Cid stands up and looks at his elbow that got grazes against the bullet. He can hear Don Trifalgo's loud voice calling out for his men. Cid immediately runs and hides at the nearby passageway just as the enemy came.

“You, useless piece of shits. How come you let an intruder sneak inside?! I didn’t pay a hundred thousand of Haz just to get sneak by a sniveling runt! Go! And kill that bastard!”

Cid crouch with his watchful eyes. He sprinted further away from them and hide whenever the flashlight coming to his direction. He took down two out of Don’s men by breaking their neck. All was well, not until his phone began to ring a moan of a woman.

“Oh fuck.”

He immediately accepted the call from his earphones as he accepted the call coming from Linda.

“Great. Good timing. Now, what? I’m busy here. There’s like ten guys fucking me behind.”

“We’ve been made!” Linda shouted.

“What?!”

“They’ve found our hideout. I don’t know how did they know but the entire building is on fire.”

Cid slide as he sprinted in the right way. His hands clap and he muttered a spell. An earth barrier began to rise blocking the way of the enemies.

“What about Ken and Tin?”

“I don’t know, but I think they’re in the underground hideout.”

“You have an underground hideout?”

“Always have been.”

“Good. So, did you manage to sneak on the bank system?”

“Negative. There are too many securities.”

“Well, you don’t have to do it anyway. I know where’s Alastor held captive and you’re not gonna like it.”

“Spill.”

“Vesoga Plain.”

“For fucking real?”

Cid heaved the old rusty door and what greets him is a gunshot from few meters away from him. He instinctively rolled aside, evading the gunshots. He sprinted to the other way and began to mutter.

“Cinque parete invisible.”

Cid was engulfed by two transparent circular walls as he gets away to the enemy.

“Do me a favor, Linda. Stay in cover.”

“That’s what I’m doing right now.”

He cut off the transmission and chanted another magic.

“Inglameur.”

Out of nowhere, the haze began to fill the tunnel and blinded the enemy. They stop from pursuing him and began to feel something different, something made of darkness. Each one began to scream as if they’ve seen terrifying creatures horrifying their mind.

“That should do the trick.”

Cid made a run and goes out on a much larger scale of the tunnel. From there and there, the reeking smell coming from the water comes out from the hole. Cid looks from left to right, looking for a way to get out.

Cid stopped from running as he felt the ground trembles. His gazes unsettled from the surroundings, until, the ceiling collapse and reveal from the crumbling walls and the billowing dust is a giant rat-like monster.

“You gotta be shitting me.”

At his back, enemies began to create a formation that blocks the way. His teeth gritted. He looks from right to left.

“Halt! That’s as far as you go.” The security leader roared.

“Which one?” Cid contemplates.

He gazed at his barrier that is remained untethered. Without thinking, he sprinted towards the hoard of the enemy. Bullets bounce off his barrier as he charged. The rat-monster too shrieked and sprinted towards Cid.

Like peeling a banana, Cid’s shield began to tear to fully shred as he dashes and repelled the enemies. The foes stumbled side to side as Cid’s barrier stunned them. He leaped, turned to the right, and jump down the hole. Lucky for him, water coming from the sewer didn’t flow on that pathway and successfully land on another place.

He can hear the enemy’s shouts ringing from the hole as the rat-monster crush them.

“Control the monster, damn it!”

Cid smirks and began to observe the structure. It appears he’s in the main section of the sewer system. There’s a giant hole on top and was covered by metal with holes for the water to come out. A water meter had caught his attention, it was hung on the wall. The meter was purposely hung high so that water won’t reach it, but it is large enough to see it.

The meter indicates that the water is beginning to accumulate on one pathway and was about to come for six to seven minutes. Its time estimation depends on the water pressure that the other meter calculated.

Cid was about to press on, but his entire stature shaken as the ceiling collapse. The rat-monster shrieked as its eyes laid to Cid. Cid leaps away as the monster charges. It shrieked again as it pulled out his head from getting dug on the wall.

“Easy there, fido. We’re in an underground sewer, but then again, you don’t care, you don’t have a brain after all.”

His right hand began to emit lightning and he throws it to the enemy. The rat jump, evading his attack. Cid laughs out of amusement.

“Whoa, you know a trick. Can you be my house pet.”

The rat shrieked and kick the ground. Cid pulled out his grappling hook and shoot towards the higher part of the wall and remain in that position while looking down at the rat.

“Don’t mind me. I’ll just wait for the stinky water to wash your ass outta here.”

The rat snarls and looks at the wall.

“Fuck off. You can’t reach me. I have the higher ground.”

The rat began to bump its head to the wall. Cid face stiff as he realized what’s the monster is doing. The crack began to trail down and create a few more creeping across the wall.

“Shit.”

For another one, the part of the wall that the claw of his grappling hook holding on starts to degrade. The rat looks up with its mouth open wide. Its sharp teeth shimmer as it waits for Cid to fall.

In the free fall, Cid curl and pushes his feet against the wall, changing his trajectory, rolling in the air, and manage to land a kick on the rat’s nose. The monster stammered and began to scratch its face before shrieking.

Cid’s lightning bolts unfaltering strikes the enemy. The rat was stunned and violently shakes, enduring the pain as it stutters. Cid lurched back and flashes a grin.

“You almost got me.”

The rat stopped moving and remained motionless as Cid walks down the tunnel. Ahead of him, there were detritus from the broken walls mounting and against the metal stairway attach to the wall.

Cid glance back to the main hole as he could hear a faint rumble, like a sound of a turbulent wind rushing over towards there. He gazes at the water meter and that’s when he realized what’s about to happen. Cid sprinted and leap over the debris and on to the metal stairway.

The surging water groans as it began to fill the place and trail the two-way tunnels. It was like a disaster for him, not just in comparison to a life-like situation but also has a terrible smell. He witnessed below him the billowy river rushing over the path. Along the waste flowing with the darkened water was the rat-monster, washed away with its heavy body.

Cid took the liberty and jump over the next high ledge and onto another until his eyes laid off to a certain tunnel that is not within the reach of the ravaging waves. He hops from ledges to ledges until he landed and muster balance from nearly tripping over the wet surface. He glanced back watching the body of the monster washing away over the stream.

“That took care of the garbage disposal.” Cid immediately backs off as the water spray came to wet his coat. “I smell reek. It’s gonna take a lot of showers to take this stink off.” Said Cid.

He took the liberty to doze off as he walks slowly following the path.

Ɵ

Linda skidded as she turns right and sprinted away as she glances up to their base. Their hideout was on fire. She opens her mobile device and calls Ken and Tin through her earphones. It keeps ringing and ringing until the phone halt from vibrating.

She stops as she can hear sirens erupting throughout the city. Deviants from corners sprung out like children caught on hide and seek. Police along with the automatic robots’ haunt down the deviants either by killing them or by using force to pin them down.

The city suddenly became hell. The mercenaries, hunters including the travelers were excluded and hunted down with no remorse. Everything is chaotic, fire sprawled across the city, smoke trailing under the gloomy sky.

Linda evaded the road and goes in the alleyway where there was less killing. When she found a safe spot, Linda called them again. This time, someone finally answered.

“Ken, Tim?! Are the two of you alright?”

Ken coughs, “Yeah. Somehow, we managed to get in the underground chamber.”

“What about the items?” she asked.

“They’re safe here. Tin was a little bit of… disoriented, after what happened.”

“I’m gonna regroup with you guys as soon as I pass the metropolitan.”

Somehow, she felt relieved hearing that they’re safe. It gave her another reason to continue. Linda sprung and quickly drawn back as a sword slashes in front of her. A tall, broad man stands tall ahead of her.

“What the hell do you want?”

She deeply knew what the man wants. Since the entire city is in chaos, it is to be expected that thieves like him would appear.

“Your belongings.” He stares at her necklace. “Give it to me.”

“Oh, this?” She flexes her necklace. “I’m afraid, I can’t do that. This is my family heirloom.”

“Then it’ll worth the price.”

Before the man can come close to Linda, she already chanted the magic.

Across the street, deviants who are running away from the authority was blasted along the man by Linda’s fire magic.

The automated robots’ glances at her. Scanning at her stature and when they come to the realization that she’s not part of the city’s citizens, they began to walk and their eyes glow red. Their weapons, Taser guns, rifles, and batons were pointed against her.

“Identity unknown. Come with us for authorization or you shall be executed.” Said in a robotic voice.

Linda didn’t probe and she throws a smoke bomb before jumping on the wall and runs away.

“No time for dilly-dallying.”

Her pocket once again vibrates and when she reaches to her earphone, the walls suddenly crumbled and the automated robots appeared beside her.

“Miss,” said the robot. “We’d appreciate it if you peacefully come with us. Theo would like to have a word with you.”

Linda’s mouth drops slowly as her forehead wrinkles for a brief moment. She drops the shock expression and muttered the spell. The automated robots were destroyed in an instant as she continued to dash.