So he’s one of the ex-military that everyone’s so scared of…

Damien gazed at the man standing at the rear of the van, unimpressed with that he saw. This famed ex-military soldier didn’t look particularly impressive; average sized with a fit but not intimidating build. He wore a baseball cap with blond hair curling down to his ears and he had no defining physical traits apart from one over-sized bionic attachment on his right forearm. The metal attachment was silver in color-- similar to Marcus’-- but his ended at the elbow, connecting with a natural-looking upper arm. The abrupt change in width between the natural upper half and the machine lower half was striking.

He doesn’t look all that tough, but should I really take him on? Damien thought as he examined the new enemy. I can’t just run because of his title. We got a job to do, ex-military or not.

Damien stepped toward the van and the three escorts, wondering if there was a chance that they’d give up the prototype without a fight. It was unlikely, but he decided to try his hand at a bluff. He pointed the end of his katana at the trio as he approached. “We’ve got you surrounded so there’s no point in fighting. Give up the prototype and you won’t have to die for it.” He wasn’t used to making demands, but he was surprised with how forceful and confident his voice came out.

The bald head from the passenger side looked around and a smile grew on his face. “I don’t see anyone else here, kid. You sure you wanna give us demands?”

The Skull driver on the other side laughed. “So you’re the one who hijacked our controls, eh? You got some balls, I’ll give you that.” He turned around to face the blond-haired man behind him. “What do you say? Kill him right here or take him in alive?”

“We don’t need him alive,” the soldier said, rubbing his natural fist into the palm of the over-sized silver hand. “But don’t kill him yet. I wanna see him suffer first.”

The passenger spit on the ground in front of him. “Fuck that. The package comes first, and we don’t got time to waste.” He drew a pistol and aimed it straight ahead.

Damien lunged forward, closing the distance in one quick leap. He swung his sword at the passenger’s gun, swatting it out of the gang member’s hand, before circling his blade back and driving it through the man’s chest in one fluid motion. Disbelief crept on the Skull’s face, and his upright posture quickly began to droop.

Yanking his weapon out of the now-dying enemy, Damien saw the other Skull member aiming another barrel at him, this one a submachine gun.

The opening of the weapon lit up just as Damien activated Parry, and he could only watch as his body took over, releasing a hurricane of slashes to protect him from the barrage of bullets. In the corner of his vision, his stamina slowly dropped from the speed of the inhuman motions.

The gun shower ended in what felt like a second, and the driver’s eyes sprang open in astonishment when he saw that not even one bullet had connected. With his target dismayed, Damien lurched on to the hood and slid across to the other side, cutting his blade across the Skull’s throat with a precise slash.

Before his feet touched the ground, a flash of silver swept in from the side, and Damien barreled to the ground, ducking underneath the strike. A crashing sound followed, and he looked up to see the gauntlet wedged into the van’s metal frame, the windshield completely shattered. The soldier pulled at his attachment, but the massive forearm was lodged into place. It was a perfect opportunity.

Damien surged toward the final enemy and swung his blade across the ex-military’s exposed mid-section, but the blade bounced off with a loud clang. He didn’t let up, unleashing a flurry of vicious swings at the foe, hoping to make the most of his chance. Almost all of the slashes managed to get around the boxing-style defense and reach the torso, but they did little more than rip through the shirt.

Surprised and slightly discouraged, Damien hopped backwards, creating some distance so that he could catch his breath and analyze the situation. A scan of the capped-man revealed that his armor rating was now at 95%.

After all those strikes, his armor’s only been reduced by 5%… Damien thought to himself as he gritted his teeth. I’m faster with my motions so I can get around his defenses, but I’m barely doing any damage… Is there a way to get the prototype without killing him? No, I’m not that much faster, and I don’t even know where it’s hidden. I have to disable this guy first.

The ex-military soldier finally ripped his silver forearm from the frame of the vehicle, sending bits of metal and glass flying in every direction. He wasted no time taking the offensive, charging forward and throwing a series of quick and powerful punches.

Damien evaded them all with a combination of ducks, sidesteps, and deflections with the edge of his katana, but one punch seemed to change targets mid-flight, catching him off guard. Initially aiming for his torso, the silver fist opened up at the last second and caught his left arm with a powerful grip. A smirk crept on the man’s icy face for the first time.

A soft whir and vibration started up from the soldier’s palm, and Damien felt a familiar and uncomfortable sensation quickly build up on his arm: heat. A small notification popped up before him.

Thermal Damage:

Left Arm: -5%

HP: -2%

Before it had time to disappear, another notification popped up underneath the first one, and the pain from the heat quickly started to ramp up.

Thermal Damage:

Left Arm: -10%

HP: -4%

Damien furiously wriggled his arm, desperate to get it free from the iron grip but it was useless. He swung his sword wildly at the ex-military— who’s smirk had now upgraded to a full on grin— but it only bounced off, just as before.

The pain continued to escalate, reaching a searing sensation that felt like it was burning all the way through the limb. More notifications popped up, and the damage numbers continued to ramp up.

Thermal Damage:

Left Arm: -40%

HP: -16%

Then, out of nowhere, the soldier let go, and he brought his hand up to his face level. His metal palm was now bright red, and Damien was sure that he could see smoke coming out of it. “Oops,” the man said with a surprised tone. “I overdid it.”

Finally free to move, Damien sprung backwards once again, fighting back the pain of the scalding sensation remaining on his arm. He looked down to see charred black where the gauntlet had caught him, as well as a clear outline of skin and metal that hadn’t been melted through. He cursed inwardly as he tried to formulate a plan, but another notification interrupted him. This time, it was a progress bar that filled up in less than a second, bringing with it yet another pop-up.

Warning!

You have been afflicted with the status condition: Poisoned

Strength -1

Agility -2

Durability -1

HP Recovery -50%

Stamina Recovery -50%

Damien’s heart sank. When did I get poisoned…?

“What’s wrong?” the ex-military said with a belligerent smile. “The toxin’s finally kicking in, huh? If you thought the heat was bad, you should get ready for the real pain to hit. Now, let me see you suffer.”

Shit, this is bad. This guy’s a monster, I can’t handle him one on one.

The soldier charged forward again, swinging another powerful first that caught Damien off guard. This time, it caught his right wrist, knocking his katana out of his hand.

Right Arm: -1%

Warning!

Toxin upgrading to Stage 2.

You have been afflicted with the status condition: Internal Bleeding

Strength -2

Agility -4

Durability - 3

HP Recovery -75%

Stamina Recovery -75%

HP Loss Over Time - ?/second

Stamina Loss Over Time - ?/second

Damien jumped backward again, desperate to get a grip of the situation. Now I have internal bleeding? What the fuck is going on!?

In the corner of his vision, he could see that his HP and Stamina had started to drop. A nauseating sensation began to swell up in his stomach, and liquid quickly spewed up his esophagus and into his mouth. He immediately recognized it as blood.

That’s it, I can’t go on any longer. At this rate I’m gonna die here. I gotta get out.

He gritted his teeth and dashed into the escape route through the side alley, fighting down another urge to burp out more blood. He desperately skirted around the garbage bins and metal railing that lined the tight alleyway, and after twenty or so paces, he turned back to see if he was being pursued. There was no one behind him. A sudden buildup in his throat caught him off guard, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood.

Seeing that his HP and Stamina had fallen even further, he realized that he needed to get help soon. He opened his contacts listen and went to call Marcus, when yet another unwanted notification popped up.

Warning!

Toxin upgrading to Stage 3.

You have been afflicted with the status condition: Disoriented

Strength -5

Agility -8

Durability -6

HP Recovery -100%

Stamina Recovery -100%

HP Loss Over Time - ?/second

Stamina Loss Over Time - ?/second

In an instant, the ground seemed to give out from underneath Damien’s feet, and his vision began to dim.