It began.
More and more people had begun pouring into the abandoned building while I had been negotiating with the man who was actively tumbling towards the floor their numbers had reached somewhere in the 30's.
The silence was deafening.
It didn't last for long.
Blades clashed as Texas immediately took the offensive.
Sword-fighting really did have its charm. It was a shame it wasn't within my capability.
In the distance, a crossbowman fired.
Disciplined? Maybe not, but his shot was accurate.
Worse yet, the bolt was coming right at me.
Shit.
ITS COMING RIGHT AT ME!
Clank!
I tried my best to duck as fast as possible and cover my head.
I wouldn't be fast enough. The bolt was coming too fast.
Was I worried?
I was not.
Because in front of me stood a radiant knight.
That's right.
Nearl, future champion of Kazimierz.
She blocked the bolt with her shield and swung her mace at a goon who happened to be nearby.
'' Did you have to do this?!''
She asked in a frustrated tone.
Probably questioning why I chose to engage them considering our outnumbered situation.
It was me, the wolf, the bison, the angel, and the horse against a crowd of infected who were once re-union members.
But I wouldn't be answering her question.
We had a bigger problem in front of us, and frankly, I was too busy trying to keep my heart beating.
'' THEY GOT VIC! Get them!''
Shouted one of the fighters amongst their ranks, waking up the rest of the crowd from their daze-
Guessing ''Vic'' was the guy who was lying at my feet while clutching his shoulder.
This wasn't ideal.
I was deadweight without my shotgun, which couldn't be used now.
Even then, it was questionable if I was combat-capable.
As the Reunion members charged at us, I watched our side spring into action. There wasn't much else to do.
Nearl and Croissant were doing their best to engage as many enemies as possible without getting overwhelmed, relying on their blunt weapons to knock people out.
A brutal show I witnessed when an unlucky woman tried to slash at Croissiant with a knife, only to get bashed in the stomach and swung to the left wall with that hammer after getting parried with a shield.
A thunk.
Someone wearing a helmet just got smacked in the head with Nearl's mace, sending them face-first into the metal flooring.
I was not sitting around empty-handed.
No matter how useless I was in a fight I could still impact the flow of battle if my readings were correct. So I started dragging the man who was wailing in pain on the ground, now known to be ''Vic''.
He tried to stop me, shaking his limbs and body frantically through what must have been unbearable pain to keep me away.
He wasn't happy.
He trashed and struggled.
He wasn't making things easy.
I could barely drag him, but I was doing it.
My hand hurt like hell. The rotten and burnt flesh ached under the gloves.
The bones ached, the pressure was unbearable.
I would have to trudge on, just like usual.
I looked up to judge the situation.
More than a dozen lay on the ground, many more would soon join them.
Swords clashed with swords.
Maces clashed with bones.
Bullets and bolts buzzed in the air.
I was slowly getting into a more barricaded, safer corner.
But this worm, wouldn't stop wriggling under me.
I needed to knock him out, he was the piece I'd use to finish this.
We were winning, we would win. But that wasn't enough.
I needed them thoroughly subjugated, defeated.
Mentally crippled.
I kicked him in the face and retracted my arms.
These boots were coming in handy.
A crunch.
His nose will never recover from that.
Well, not like that'll matter soon.
As he went to cover his bleeding and destroyed face with his hands he howled in pain. This gave me just enough time to pull out my shotgun.
I held it high above the trembling man's head.
But he wasn't the only one trembling.
No doubt, hundreds had died from my direct orders.
Thousands had suffered from my actions.
But I accepted that. I had for a long time.
It was survival and the improvement of society over death and decadence.
This, was different.
The scene replayed like a movie in front of my eyes.
I pulled the trigger.
The gun fired.
And a dozen swords pierced my body.
My hands shook.
Blood.
Was I bleeding?
Was I dying?
Was there a way to win?
I was a human. They were monsters.
I was ill, and they were at the peak of mortal strength.
Who was I?
Why was I here?
Did I even care about any of this?
I had given up so much, and yet I would have to give up so much more if I wanted to accomplish anything.
Just how further could I push myself?
I gripped the shotgun harder and swirled it around.
Its stock now pointed at the struggling man.
I bashed.
I bashed.
I continued bashing.
Blood flowed like a river.
Bones crunched under the steel.
I continued bashing.
I heard his screams.
Gut-wrenching screams.
I continued bashing.
Up, down. Up, down.
The hand ached. It couldn't handle the motions anymore in its hurt state.
I continued bashing.
I wanted to continue, to keep bashing.
I wanted to hit that flesh until nothing remained.
The floor itself would collapse under my rage.
A bright light dazzled my eyes.
An oppressive, bright, burning light.
A familiar light.
What was I doing just then?
It didn't matter.
I recoiled in fear, pure instinct urged me to run.
My feet didn't listen. They were frozen.
In that brief moment of vulnerability, I regained my senses.
The frontal lobe worked in overdrive, to analyze this threat.
But before it could, the light had vanished.
It didn't stop me from drawing the lines.
Light? No sun. Blocked by steel walls.
Muzzleflash? There are no guns inside here.
Flashlight? There were too many sources.
It wasn't fire, it wasn't energy.
It was something that didn't exist, couldn't exist. Yet it did.
Arts. A familiar art. A scarring art.
I blinked and reoriented myself.
This wasn't me, it couldn't be.
I would not be shaken.
I refused to do so.
I looked down at the man I had tried to beat down.
His face looked fucked up, maybe some bones were broken.
Maybe a rib, maybe an arm.
But he was breathing.
Howling in pain? Yes, he was.
But it looked as if I didn't do much damage other than some cosmetic injuries.
Blood was leaking from the holes in his face, but it wasn't much.
Was that all?
Was that all my rage amounted to?
This outburst of anger, desperation?
It was a cruel world out here.
This.
This was all I was worth in my mortal coil.
Shed the tears of today tomorrow.
They will sting less when hammered by time.
Fuck me.
I looked up to see my squad had finished their fight.
Dozens of infected men, women, and children lay unconscious on the ground. We had won.
As if I was in an anime the operators who had been fighting until then all unsheated their weapons and equipment in sync, having defeated their foes.
Fucking showoffs.
''Now what?''
Asked Nearl.
She then turned around and looked at me, they all did.
The throat was sore. I smacked my lips.
Faces.
Uncaring, cold faces.
No pity, no shock.
Nobody around here's gonna save my soul.
''Now we gather up the fallen inside the building, drag them all into the center, and tie them up. I have rope in my bag.''
''Someone go get the other 2 over here, we are almost done.''
They got to work.
I got back to thinking.
It was a crushing victory.
The next step would be even more crucial.
Remember, victory matters more.
I sat down next to the half-unconscious Vic.
He wasn't badly hurt, but the beating had knocked the air out of him.
The stock of my Remington was thick in blood.
I tried wiping it with my gloved hands.
The smeared blood would be a new piece.
I was tired.
So tired.
I had exerted more physical effort than I would have liked to for some time. But I wasn't sure if it was only related to that.
I looked down at the aching hand.
The adrenaline had worn off, but the pain persisted.
I looked down at my body.
They were long healed, but I could feel the holes.
Was I finally losing it?
It couldn't be. I wasn't mentally weak enough to crumble after this.
I had to fight lords. Kings.
Gods. I couldn't stop now.
Remember your promise man.
I refuse to die in this wretched world.
''We are done tying them up. Some of them have woken up.''
Texas notified me.
I got up.
I had more work to do.
''Someone grab this Vic and drag him over near the rest. It's time for interrogation. Let them be awake, that'll help us. ''
I needed him awake, so I asked one of the operators to hit him with some combat drugs. Now why was that not in Arknights?
It was obvious that healing arts were overpowered but surely, they wouldn't forego traditional medicine. Eh, who cares now?
The operators got to work.
The singer and angel were briefed about the fight and what had happened.
The terrorists were defeated, apprehended.
The angel told us that she had shot down every single straggler.
She did her part.
I walked over to the knocked-out bunch.
43, there were more than anticipated.
Surely, there had to be more still.
I would only find out after asking my new friend.
So I explained the setup to my operators.
It would be simple, we would make it look like an execution ground.
4 of them would loom over the grouped-up, tied together infected.
One of them would hold Vic, and I would be the judge, jury, and executioner.
There was some concern.
They didn't like this plan, especially Nearl.
But she wouldn't disobey orders.
After all, her dear commander had ordered her to follow me.
Let's continue the operation, no more dilly-dally.
I snapped my fingers and woke up the Re-union leader.
''How are you feeling Vic? Can you feel, the consequences of your mistakes?''
The man fluttered his eyes open and spit at me.
''I'd rather die before being your goon.''
I wiped the spit off of my visor with my bloodied gloves.
''Curious choice of words. I wonder if those will continue to hold true in a moment.''
I pointed towards one of the women in the tied-up group.
Without a word being uttered one of them was brought forward by my operators.
There was protest.
There was outcry.
There were screams.
There were tears.
But those would not stop what was to come.
''Speak mongrel. Where are the other cells, or she gets it.''
I pointed the shotgun at the woman.
He didn't speak.
The woman was shaking and in tears but he just stood there.
He must have been evaluating his options.
She begged, begged for him to speak up.
This wasn't a drama.
It was her existence, she didn't want to die for a cause she didn't believe in anymore.
But this bastard didn't speak.
He was tight-lipped.
Was he, smirking?
He must have thought I was bluffing.
That I wouldn't kill anyone that I didn't have the guts.
He would be very wrong.
I pointed at the angel and at a door nearby.
Without a word, she escorted the reunion member outside.
After a few seconds, a single silenced gunshot was heard.
A scream, the muzzle flash made its way through the rotting factory.
A thump.
The angel came back, but the woman was not with her.
The tied crowd panicked.
They screamed, they shouted.
Terror, fear.
''SHUT THE FUCK UP!''
I shouted and repeated the phrase with the shotgun in my hand until they stopped squirming.
Then I raised the shotgun into the crowd:
''Now what will it be Vic?''
He conceded with a tired sigh.
It was no surprise.
I had won, just like usual.
As it was meant to be.
After extracting the necessary information about all other sleeper cells that Vic knew of and writing them down we went through the process of putting our prisoners to sleep.
They would be handed over to the LGD after we made the call.
We systematically knocked out every single one, again until none stood.
I needed them to be asleep while I finished this ordeal.
Ah, I almost forgot.
''Bring back the poor woman and remove the duct tape over her mouth. It was such a good mock execution I forgot we were faking it.''
I had to fake it.
No way in hell these cheesecakes would ever accept actually executing ''innocent'' people. Even if they were former terrorists.
I was now mostly done. Only a singular piece of the puzzle remained.
Once I took care of it, all I would have to do was wait.
So, we cleaned up everything and erased our traces to the best of our abilities.
I didn't want the operators to get caught up in my mess. Escalating things with the LGD would only hurt me in the long run. It wasn't worth it.
I walked up to Vic one last time, who had been tied down on the ground.
He had heard most, and seen much more.
''We could have avoided this all. Was it worthwhile to be so stuck up?''
The shotgun was still in my hands, armed.
Cold.
''It could be if you upheld your end of the deal.''
He knew deep down.
So did I.
The other operators had gathered around me. They watched.
That could cause some problems.
''Then I will hold you true to your words. What were they again?''
I raised the shotgun as quickly as I could before anyone could realize what I was doing. Aimed it at his face.
''You'd rather die?''
There was no protest.
Even if there was any, it would be too late.
''Granted.''
I pulled the trigger.
His skull disappeared.
Red mush covered the floor.
Blood oozed out of his neck as the operators tried to approach me.
The sound of the gun firing echoed through the factory, into the neighborhood.
The angel's gunshots weren't loud, she had silencers. I didn't.
The LGD would come, I had to send these cheesecakes out of here-
''HAVE YOU GONE MAD?!''
I was being shaken.
Questioned. Judged.
But this wasn't the place, it wasn't the time.
''The LDG will arrive soon. We don't have the time. Just trust that I had a reason for it. Put this thing in my bag and drive back to your hideout.''
We argued.
But it wasn't very heated.
Texas and Lappland weren't furious like them, they helped me calm the others down.
So I packed the shotgun into my bag and told the plan to the operators.
They got angry again when they heard the plan, but it was too late to stop me. Nearl was especially furious, but I had already calculated the probability of her messing up things.
So, with everything settled I sent them on their way.
I went back inside the factory and sat down next to the captured reunion members and Vic's corpse.
The hand ached.
It trembled.
I had finally killed someone, by my own hands.
It wasn't glorious, it wasn't even worth mentioning.
It was merely a singular step on a staircase that I would have to take daily.
A few lines in the history books.
I looked down at the steel flooring.
My mind began wondering