Visette barely had enough time to defend herself as she was tackled by the Corrupted Variant. She grit her teeth from the pain and used psionic energy to forcefully slow herself only to end up sliding through the mud. It was hard to see more than five feet in front of own body which made fighting near impossible.

Her mind raced as she tried to think about solutions to her current situation. The Variant was stronger, faster, and more resistant to bullets which meant she would need to use her psionics to dispatch it. A psionic bullet would prove fatal but she needed to slow it down long enough to gather enough psionic energy. There was also the rest of the Corrupted scattered around, while some appeared to be attacking the fleeing humans, there were a few keeping an eye on the Variant.

There was also the problem of visibility. She couldn’t rely on muzzle flashes and lightning strikes to help her see.

‘The Corrupted have no problem with seeing through darkness…’ Visette’s thoughts trailed off as she came to a realization. The best response would be enhancing her own eyesight just as she did with her physique.

Just as she was about to try the Variant leaped at her and she was forced to quickly roll through the mud in order to evade. She manipulated her psionic energy and her pupils began to glow with unstable psionic energy. Her face winced slightly as she felt pain in her optic nerves. She had to adjust the output of psionic energy which would require time she didn’t have. In her eyes, everything was covered with a faint blue haze but she could see clear enough to fight.

Visette relied on the adrenaline to dull the pain as she brandished the hunting knife and moved forward. The Variant swiped its thick claws toward her but she dropped to the ground and slid through its legs before stabbing at its ankle. It would’ve been a dangerous attack but the blade wasn’t strong enough to pierce through. The Variant raised its foot and brought it down with the intention of crush Visette.

‘I’ll enhance the blade,’ Visette made a huge leap into the air and landed on a tree branch. One hand gripped the knife tightly while the other removed the revolver from its holster. A quick flash of psionic energy cleared the mud from it and it could be fired again.

“Raaaek!” The Variant uttered some incoherent and vicious voice that illustrated its anger. It leaped right after Visette. Just as it was about to reach her, she raised the revolver and the Variant quickly shielded its head. Six shots were fired and they each hit the same spot on the Variant’s chest doing some slight damage. It was enough to interrupt the Variant and send it falling toward the ground.

It crashed into the mud and Visette jumped down right after it. The edge of the hunting knife was covered in the blue glow of unstable psionic particles and slowly began to crack but it would last long enough for her to complete her attack. She landed on the Variant’s stomach and thrust the hunting knife into its chest.

“Aaaaayk!” The Variant screamed while throwing Visette into a tree. She hit the tough bark and slumped to the ground motionlessly while the Variant rolled around in pain. The hunting knife wasn’t strong enough to withstand her psionic enhancement and shattered into pieces, pieces that were scattered around inside of the Variant.

No matter where they were, the Corrupted ceased their attack and came running toward the injured Variant but those who moved close to it were grabbed by its claws and killed. It lashed out in anger while forcing the metal fragments out before eventually calming down. The Variant roared loudly before turning to Visette and glaring at her with aggression in its eyes. It sauntered toward her while emitting a low growl but Visette appeared to be dead.

The Variant was cautious after her strange attacks and wouldn’t be careless again. Once it was far enough to reach out to her and claw her to death it stopped and raised its arms.

Suddenly, Visette’s her arm raised up. She made a hand gesture that mimicked the shape of a gun and while one may have thought it was childish, there was a seriousness within her bluish pupils. For some reason, the Variant could feel an immediate sense of danger which made it pause for a split second but that proved to be its downfall.

Five psionic projectiles erupted from Visette’s finger and easily ripped through the body of the Variant and those behind it before injuring a few more and dissipating.

The Variant had its head blown clean off while its body was littered with holes and the rest of the Corrupted fared no better. The fresh corpses splashed into the mud and blood began to spill out before being diluted by the rain.

The Corrupted who survived with injuries immediately fled out of fear when they saw Visette raising her arm again. They had no way of comprehending what she did and their first instinct was to run.

After watching all the Corrupted had fled, Visette’s arm dropped to her side and blood dripped from her nose. A piercing headache overcame her and she fell unconscious within seconds.

…

It was late in the morning when Visette opened her eyes. She was covered in dried mud that had a reddish hue but it wasn’t something she was worried about. Her body shivered as she rose to her feet and evaluated her surroundings. There were guns, bullet casings, backpacks, and bodies corrupted and human alike littered around her.

Visette raised her hand and nearby shotgun flew into her palm. She checked the cartridge chamber and found that it was empty but she still had a few shells left in her bandolier. She tossed it over her shoulder and then began to look through the backpacks for food while avoiding the bodies of dead humans.

After a few minutes of scavenging, she was ready to depart but the hand of someone she thought was dead reached out and gripped her ankle.

“W..ait…” A woman spoke hoarsely.

Visette looked down to see it was the same woman who tried to restrain her but ended up being stabbed in the thigh. It was a wonder as to how she survived until this point but Visette’s mind was elsewhere.

“Were you able to see what occurred last night?” Visette asked as she drew her revolver and loaded a single bullet before pointing it at the woman’s head.

“P...lease...don...t,” The woman whispered.

Visette stared at her for a few moments before placing the gun back into the holster. She knelt down beside the woman examined her.

‘She is untrustworthy, injured, and in a feverish state that requires immediate medical attention.’ Vis thought to herself.

“T...hank...you.” The woman gave a weak cough.

Visette didn’t say anything as she filled her fist with psionic energy. She brought it down on the woman’s skull, instantly killing her. There was an audible skull cracking sound and then complete silence. Vis had killed a human for the first time but it didn’t feel any different from killing the Corrupted or even the pack of wild dogs that first attacked her.

‘It is what Minerva intended.’ Visette clenched and unclenched her fist while somehow feeling distant from her own body, though it was only momentarily. Vis’ emotional responses were intentionally dulled but could still emerge over a period of time. After all, Minerva was no longer around to make adjustments to her mental state and the people of Novo Prime would most likely end up shaping her.

Visette stood up and looked for the road before she began to follow it. She was more than a few hours behind the rest of the survivors but she preferred to avoid them. Interfering twice to ensure that some of the evacuees survived was more than enough for Vis and the rest of their journey would be left up to probability.