"Activating SubSync Pod."
A mechanically complex capsule merges both its halves into a single whole through a series of twists and clicks, locking its occupant into place.
A helmet covers her head and puts her body into a functional state of sleep within seconds, while her mind is linked to the neuronetwork of her creation: S.A.N.C.T.U.M.
His vision activates like an unveiled curtain, scanning the underground chamber he resides in.
"Good evening, Master Lunalei." The machine says in a diligently politeful manner.
"Good evening to you too. This might be a long night, let's quickly review your functions." Her thoughts echoed perfectly into his mental translating receptors.
"Set your Gravity Cowl to 5%."
The machine turned on his anti-gravity systems around his body and floated a few inches off the ground.
A ring of turrets surrounded S.A.N.C.T.U.M. and opened fire. He spun around in an instant and his hands caught and dropped the thousands of bullets before a full rotation.
"A .0009 second improvement. Good. But we can do better."
"Everything we need's been equipped to your upper thighs. Now, repeat our objective."
"To put a stop to the enigmatic metahuman known as the Ghost of Hiroshima by any means necessary, and secure the supplies he's guarding…Master Lunalei, if I may be vocal for a moment…?"
"...Haaa, go ahead."
"Do you sincerely have faith that I will succeed?"
"You will. Because I made you."
"Understood. Then I shall proceed to the rendezvous point on the western border of Seattle." The machine propelled himself away from his platform and through the holographic shield keeping this cavernous area concealed.
His hiding place was kept under a remote cliffside near the water where it was approximated no one will consider building anything near or explore for at least a couple more centuries.
But still, the proper measures were taken to keep it hidden.
This is how it's always gone.
Again, Lunalei observes the world through her creation's eyes, his vision more clear and perceptive than the latest functioning telescope and camera.
This brief period of aerodynamic fluidity was the one time she could feel bigger than most of her peers, and see the world as it was meant to be seen.
High above, no excessive noise or people crowding your view.
This was her respite from a long day of work. This was where she knew was alive.
A chuckle of overwhelming pride escaped her thoughts, prompting her creation to wonder, "Is everything alright, Master Lunalei?"
"...Ignore me, I was just…enjoying the view."
He turned to examine the misty evening horizon, filled with city lights, and the moonlit sky beaming down upon the evergreen trees, "It truly is extraordinary what humans can preserve when they want to."
"That's why we have to stop this nuclear menace at all costs, before whatever he's doing destroys it."
"I am more than just a nurturing hand, Master Lunalei, I am your blade of justice, swift and true. I know you shall guide me well."
"...Thank you."
Alas, such a beautiful flight was brief, and S.A.N.C.T.U.M. descended upon the city cloaked by the veil of night.
He landed atop a four-story building standing over a warehouse district, distinct from the last one they went to.
Julius was already stationed there, leaning against the ventilation system and smoking a cigarette.
Lunalei let her thoughts be vocalized through the distortion filter, "Right on time."
Julius flicked his cigarette over his shoulder and clapped the soot off his hands, "Rather, it's not like you to be late."
"...Work held me up a little."
"Reasonable. How is the teaching profession going anyways?" Julius wondered, getting a little too personal for her liking.
"I'm not going to talk about it when Mark's bound to show up soon."
Julius firmly raised his finger and scolded her like a father would, "What have I told you?"
"Don't start lecturing me when we have an important mission ahead of us." Lunalei said, her growl heard through the filter.
Julius sighed and tucked his hands into his coat, "You still have a lot to learn from your senpai, it seems."
"Uuuugh…" The conversation was fortunately dropped due to Mark's arrival through the staircase.
S.A.C.T.U.M. ran a quick scan to confirm his biometrics. He was running short of breath, and seemed to have ingested some soda before coming here. Still, it was clearly him. Rugged coat and all.
"Haaaa..." Lunalei kept between herself and her creation.
She knew she was doing the right thing letting him get justice for his dead wife. He had a competent enough record on the force that he wasn't going to be a hindrance.
But now with the introduction of superhuman abilities in the criminal organization she was hunting down, keeping him around was just a headache that she didn't want to deal with.
Julius may have expertise on his side, but he WAS wrong here.
…Still, that doesn't mean she was going to leave Mark completely vulnerable.
"S.A.N.C.T.U.M.," Her voice returned to its modulated form, "Hand out the devices."
Two disc shaped pods demagnetized from his thighs and he flicked them out with a snap of his fingers. Julius snatched it out of the air as Mark fumbled it while trying to catch his breath.
"..." Lunalei was mostly annoyed.
"As long as the fields from these devices are active, they'll dissolve any radiation particles on contact, and keep the intense heat off your body. It won't do you any good if you get stabbed or shot at though."
Mark looked up like he wanted to make a comment, but Lunalei mentally made her creation cross his arms as she remarked, "This was the best I could manage, take it or leave it."
"...No, t-thank you for doing this." Mark said, tucking the device away safely in his coat pocket. He then looked at S.A.N.C.T.U.M., the tension in his eyes visibly displaying how he's still comprehending the greater world he's become involved in.
"All I know about superhumans is from comics…But it's enough to understand how dangerous they are…and how much you're putting your lives on the line to stop them."
"...I don't see how much I can really help, especially after my unprofessional outburst last time. I'll do what I can though…Just tell me what to do."
Mark sincerely was prepared to lay down his pride and vengeful instincts to seek justice. For that, Lunalei let him have at least a little of her respect back.
The arms came undone and S.A.N.C.T.U.M was commanded to oversee the warehouse from the edge of the building. Julius stood by his side as the two conversed.
"Are you sure they're here?" Lunalei asked.
"I presumed, our failure last time had one upside. That they did not detect the tracking device we had planted on them. I did a little scouting of my own, and I discovered they set up at this new location. However…"
Julius pulled out his phone to reveal a picture of the nuclear samurai standing guard within the door of the warehouse, easily identified even without his flames.
Julius put the phone away and Lunalei needed a moment to contemplate what this all meant.
"It's clear they want to lure us into a fight with the Ghost." She concluded.
Julius remarked, "If I had to guess, the moment we enter the warehouse, we'll only find our samurai 'friend' waiting for us."
"Which means he'll be going all-out this time," Lunalei added, "But that's ok. I came extra prepared."
S.A.N.C.T.U.M. stood up and with a quick snap of his wrist, flung a newly developed pistol over to Mark.
"These guns are designed to fire extra strength lead bullets that won't melt under the pressure of his flames. Yours is loaded with only six rounds though, so use them wisely."
"Why so few…?" Mark whispered to himself, but still was overheard.
"Because you won't be fighting with us." Lunalei said bluntly.
Mark was shocked, but only for a moment. As it's not like she planned to keep him useless.
"While Julius and I work on subduing the superhuman threat, you'll be searching for the supplies. The enemy's trap won't be as effective if they risk everything on us finding a fake."
There was a hint of impatience, perhaps excitement too, in Mark's demeanor. He wanted to put an end to this case, and rest easily at night.
But even when this is over, crime never sleeps.
"Do you understand the mission?" Lunalei said firmly.
Mark tucked the gun away somewhere safe and nodded, "I'll try not to be an inconvenience."
Julius remarked, "We shouldn't have to worry about that."
Lunalei then paused and thought, "...Wait, there's one last thing."
She had S.A.N.C.T.U.M. eject what appeared to be a grenade from his chest. It seemed to contain a miniature vortex of blue energy inside.
"This is a highly experimental last resort I developed over the last couple of weeks. If it comes into enough contact with nuclear energy, it'll create a vacuum effect that will absorb a majority of it and then convert it into a highly lethal output of electricity."
"Play our cards right, and it'll overpower our enemy…make the wrong move, and it'll fry you all alive."
Mark's face turned pale as he stuttered, "I-Is what you're proposing even possible?"
Lunalei felt insulted by his doubt, "It's always been a theory. My birth was the answer."
She had S.A.N.C.T.U.M. tuck the deterrent behind his hip, "No more questions. Let's get into position, and take them down."
All the planning stages had been settled. She had taken everything into consideration and prepared countermeasures.
If her senpai saw her now, would she be proud of how well she was taking after her?
As S.A.N.C.T.U.M. levitated towards the warehouse district, he commented on her elevated emotional state, "Are you…excited for this fight, Master Lunalei?"
Lunalei's mind recoiled into a state of surprise that nearly disrupted the pod's effects, "No! S.A.N.C.T.U.M., don't break my concentration unless my vitals spike."
"Forgive my prudence."
"No…You're just performing your functions…But worry about your own safety sometime too, ok?"
"I am a machine, I can be repaired by your careful hands. There's no replacing your parts, Master."
There was something…unsettling about the ease at which he said that. But she worried more about the fight they were heading into.
As her creation landed upon the dock and looked towards the warehouse, she noticed that the doors were sliding open, and a thin wave of heat rode along the ground towards the machine's feet.
"He's here…" Lunalei confirmed with intensity.
But she waited those precious few moments for Julius and Mark to arrive, making her creation give a cautionary gesture back so they'd prepare their shields in advance.
She then had him silently gesture Mark to hide behind the corner of the building while S.A.N.C.T.U.M. and Julius entered directly through the front.
All the old, molding supply crates were reorganized to create pillars guiding their attention towards an old Japanese style shrine made of crates in the back, the sole pristine, modernized crate in the back acting as its treasure.
The faint glow of heat surrounded the lonesome warrior sitting at the steps of this creation and brought him more prominently into focus.
He turned his sword and used it as a prop to stand up, speaking in his native tongue with scorn, "So you have come. Machine of war! Government dog!"
He held his sword over his back and marched forward, extending his hand to their surroundings, "Look around! Just us, and the battlefield! No innocents for you to exploit!"
Lunalei countered his disdain with some of her own, "Innocents? Your group are criminals! Terrorists!"
The samurai stopped and ignited his blade, anger boiling in his dimly lit eyes, "Spoken like a true, privileged 'patriot'. Tell me, how much food do you get on your plate per day? The blood spilled to make it is heavier than what fills your gluttonous gullets."
Julius stepped up and spoke in his tongue as well, silently drawing his pistol, "We're not going to argue morality. You can either hand over the crate, or we'll pry it from your bloodied hands."
"Ignorance! …But I expected no greater depth from those of you who paint justice in bullets, bombs and blood."
Though this samurai was only going to rant in ignorance, he was not yet primed to attack. So if there was any time to get some more information, it was now.
Lunalei said, "And what you're doing is any better? What do you think you're going to accomplish?"
"I shall bring upon the final sunset of your American, militarized hypocrisy." He whipped his sword out from behind cover and ignited his flames further, giving his body that ghoulish, wavy appearance he had in their last encounter.
"Our lands paid for your arrogance with thousands dead, and acres scorched in hellfire! And for over a century, have the cries of those buried in the ashes been answered?! NO!"
"Generations of sin have been passed down through blood, and your people feast and feast upon ill-gotten riches!"
"Your land has known death. Your people have known tragedy. But you have not known suffering…You have not known what it feels like to burn."
Julius pondered, "Then are you implying the contents within that crate is a nuclear bomb?"
The samurai scoffed, "...If you are that desperate to find out, then you can DIE for the answer."
Lunalei had also had enough with this person's reasoning. While there was certainly corruption within the American government, that was true for ANY nation, and not only that…
"The people who bombed Japan have been dead long before either of us were even born. If you're going to scorch thousands of innocents over some bullshit reading of 'sins of the father', then I have no sympathy or mercy to give to you."
The samurai furrowed his brows and growled in a gravelly tone, "So, the 'hero' reaches their conclusion. To wade through the swamp of hypocrisy, let their flawed ideals remain unchallenged, even when vengeance rises from the ashes to punish them."
"I wield this sword in the name of the honorable samurai, to answer the call of my people, both breathing and buried! I will not yield to your senseless violence, propagated as 'justice'! I will bury you here in this warehouse!"
"Samurai? Honor?" Lunalei found his claims absurd, and calmly gave the mental commands to have S.A.N.C.T.U.M. shift into Swordsman Mode.
"You know why the samurai faded out of relevancy?" She said, speaking as both a teacher and a disciplinary.
S.A.N.C.T.U.M. 's helmet locked down into place as Lunalei bluntly told the criminal standing in her way, "Because their 'honor' made them too stubborn to change with the world around them."
She kept the next command between them, "S.A.N.C.T.U.M…Take him down."
"As you command." The machine blitzed across the warehouse in an instance and attempted to cut through the samurai with both blades.
The Ghost found his opening and threaded his blade between both to cut the machine across the chest.
A light scar formed in the mainframe and S.A.N.C.T.U.M. launched back with the samurai sprinting in pursuit.
The anti-gravity was redirected to the back of the machine's legs and he propelled down, releasing his swords so he could slam the samurai in the mask with his fist.
The samurai melted a strong foothold into the ground and then slashed upward.
S.A.N.C.T.U.M. gracefully flipped over him and then smashed both feet into his back, bouncing off and snatching the swords back, reversing his wrists to keep them pointed at the enemy.
The samurai turned and pointed his sword beside his face, "BAIHU!"
He then thrust his sword out and a giant burning tiger rampaged forward and tackled right through the machine, delivering an overwhelming flurry of heat to his systems.
Lunalei was able to keep his coolant systems operational first and foremost so that he was ready to keep fighting the moment the flames passed.
"In front of you!" She shouted, as the samurai followed up with a second more direct thrust, striking dead center with both of S.A.N.C.T.U.M.'s blades.
The machine immediately propelled the samurai back to the center of the warehouse and threw him off-balance, then suspended over him until 100% of the anti-gravity field was concentrated into arm.
With both his full mass and the propulsion of a rocket behind him, S.A.N.C.T.U.M. drove his fist towards the Ghost's chest.
"XUANWU!" The samurai shouted, summoning the visage of a giant antiquated turtle from his flames that perfectly guarded against the machine's attack and the physical force it could've spread.
"Impossible…!" Lunalei remarked with a hint of fear.
When the flames subsided the samurai let off a concentrated nuclear burst that let him get in close, "BAIHU!"
And then summoned that same tiger to run the machine through while he thrust his sword towards his gut.
S.A.N.C.T.U.M. dodged at the final moment and was cut across instead of through, then he spun around and shifted the gravity field into his leg to deliver a powerful kick to the samurai's back and send him through the roof.
But the samurai had learned from their prior encounter and immediately countered with a second, stronger nuclear blast to dive back into the warehouse and tackle the pursuing machine into the floor.
When the samurai drew his blade for a clean strike to the machine's head, two bullets flew through the air and sliced through the gaps in his arm guards, courtesy of Julius.
"Guh…!" He turned to face his assailant silently moving through the shadows of the crate pillars, and S.A.N.C.T.U.M. gladly took advantage of this to punch the samurai square in the jaw.
He then followed through by grabbing them and pinning them to the ground after a brief scuffle, getting in a few more punches before the samurai released a burst of nuclear energy.
S.A.N.C.T.U.M. paused and steadied his swords by his side.
"S.A.N.C.T.U.M.! Confirm Mark's position." She commanded mentally.
"He appears to be slowly advancing behind the left crates."
"Good, then let's try and lure this bastard away!"
"BAIHU!" The samurai thrust out another tiger and S.A.N.C.T.U.M. used a burst to shift to the left then another to ram into his foe and force their position to turn around.
He then spun back and launched back into the samurai to try and push them towards the entrance.
The samurai melted their feet into the ground and slashed vigorously with their sword, matching the strength of both of the machine's blades.
Through a series of clashes, S.A.N.C.T.U.M. analyzed for an opening and then dropped his sword so his fist could strike swiftly beneath his slash and one last second burst of speed let him blow them off their station.
He then magnetized his sword back into his hand, slashed them both out, and then prepared to strike.
"ZHUQUE!" The samurai screamed with no dwindled resolve, and upon wreathing himself in the veil of a roaring phoenix he dove right out of the sky out of pure defiance of the laws of physics and slammed S.A.N.C.T.U.M. to the ground, dragging him towards the shrine as explosions erupted from the ground.
The machine used his bladed elbows to slow down and then applied the gravity field to propel forward and get their foe away.
Upon landing, the samurai was shot across the face by a bullet and narrowly weaved out of the way of the other, turning to face Julius in the shadows.
Instead of redirecting targets, he thrust his sword towards S.A.N.C.T.U.M. and shouted, "Coward! How is he not boiling from radiation?!"
Lunalei scoffed and told him in a very smug tone, "Unlike you, I'm not stupid enough to give up information."
"Grrr…!" The Ghost gripped his sword back and swung out in a circular fashion "QINGLONG!" Summoning the burning dragon to tear through everything around it.
S.A.N.C.T.U.M. stabbed his swords into the ground and propelled forward, using his fully rotatable joints to flip his main body over the samurai while his swords continued to slice through the dragon and prevent its advance.
"The Ghost might be able to match you in strength, S.A.N.C.T.U.M., but your speed is more than enough to stay ahead of him!" Lunalei praised him as he made a swift and rather overly twirly landing.
"I appreciate the compliment, Master Lunalei. But I feel I have yet to land any decisive blows…Are you considering activating…"
"No, we won't use the nuclear energy converter yet. Or 'that' mode. Just keep focused, and exploit openings. We'll win this battle eventually."
"Very well." S.A.N.C.T.U.M. held one sword back, and the other before his face.
The samurai took a moment to hold his sword out and march clockwise. His eyes were clearly glancing at the crates for movement from Julius.
If this confirmed anything, it's that he's unable to sense energy from regular humans.
"..." The samurai took a deep breath and then performed two quick slashes at both sides to send flames across the ground.
"BAIHU!" He then thrust his sword to send the tiger out.
S.A.N.C.T.U.M. hunched down and propelled forward the moment the trails of flame were ready to connect, and cut down the tiger before him with all his strength.
He then readied his sword to strike the samurai's next attack, only for him to be blindsided by the sword coming at him not as a slash, but thrown instead.
The samurai jumped him from above, grabbed hold of the back of his helmet, and pinned him to the ground, nailing him with a series of small nuclear blasts from his palm.
"Helm integrity at 85%...78%...!"
"Grrr…!" Lunalei growled and had to think fast as the samurai grabbed his sword and prepared to stab it into the cracks he managed to create.
"SPIN!" She shouted, and S.A.N.C.T.U.M. diverted the gravity field to his sides to rotate and knock the samurai off his feet and get him back into a better position.
He then jumped the samurai and slashed down, hitting him hard enough to make him bounce, and Julius managed to find an opening to fire a few bullets into the samurai's chest.
Then the samurai deflected the rest with a few slashes and landed with his stance put up to guard the incoming slashes from his enemy.
"XUANWU!" He shouted to summon the turtle, which absorbed every single one of S.A.N.C.T.U.M.'s attacks with ease.
"There has to be a way to break through this!" Lunalei shouted to push her creation's determination.
"Wait…not through…!"
"Say no more. I acknowledge your brilliance, master…!" S.A.N.C.T.U.M. stopped and plunged his swords into the ground, and with how much damage the ground had suffered it was easy for him to use them as crowbars and flip a chunk of the ground big enough to knock the samurai up.
"THERE!" Lunalei shouted.
S.A.N.C.T.U.M. locked on and thrust forward, stabbing through the rock and nearly getting the samurai's feet.
But not only did the Ghost propel off, he jumped over and shouted "ZHUQUE!" to dive with the phoenix's effigy empowering his slash.
Lunalei suffered a brief moment of panic and this lengthened her creation's response time a nanosecond long enough for the samurai to deliver a mighty strike across his chest.
"Cavity integrity at 68%!"
"Damn it, damn it…!" That was way too much damage to be taking.
This person may be superpowered, but she worked too hard on making S.A.N.C.T.U.M. capable of handling even these sorts of threats!
The machine went on the backfoot, sensing her worries for his well-being. The samurai pursued, and they went through the motions of clashing their blades while attempting to find the advantage over the other.
The samurai found it first by hitting with harder swings until the machine's joints buckled, and then attempted to go for his chest again.
Julius unloaded an entire barrel of bullets at the samurai and managed to nearly get him in the head before he dodged out of the way.
S.A.N.C.T.U.M. locked down and swung both his swords together to repay the samurai with his own cut across the chest, sending him sliding many feet across the battlefield.
No blood was drawn, thanks to the flames automatically cauterizing the wound.
"This is hardly a scratch! The dead and I have suffered WORSE!" The samurai boasted.
Lunalei was relieved, and gave mental thanks to Julius for his reliability.
"S.A.N.C.T.U.M., check for Mark's vitals."
"He's getting very close to the target. How do we plan to extract it?"
"...Damn it, I didn't think about that…Ok! Lets try and hold the Ghost near the entrance, and the moment Mark gets hold of the crate you'll propel back with a full burst and slice open the back of the warehouse so Mark can make a clean getaway. And that will leave us free to finish the Ghost off."
"I have calculated the crate's weight to be 15 lbs. Should be enough for him to handle alone."
"...15 lbs.? That's pretty light…now I'm really curious to see what's inside."
The samurai ran his sword along the ground to lash a wave of fire at him.
S.A.N.C.T.U.M boosted forward and weaved around it, then tried to boost just his right leg into his foe.
The samurai attacked, the sword caught on the bladed knee.
Through a series of quick boost executions, S.A.N.C.T.U.M managed to use his knee to force the sword into the ground, the samurai stubbornly not letting go.
S.A.N.C.T.U.M wound up his punches and smashed the samurai's face a few times, chipping away his mask.
The moment he went for an overhead punch, the Ghost pulled his sword free and used that very force to try and cut the machine through the chest.
But this was all calculated.
S.A.N.C.T.U.M fired his booster off solely above his fist and let the blade slide between his hand cleanly. His punch struck the samurai's wrist and finally dislodged the sword from his grasp.
"Kh…!" The Ghost grunted.
"Right on, S.A.N.C.T.U.M!"
The machine then dropped his other sword and forced the gravity field into his palms, shoving the samurai outside of the warehouse.
"That should be enough…" Lunalei then had S.A.N.C.T.U.M turn his head for her to shout, "Grab the crate, Mark! We'll give you an opening!"
As S.A.N.C.T.U.M picked up his swords, the samurai flared his eyes and shouted, "Another dog?!"
S.A.N.C.T.U.M darted for the back of the warehouse and the samurai shouted, "BAIHU!"
But it hardly mattered. Her creation could shield the attack from hitting Mark.
He took his swords and with one mighty leap, slashed through this sham of a shrine and cleanly split open the back wall, the force blowing all the crates in Mark's path away.
"Good work, Mark." She remarked sincerely as the man stood silent in awe.
"Now-"
"SHNNNKKK!"
"Cavity integrity at 5%...! Critical nerve functions compromised!"
"W-What…?" Before Lunalei could register what was going on, S.A.N.C.T.U.M was being brought to the ground, a sword sticking out the front of his chest.
"S.A.N.C.T.U.M, respond!"
"I'm fine…!"
How could this have happened? Was the samurai even stronger than her calculations?
No, no there's no way her calculations could've been wrong…
Wait. That last attack. Did…did he use it on himself to boost his speed and pick up his sword?
There was not enough information…!
S.A.N.C.T.U.M was in critical condition…!
And Mark…
"Mark…!" Lunalei gasped, "Go Mark! Go!"
Her distorted voice still revealed panic, and Mark picked up the crate by the side and pulled out his gun with the other to take a few shots at the samurai.
The samurai pulled his sword out to cut them down and then shouted, "You will not escape your due justice, dog of the government!"
"What do I do, think Lunalei, think…! …S.A.N.C.T.U.M., divert the gravity field to your chest now!"
S.A.N.C.T.U.M. did that and propelled both him and the samurai into the ceiling to disorient him, only for in the immediate aftermath for the machine to drop to the ground like a steel ton weight.
"Damage detected in anti-gravity field generator."
"Shut up…!" Lunalei growled, refusing to accept these failures.
Her mind was racing through multiple ideas on how to attack next. They just needed ONE. GOOD. STRIKE.
S.A.N.C.T.U.M. pushed himself back onto his feet through sheer grit and remarked calmly, "I-I will be fine…I know you can repair me later…Just tell me what to do next…Master Lunalei…"
His voice sounded like it was being put through a sawmill, and painfully his acceptance of destruction made Lunalei gasp and hesitate to think.
"N-No, shut up…! Just give me a moment to think…"
"There is no time for this," Spoke Julius in Spanish as he approached from the shadows, making certain that his firm expression was visible in S.A.N.C.T.U.M. 's vision, "Use what power you have left to secure the crate. The enemy can die another day."
"J-Judging by his speed, we'd need at least a few seconds headstart to lose him."
"Then let me buy you that time," Julius said without hesitation, "I have enough ammo left."
"..." It was just a few seconds. He could handle that.
"Ok…" Lunalei then refocused her efforts into syncing back up with S.A.N.C.T.U.M. and guiding his damaged body towards the crate.
Mark was trying to hoist it up, but with the machine's aid it was a lot smoother.
"W-Wait, what were you two talking about? I understood a bit of that." He asked.
"He's buying us some time." Lunalei answered.
"Buying us time?!" Mark turned back to Julius, "You can't do that! Get out of here!"
Julius glanced over his shoulder and whispered, "Never lose sight of your ideals, Mark."
"...Huh?" Mark uttered.
"MOVE! This can't be for nothing!" Lunalei screamed.
Fear was guiding her thoughts. She should be BETTER than this. She should…
"Damn it…!" She growled as the machine picked up the crate and her and Mark fled the scene.
And just at that moment, the samurai dislodged himself from the ceiling, bringing most of it down with him.
Upon standing his ground he stared at Julius, coolly lighting a cigar.
He took a moment to look around. He was confused. Angry. Drawing his sword only to command his destiny away from the pain.
"Where have they gone?!" He shouted.
Julius pulled out his cigar and puffed a ring into the air that quickly fizzled out, speaking in Japanese, "You'll never reach them."
This samurai, this…boy, had never experienced unwavering confidence before. His reflexes trembled, he lost some grip on his blade.
He compensated by raising his flames and voice, "You fight for spoils stained in blood! And you will DIE for it too!"
Julius looked him square in the eyes. He was so young. Bitter. Lost. There was a boy in Julius' who shared a similar look in his eyes before.
He was saved.
It was too late for this one.
"I speak in blood. I cry in blood. My very touch is blood. Gaze upon me, Ghost, I am a Demon…your enemy."
The pale fear in the samurai's eyes made his next move obvious. So regardless of his speed, Julius' escape was already successful, dodging to the left of the samurai's attempt to stab his heart.
Julius then drew his gun and pointed it near the samurai's ear.
Two shots was all it took to rupture the drum from sound and rattle his brain.
Julius stepped back and aimed two shots at the pillars of crates, tipping them off-balance.
The moment the samurai started to regain his sense of hearing, Julius fired the last two shots in this barrel directly into separate parts of his chest.
Then the pillars came crashing down on top of him, buying Julius enough time to reload.
His reflexes were slowed, it would've taken him two seconds faster to get the bullets in if he was twenty years younger.
The revolver clicks, the flames of the samurai roar to life, consuming every last crate in the warehouse.
The flames lashed against Julius' field like the crashing of the parted sea.
Solemnly, he watched as the samurai lunged through the fire, his attempt at fear from the demonization of his own visage making him laugh.
He did not expect death to lack any bite.
Julius raised his gun and fired two bullets into the samurai's elbows and one more into his chest.
The samurai failed to commit to his swing and stumbled onto the ground past him.
Power gave him the means to seize what he wants, but everything else about him was sloppy.
But this wasn't even a battle. That would imply a victor had yet to be decided.
The samurai had him dead right from the start. There's only so much experience can do to trump power beyond human comprehension.
But this was all within Julius' calculations.
This moment…served a more important purpose.
For a moment, Julius tucked his gun into his pocket and spoke to the shaken boy playing the honorable warrior, "You cry for blood to repay blood, but where does it end?"
"With America…in ashes!" The samurai screamed.
"And then what?" Julius uttered smoothly, "Hypocrisy and sin doesn't end at America's borders, no…humanity has always trifled with that dangerous game."
"I-I will continue to fight then…!"
"A war without end. Blood will spill. Lives will end. And hatred will never be solved, just continue to fester…doomed to eternal damnation."
"You speak as though your cause is just!" The samurai screamed.
Julius laughed, "Hardly. I am just one of many hypocrites left. Left to fill the river full of blood until I drown in it."
"But I can see the future. Those who can, and those who have waded out of the bloody cycle. They will solve the impossible. They will raise the sunrise on the ideal tomorrow."
"An ideal…that will no longer give birth to us hounds of wrath." With a snap of his hand Julius drew his gun and aimed at the samurai's head.
The bullet was cut through and the samurai charged forward. Again, fighting with predictability.
With the help of Lunalei's field, Julius danced through the fire and got off shots wherever he could as the warehouse continued to crumble around them.
But eventually he ran out of ammunition.
And even if he hadn't, his age finally punished him, twisting his ankle to throw off his aim.
And within moments, the samurai plunged the weapon of his rage through his gut and suspended him in place.
And all Julius could do…was smirk.
Meanwhile, S.A.N.C.T.U.M. and Mark had managed to pull the crate away into a nearby alleyway without being detected.
"We're checking the contents of this crate quickly, and then you need to get back and pull Julius out!" Lunalei commanded.
And with that haste propelling him forward, the machine tore open the crate lid…only to be met with a single metal plate inside with etchings on it.
It was called an "Eight Tongue Cipher" in English…And the rest of the words were etched in different languages.
Mark was aghast, "This…is just a note…!"
Despite countless stress piling onto her mind, Lunalei worked alongside S.A.N.C.T.U.M. to translate the sentence.
"Stoppen" meant "Stop" in German.
"Yanzou" meant "Playing" in Chinese.
"Sieu" meant "Super" in Vietnamese
"Yeong-ung" meant "Hero" in Korean.
Period…
"Watashi" meant "I" in Japanese.
"Yavlyayus" meant "am" in Russian.
"Etke" meant "True" in Norwegian.
And finally…
"Justicia" meant "Justice" in Spanish…
"Stop playing super hero…I am true justice." Reading it aloud, chilled Lunalei to the core…and finally brought her to realize that she had truly lost to the enemy's trap.
In her rage, she overrode S.A.N.C.T.U.M's control and smashed the crate to splinters, knocking Mark over in the process.
And then she realized from her creation's readings…that the nuclear energy converter was gone.
"...No…! JULIUS!" She turned to the warehouse, set ablaze, and pushed her creation to run back into the inferno.
Julius remained suspended, his insides boiling as his protection floundered to his enemy's wrath.
He laughed.
He stared at Hell and laughed.
The samurai only kept him alive longer because for him, this was the vindication for his wrath.
He was learning what it was like to make prey suffer. He was shedding the last bit of humanity for one quick moment of pleasure.
Julius did not care. As his thoughts and feelings turned to smoke and ash, he could only tether himself to this world by the cherished memories of that boy who overcame rage and sadness to become a man.
That boy, who was not even born of blood to the one Julius loved the most.
That boy, who found and raised a family despite the jowls of Hell biting at his neck.
That boy, who now wades through the deepest darkness of humanity to fight a bloodless war for tomorrow.
If there was one regret weighing on Julius' mind, it was that he would not get to open his eyes to see that tomorrow.
But alas, it would have burned his unworthy soul.
"Joseph…are you still smiling?"
"Alura…are you still happy?"
Somehow, his black heart gave them happiness.
And though he dies here. He has one last sleight of hand to play…
His smile rests and he stares at the samurai seconds before his eyes are boiled, and fire spews up from his throat, "Hell waits to embrace us both…"
He had snatched the nuclear converter from S.A.N.C.T.U.M. when he stood up, and swallowed it during the tango of fire moments ago.
And now…it had finally…dropped.
He closed his eyes, and the samurai went silent as his energy was turned against him.
S.A.N.C.T.U.M. froze many yards away from the warehouse as the fires turned into violent blue electricity, eviscerating the building until not even the barest amount of shrapnel remained intact.
"JULIUS!" Lunalei screamed, damning herself for her failure.
From afar, Mark watched these fireworks with a tear in his eye, "No…no way…"
Even for the man's many, many sins, his death felt too sudden…
But this was a truth the two of them were going to be forced to accept…
The enemy had won.
And they still had no idea what they were even after in this city…
The rest of the night would be a long one.
The battle…had only just begun.
Chapter 20: One Bullet Into the Night
Next Time: Magic and Mayhem