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Chapter 16: The First Kill

Archon dashed through the dense rain and fog as fast as he could, Finn carrying Iris and following him. The precipitation was so heavy that if it wasn’t for the storm drains around on the ground, a flood could’ve possibly ensued.

Had Finn been a normal human still, there was no doubt running in this storm like this would’ve been difficult for him. But with the mysterious yet incredible physical enhancements of the Ghost blood in his body, this wasn’t much of a challenge at all.

“Fanatic!” Archon yelled through his earpiece as he continued running through the tight alleyways of these slums. “Octane, Reaper, and Storm have went on ahead, and they aren’t responding to my comms. Can you track their location?”

After a brief static noise, Fanatic’s reply came.

“Archon, I cannot get through to Octane and Storm either, but I am just barely picking up on Reaper’s signal — 500 meters northeast from where you are!”

“Copy!”

Archon immediately skidded to a stop and turned right sharply as Iris frantically gave Finn instructions. He could track down Archon’s general direction by the sound of his footsteps splashing in the water, but there was plenty of junk lying around in these slums — hence why Iris had to help him avoid crashing into anything.

Archon quickly turned left at the next intersection, then right again at the next, forming a somewhat diagonal path from where they started.

“500 meters… should be right here…” Archon muttered, panting heavily as he looked around for any sign of his comrades. “Fanatic, what’s going on…?!”

“I’m unsure!” Fanatic shouted from the earpiece. “You are right on top of Reaper’s signal from what I can see here…”

“What? Then WHERE ARE THEY?!” He roared, losing his temper in a panic. He smashed the building right beside us with all his might, leaving a crater in the solid brick wall. “I’m not about to lose another brethren… NOT AGAIN!”

“Calm down, Archon,” Iris said. “Losing your cool won’t do anything here.”

“Ngh… I-I know…”

He gritted his teeth and clenched his fist tightly, knowing Iris was right.

‘Fanatic said we were right on top of Reaper’s signal,’ Finn analyzed in his head, recalling all the storm drains he had stepped over on the way here. ‘If they aren’t anywhere around us, then…’

“… Below.”

“What?” Iris and Archon turned to Finn in confusion.

“They are underneath us, in the sewers — that’s the only explanation.”

The two both widened their eyes in surprise as if not expecting this answer.

“I got it… stand aside,” Archon narrowed his eyes and said, gripping his warhammer tightly with both hands.

Finn, carrying Iris, quickly backed off a short distance. Then, once they were outside of the danger zone, Archon raised his hammer into the air and brought it down with every ounce of strength he had.

“RAGH!”

BOOM!

As Finn and Iris covered their faces to avoid being struck by the flying debris, the ground where Archon had struck fell through the earth with a loud crash, revealing a hollowed sewer system beneath. However, Octane, Storm, and Reaper were still yet to be seen. That was probably a good thing, since they could very well have been crushed by the debris just now. Luckily though, no voices were heard.

“There really is somethin’ down here… thank god these slums are old and unmaintained. The ground’s weak enough for me to break through,” Archon muttered, before immediately jumping down into the gaping hole without any hesitation.

Iris quickly switched positions, letting Finn carry her like a princess so that he could jump down easier. Landing beside the pile of debris on the concrete floor, Finn let Iris climb back up to his shoulders. The whole process took less than five seconds, showcasing their seamless teamwork despite being together for less than a day.

“Still no sign of them… they’ve got to be further down,” Archon said, stomping the floor with his feet. “Unfortunately, this concrete is too hard for me to break through, even if I use all my strength.”

“If even you can’t break it, then there has to be another way down,” Iris said, looking around. “We have no choice but to keep exploring and hope we make it in time.”

Archon clenched his fists. “We will… we must.”

*****

The trio ventured through the empty sewers, the eerie silence weighing down on them. The smell inside was quite foul, but none of them complained. Their own allies could be on the brink of death right now, after all — it was hardly the time to be worrying about a little discomfort.

Finn and Iris both owed their lives to Archon and his group, so it was only natural they would help him out here. Besides, it was a good training opportunity for Finn… and also a nice way for him to get some proper battle experience.

“Fanatic,” Archon said through his earpiece. “Fanatic, can you hear me?”

—STATIC—

“… Fuck,” he cursed in frustration. “Signal down here’s dead. Did any of you memorize Reaper’s location?”

Finn nodded. “I did.”

Since he became blind, he counted every step he took to help him memorize locations and paths to take. Currently, since coming into the sewer, he was on 328, just walking in a straight line. All he had to do once they found a way down was to retrace the steps he took in the opposite direction.

“Good…” Archon sighed in relief. “Sorry to drag you into such danger on your first mission, kid.”

“It’s no big deal,” Finn replied briskly, completely devoid of emotion. “You saved my life. I am repaying that deb-“

“Quiet!” Iris suddenly whispered sharply, causing the two men to immediately fall silent and bend down, scanning their surroundings for danger.

Iris had her eyes shut tightly, brows furrowed in concentration.

“I can see them… two Scout-Class Phantoms, 100 meters to our right.”

Archon snuck up to the corner, then hesitantly peeked around. Immediately, he turned his head back, then nodded.

‘They’re there,’ the gesture confirmed. Then, he tapped on Finn’s shoulder and motioned for him to take the lead as they switched positions. Finn gratefully accepted the offer, then clenched his fists tightly as he felt three long, sharp metal blades extend from the slits between his middle three fingers on both hands, via the black gloves he was wearing.

This surprised him a bit, but he figured that was how these worked. This way, the gauntlets would be unrivaled in melee while also providing a bit of range in case it’s needed.

As the two Phantoms got closer, Iris lowered herself on Finn’s back so that she could whisper into his ear, as quietly as possible.

“Okay… they’re coming, right around the corner. When I say ‘now’, hook a fist around the wall to hit one square in the face, then immediately use that momentum to swing your entire body around as well so I can get the other one. Understand?”

Finn nodded briskly, face solemn and cold.

“Alright. 3… 2… 1…”

Finn reared his fist back-

“… Now!”

-And unleashed a devastating left hook with all of his strength 180 degrees around the corner.

He felt the blades on his left glove sink into something soft, but his job wasn’t over just yet. Taking advantage of his punch’s momentum just like Iris instructed him to, he swung his entire body around the wall as well.

Before either Phantom could even react, Iris, who already had her handgun pulled out and ready as she clutched Finn’s neck tightly to hold on, pulled the trigger, letting the bullet fly.

The weapon didn’t even make a sound as it struck true, piercing directly through the second Phantom’s forehead. Both monstrosities fell backward onto the ground limply before disintegrating into grey ashes.

Iris smiled smugly. “Nice one, Finn.”

“… You too.”

“That’s some nice teamwork for a duo who just partnered up a few hours ago,” Archon chuckled, patting Finn on the shoulder. “Looks like my decision wasn’t wrong.”

“…” Finn relaxed his fists, letting the blades retract.

‘I did it,’ he told himself. ‘My first proper Ghost kill.’

It was easier than he had imagined, but he had no doubt these ‘Drone-Class’ Phantoms were among the weakest of opponents. Slaying one was nothing to be proud of, but it was a start. Still, far stronger challengers awaited him in the future, so if he wanted to face them, he would need to get a whole lot stronger.

As Archon prepared to continue forward to explore the sewers deeper, Iris interjected.

“Hold on. There’s something I want to try.”

Saying this, she closed her eyes once more as a golden aura surrounded her, signaling that she had activated her Angelica.

“The Oculus Angelica has another high-level skill in addition to radar that allows me to see through thin walls. Seeing as how this Titan-Class Phantom chose to hide his lair beneath the ground… I wouldn’t be surprised if he hid the proper way down within a wall.”

Snapping her eyes back open, they were shining a bright gold.

“Eye of Omnipotence — Transparence!”

The trio began moving again as Iris looked around with her upgraded eyes, scanning for any sort of hidden mechanism. And then, her gaze fell upon one wall in particular, shining a bright gold in her eyes and highlighting a hole of some sort on the ground inside.

“Found it!” She called out and pointed to their left, causing Archon and Finn to both stop. “It’s that one, directly to our left.”

“The one that looks like a dead-end, huh…” Archon muttered in disgust. “I see it, but the only problem…”

Iris closed her eyes, activating her radar, and realized what he was talking about.

“Yeah… there are over a dozen Phantoms in the way.”