caught the attention of the guards below, narrowing down their search.

  Dizzy and lightheaded, Felix opened his eyes and felt a stream of red liquid flowing out of his forehead, “…I hope this counts as minimum damage.”

  But as he tried to drag himself up, he found himself unable to move. His arm buried under the rubble of the ceiling. He struggled to lift the debris with only one arm. Memories flashed in his mind of a similar event. A clear memory of his own mangled leg, buried underneath a fragment of a concrete wall.

  He grit his teeth and angrily pushed the rubble away. But his eyes widened as he heard his enemy groaning a few feet away.

  Harbinger slowly got up, pain visibly radiating from his movement. His top hat was on the floor, showing his disheveled brown hair.

  Panic began to set in as he watched Harbinger pull out a magazine and reload his gun.

  Felix used every ounce of strength he could muster. His veins started to glow, and a numbing electricity crackled out of his fingertips, letting him get rid of the rubble.

  But as he did, his face turned pale as he saw his arm, tangled in a web of wires, while a shard of glass from the metal server protruding through his flesh.

  Unable to move, he searched frantically for something he could use, and saw his pistol lying a few feet away from him.

  But while he could barely reach the tip of his gun, Harbinger had already aimed his own at him. Felix closed his eyes, then Harbinger fired — with a loud bang, a splatter could be heard spilling across the ground.

  He opened his mismatched eyes to see the silhouette standing right in front of him.

  “I’m pretty sure… you’re the one supposed to be protecting me… Felix…” Maria muttered softly. Her blood sliding across her smirk.

  “M-Marie…” Felix cracked out a whimper as her blood dripped over his face.

  As she fell beside him, his ears began to ring.

  Harbinger walked towards the two of them and took the drive from Maria’s back pocket, calmly placing it in his vest.

  Marie?

  Marie, come on… get up.

  You’re okay right? Stop kidding around… Come on…

  You’re a little too heavy, you know that?

  Get up… come on, get up. Marie…

  The brown-haired man looked at the two with a curious expression, “Felix? Felix Aster? So then… you must be the ‘Black Cat of Ruin.’”

  As he walked towards them, Felix started panting as his body began to boil from within, “I’ll kill you!”

  “Oh, please. You’ve been doing a terrible job at that.” Harbinger scoffed.

  Felix snapped the broken glass that was protruding from his arm, using it to cut off most of the wires that bound him to the floor. He sliced through his black sleeve, causing his arm to gash open.

  With a vicious growl, his skin and flesh pulled apart just to strike Harbinger’s face.

  Harbinger’s knees buckled. His face ached as a red stream started pouring out of his nose. But he looked back at the young agent and grinned, “Was that supposed to be a punch? Please.”

  He struck back, causing Felix to bounce off the ground.

  “No hard feelings, but no loose ends. Please forgive me.” Harbinger cocked his gun and slowly pointed at the groveling young man, who was facing down on the ground.

  But as he was about to pull the trigger, Felix leapt forward and kicked his hand upward, causing him to fire toward the ceiling.

  “What the hell?!” Taken by surprise, Harbinger clutched his throbbing arm and looked back at him.

  Felix lowered to the floor and stood on all fours, a stance reminiscent of a wounded animal, with a limb rendered useless.

  He shot the disheveled man a feral glare, like a predator focusing on its prey, taking one small step at a time.

  “Is this why you’re called the Black Cat?” Harbinger shouted, his voice cracking with rage.

  The blue-eyed agent began bouncing around the room, jumping above one server to another. Left, right, left right, leaving cracks on the black glass, closing the space between them.

  A vein popped in the older man’s forehead as he grew increasingly irritated.

  But when the blue-eyed agent finally lunged at him, Harbinger aimed exactly where he would be, expecting it, and immediately fired straight at his forehead. A blue flare burst from Felix’s face, shooting his body towards one of the black pillars.

  As he crashed, Harbinger lowered his gun and let out an exhausted exhale. He ran his fingers across his disheveled hair, trying to compose himself.

  Blood poured from Felix’s face as he let out a weak cough.

  “Still alive? Time to put this kitty down for good.” The brown-haired man pointed his gun one more time. As he pulled the trigger, however, there was nothing but a hollow click. He had run out of bullets.

  Felix’s eyes opened slowly, as if he had just woken up. Disoriented, his vision struggled to focus. A chunk of his cheek had been blown off, leaving a gaping bleeding hole across his face.

  “Tsk…” Harbinger grabbed the blue-eyed agent by the throat and slammed him against the wall, “This is supposed to be the pinnacle of human strength? The next link in the evolutionary chain? Don’t make me laugh!”

  His grip tightened as he leaned in, “What makes enhanced humans so special? What makes you so special?!”

  Struck with a barrage of spiteful questions, Felix looked at him, revealing the bullet that he caught in his bloodstained teeth and spat it at his face.

  An enraged grin formed on the man’s face as the shard of lead struck his cheek, staining it with blood and saliva.

  Harbinger squeezed his neck tighter, asking, “Please, explain to me how a novice like you, the poster boy of Project ASTRAEA, reached rank thirteen?!” Frustration bleeding through his words.

  With only one useful arm, the blue-eyed agent grappled against the hand choking him. His face swelled as he struggled.

  My rank? What does that have to do with any of this?

  Sweat dripped over his mismatched eyes, blurring his vision. He could barely make out Harbinger’s expression. With barely any air getting into his lungs and brain, Felix’s consciousness was quickly fading into black.

  But before he could pass out, he faintly heard Harbinger’s ridicule, “Who would have thought… that Nocturne’s little brother… would turn out to be so pathetic?!”

  As he uttered those words, small, ephemeral blue sparks erupted from the wound on Felix’s other arm.

  He’s right, I’ve done nothing to earn my place… It’s probably nothing more than the whims and expectations of the higher-ups.

  But who cares?

  I’m not gonna die a second time. Not on my first mission. Not when I haven’t achieved anything.

  I still have to honor my promise. I will rise higher—

  And you’re in the way!

  A sharp slash whipped against the wind, followed by a dull wet thud on the ground.

  Felix’s arm was raised towards the ceiling, set ablaze with a fiery blue haze pouring out from his wound.

  Harbinger’s eyes slowly descended to where the sound came from, where he saw something familiar wrapped in a sleeve, leaking with blood.

  He shifted his gaze back forward, his face went pale.

  “Huh?” Realizing his arm had been cleanly taken off, his voice cracked, and he clutched his dismember arm.

  Freed from his grip, Felix took a deep gasp, finally able to breathe. Every raspy inhale filled his burning lungs. While he supported himself against the wall, his body became enveloped by thousands of flickering sparks.

  Harbinger bit his lip, his expression contorted into rage. In a fit of blind anger, he struck with his remaining arm — but the black-haired agent caught his fist with ease.

  Stood in front of him was the same agent, with the same raven-black hair, and the same blistering wound on his face. But now, he was bathed in a blue glow that outlined his body.

  Azure sparks glistened around the child of stars, and wiry strings of electricity started to form from his wounds, weaving and sewing his cheek back together, reforming the missing parts of his face.

  Harbinger tried to pull back his arm, but the blue-eyed agent wouldn’t budge. His eyebrows furrowed with a mix of fright and fury.

  With a loud, desperate cry, the older man swung his foot with a powerful kick and struck Felix dead in the face, loosening the grip around his arm, letting him back away.

  As he slipped out, he watched the ephemeral particles spiral, forming waves of blue flames that danced into a spherical shape — it was as if a star formed around Felix’s body.

  Unable to make sense of what was going on, Harbinger’s mouth trembled at the sight of the burning blue dome, “Wh-what?!”

  But the dome was incomplete. Gaps ran through the crystalline structure. Sections in the flame thinned, and stretches of transparency in the blue haze fractures where Felix’s gaze pierced through.

  Harbinger’s instincts screamed for him to run, but his body faltered, a few seconds too late to respond. He was only able to turn around and take half a step forward.

  Then, the blue star burst —

  Crystallized haze scattered, and the blue particles illuminated the entirety of the server room. The silent shock wave sent Harbinger slamming through several servers.

  With slow aching steps that lifted up the rubble around him, Felix approached the man with a fierce glare. The blue haze that enveloped his body was dispersing and fading away.

  Once again disheveled, Harbinger tilted his head up. Standing before him was the man he had taunted, wrapped in cold, silent rage.

  “P-please… spare me…” Lying atop the broken black pillars, he pleaded, “I’m just doing what they told me to...”

  “By who? Who ordered you to do this? What are they after? Why did you disappear from the agency?” He grabbed the old man by the collar and shot out a flurry of questions.

  “He took everything… He said he’d give her back… He said he’d give her back if I did what he told me to…”

  “Who is he?!”

  “... Julius…”

  “Julius who? Full name, from where, what does he look like?” His grip tightened.

  “He has blond hair… wears a suit… and hides his eyes… I don’t know anything else.” He mumbled in a barely audible voice.

  “Give who back?”

  “Her… her, her! HER! HER! HER! GRAAAAGH!” Felix let go as Harbinger began to violently convulse, “…I can’t… even remember her face… My beloved… please forgive me…” The broken man sniffled.

  “I see.” Slightly disturbed, Felix picked up his gun and sneered, “If that’s all you can offer me…”

  “Please… don’t… don’t kill me…”

  “No hard feelings, but no loose ends.” Felix echoed.

  But as he reloaded his gun, Harbinger cackled, “I remember…”

  “Huh?”

  “Julius, I see it now…” He looked up at Felix with tears in his eyes, reflecting the glowing aura that he emitted, “...that power… the Fallen Sun… It’s you, Child of Stars… you’re the one he’s afraid of! Felix Aster!”

  Blood splattered out of Harbinger’s mouth as he laughed out maniacally and fell to the ground.

  Felix stepped back in disgust and shock at the sight of the broken man.

  “Please… don’t kill me…”

  His hand trembled as he aimed his gun at the man’s head, but before he could pull the trigger, a memory intruded in his head. One with a soft smile, and a warm ember glow. The words echoed in his ears, “You’re a good, kind person, aren’t you?”

  The blue haze that enveloped him dispersed, and his smile faded along with it. He looked to the side and clicked his tongue.

  “You’re an Elite Agent… have some pride, damn it.” With a disappointed sigh, he fell to the floor and glared at him with pitying eyes.

  Harbinger let out a soft chuckle and closed his eyes, turning completely silent.

  Felix sat on the floor and let out a deep exhale, exhausted from the battle.

  After all this time, I didn’t know what to expect… But I guess I was hoping for something different. Like those battles Luna used to have.

  He clutched his shirt, as if to squeeze something underneath it.

  Blood dripped down his nose, and as he stared at his arm, his veins appeared to be glowing, lighting up his flesh from within.

  “Urk…” He winced. His expression quickly changed to panic, as an uncontrollable blue fire burst out, crackling into streams of electricity, “Huh?!”

  “Why is it— ” He shot back on his feet, a sharp pain came from the gash in his arm, “— doing that?!”

  As he frantically waved his arms up and down, a pair of arms wrap around him from behind, “Calm down, just calm down!”

  He turned around, and saw the black-haired woman holding him, “Huh? What?! Marie?!”

  “Don’t worry. It’s healing you. Your powers are healing you.” Her voice calmed him down.

  “M-Marie…? You’re alive?” He asked with complete confusion, sweat pouring from his face.

  “Alive and kicking, no thanks to you.” She released him and took a step back.

  A relieved sigh escaped his lips, “But you’re… you were shot in the… I don’t know what to say. I’m just… glad that you’re… Sorry, I’m exhausted.” He scratched his cheek.

  “I know. I saw everything. Your eyes, your speed, and your look just needs a splash of oomph to it.” She suddenly covered her mouth, letting out a giddy squeal.

  His eyebrows furrowed, letting out a nervous laughter, “I just tore a man’s arm off, why do you sound so… excited?”

  “I just sliced a man in half a few hours ago… but your eyes… they’re not something I see everyday.” She watched with a proud smile.

  “… Eyes? Both of them?” He echoed back as he slowly placed his hand under his right eye, which was shimmering with the same azure glow as the left.

  His attention shifted to the blue haze emanating through the torn flaps of his black coat.

  Professor Tetsuya’s words echoed in his head:

  The other one will also turn blue in due time. And when that happens, your gifts will finally… oh my, I can hardly wait.

  “Wait, no, we don’t have time for this. We still need to escape. Can you still move?” His voice raised with urgency.

  “It’ll take more than a bullet to put me down for good.” The dark-haired woman placed her hand on the back of her head, and with an uncomfortable expression, clawed something out.

  With a pained grunt, she showed Felix a metal shard between her fingertips. It was the bullet Harbinger had shot her with.

  “But damn does it hurt… like… hell...” Her voice weakened as she nearly toppled over, but Felix caught her as she fell, holding her upright with his wounded arm.

  She noticed the flesh and muscles in his arm slowly weaving back together.

  “We need to get to the hospital…”

  “Looks pretty deep, but like I said, nothing leaves a scar on us.” She giggled weakly, before turning into a fit of violent coughs.

  Felix stared blankly at her, muttering, “We still need to get out of here.”

  “Before that…” She wobbled over to where Harbinger was, and got the drive back from his pocket. “What do we do with him, then?” She asked.

  “He’s no longer a threat. Just leave him be.” He leaned on one of the servers that were still standing.

  “I still think we should get rid of him.”

  “I’d rather not kill…” He lowered his gaze, “Not when if it’s unnecessary…”

  “He might survive long enough for the guards to interrogate him.” She argued.

  Before he could formulate a response, he heard the distant sound of footsteps and doors opening from the lower floors.

  “…Fine. We don’t have much time. They’re almost here.” He conceded.

  “Right.” Maria kneeled down to Harbinger’s level.

  He looked away, opposite her direction, and stared out the window wall. He watched the fireworks pop from the skyline, hearing the distant thud and crackle that came after.

  From beneath his feet, he listened to the footsteps of guards getting closer. Unable to catch his breath, his face grew increasing impatient.

  But as the light from the firework faded away, and his glowing blue eyes reflected in the window wall, he saw Maria’s reflection, holding a pistol.

  He quickly turned around to see her kneeling down, with the barrel of a gun placed inside Harbinger’s mouth.

  The dark-haired woman coldly whispered as her own blood slid across her cheek, “A bulletproof vest gonna save you from this.”

  “Wait, no! Don’t use a—”

  With a loud crack, Harbinger’s blood painted the servers. But the sound of her gun echoed to the lower floors, drawing the attention of the guards below.

  “I heard a gun fire!”, “It came from up there!”

  The voices of the guards flurried in as they rushed towards their location.

  “Why didn’t you use your knife? I thought they were your specialty!” He shouted in a low voice, trying his best to keep himself not signal their location.

  “This just seemed easier!” She yelled.

  “And you didn’t think to use a silencer?!”

  “It was the only piece on me!”

  While the two of them bickered, Felix could hear footsteps rushing to their direction.

  He shifted his pistol towards the door. His hands barely steady. The adrenaline pumping through his veins was dissipating. He could barely stay awake, much less continue to fight.

  “I can’t fight… Did we get what we came here for?”

  “Yeah, everything’s in this drive.”

  “Then we have to go.”

  “Right!” She thoughtlessly wobbled towards the exit.

  But he stopped her by grabbing her by the arm, “We can’t go through that door, they’re on their way.”

  “Then what if we jumped through the hole?” She pointed to the blast mark left by the explosion.

  “No, there are still guards climbing up. We’ll be surrounded.”

  Felix’s glowing blue eyes scanned the room, looking for a way out. But there were no other doors, nor any vents they could slip in through. His attention noticed shattered remains of the onyx table, and slowly shifted his gaze to the shattered servers, and to the gaping hole down the middle.

  “Oh… Bollocks.” He cursed the current state of the server room, turning around. His gaze then focused on the shattered window, looking outside and seeing the rooftop of a nearby building.

  Felix pulled out his pistol, shooting the window several times, “Get your grappling hook!”

  “It blew up with the grenade!” Maria shouted back.

  Outside the door, the remaining guards stood in horror. Frozen and sickened at the corpses Harbinger left in the hall just outside the server room.

  “Men, get ready!” The head guard ordered, and the men lined their rifles towards the door. With a nervous expression, the head guard slowly moved towards the door with a key card.

  Felix’s heart pounded, the heavy sound beating against his ears. He holstered his gun and picked up Maria in his arms.

  “Wh-what are you—?” Her expression was flushed with a mix of both shock and fright.

  “How high could the top floor be?” He nervously laughed, taking a few steps back.

  “No, no you aren’t!” She protested.

  “Hope we’re still keeping the damages to a minimum!” With Maria in his arms, he began bolting towards the broken window.

  The door opened, and the head guard immediately spotted them, “There they are!”

  Bullets started flying in the two agent’s direction, destroying what remained of server room.

  “After them!” They chased after the two agents.

  “Hold on!” Felix shouted, kicking the window with his iron-clad heel. Maria clinging tightly to him.

  But as the guard’s ran through the ruins, the head guard nearly fell into the hole into the center, “Whoa—!”

  Shards scattered through the air, and as they all looked forward, all that was left to greet them was the blue firework that decorated the sky.

  ~