"I have a job for you, Salamander."

Within the Lockwood mansion's study room sat two figures. The first was sitting behind the desk, the master of the mansion himself, Lockwood. The second was sitting on a recliner with his legs up on a coffee table. The latter was a bald man wearing a hoodie that concealed his rather coarse skin texture. His mouth was so wide, it almost stretched from cheek to the other, giving him an almost reptilian jaw.

"I don't care how rich you are, Lockwood. I'm a Phantom," the second figure, Salamander, sneered. "I only work for the Council. I don't do anything else for anyone else, or I'll be the next one hunted."

"I am a member of the Council," Lockwood replied bluntly while sipping on a cup of tea. "And I can easily turn this into a mission. Once, the job's done."

"Doesn't mean much to me," Salamander hid the look of surprise on his face before speaking. "You already know I'm on a short leash."

"True, but nobody would care if a girl, a random homeless girl, just disappeared," Lockwood answered as his eyes gleamed with cunningness.

"A girl?" Salamander showed his interest almost immediately. He leaned forward and began paying attention to Lockwood.

"Yes. Here," Lockwood handed Salamander a holo which showed information on a little girl and, more importantly, her features. Her auburn hair which was tied into a braid showcased her high forehead and bright green eyes.

"Hmm," Salamander grinned lustfully, his wide smile easily revealing his molars as his cheeks disappeared. Through it all, he gazed at the image of Maple unblinkingly. "It'd be a shame to kill her."

"I want her gone. I never said killed," Lockwood noticed Salamander's gaze and his eyes flashed with hidden disdain. "You can do whatever you want with her. Just make sure she disappears and stays disappeared."

"Alright, I'll do it."

Salamander stood up and prepared to leave when Lockwood called out again.

"Oh, and Salamander?" Salamander paused and turned around before Lockwood continued. "No witnesses."

"Whatever you say, boss."

***

"Don't let go. Link your hands and hurry," Emily ushered the orphanage's children while instructing them to link hands and walk, preventing any from losing their path as they made their way through the dark backyard. Emily had already handed Ms. Grace the key Melanie had handed to her and she waited behind the children as the former led them away. The children had already realized that something was wrong, and what ached Emily's heart was that they obeyed orders with hesitation, indicating that they, and Ms. Grace, were already used to this.

A nearby rustling of branches caused Emily's heart to leap into her mouth, and without a word, she gestured soundlessly to the children to hurry onwards. She herself stayed behind, pulling a pepper spray from her pocket as she prepared to confront the possible intruder. A bush nearby rattled and quivered as twigs snapped, and Emily raised her pepper spray as her ears pounded.

Moments later, a mocha-coloured hand crept out before John came tumbling out. Emily almost shrieked as she aimed the pepper spray at his face but stopped short of shooting it when she recognized him.

"Jesus," Emily gasped as she tried drawing air, finally relaxing when she realized that it was John, who rolled his eyes when he saw her; he was able to deduce what she was planning.

"Next time, check where you're aiming that," John advised. "You almost blinded yourself."

In her panic, Emily didn't realize that she was not holding the pepper spray properly: the nozzle was aimed at herself. Blushing at her mistake, Emily put the spray away as John unclipped his pistol. Checking the rounds, he loaded it back into his gun before turning to Emily.

"You should get a move on," John said. "I wasn't able to delay them for long. They'll be here soon."

As he spoke, John walked past Emily who called out to him.

"Wait. Can't you help us?"

John paused and looked at Emily incredulously.

"Are you kidding?" He asked. "Why in the hell am I gonna risk my life?"

"They're just kids," Emily answered, her voice pleading for him to help.

"Kids. Huh," John sneered. "Let me tell you something. Something you'll learn eventually. No one is worth risking your life, no one. You do it once, and they'll expect you to do again, and again, and again. It's not worth it."

Emily was surprised at how bitter John sounded, but before she could react, he turned and walked away.

"You wanna look out for someone? Look out for yourself."

Emily curled her hands into fists, her nails digging into her palms as she stomped her feet.

"You don't want to help, fine, just say it! Coward," Emily called out to him before she turned and moved towards the direction the children had left for.

"Wait," John paused when Emily called him a coward. He tossed his gun at Emily who jumped and avoided it. "Safety's on. It's the little notch on the left side. Slide it and then aim to fire."

"I . . . I can't," Emily hesitated to pick up the gun. "I've never fired one in my life."

"First time for everything. Besides," John's eyes flashed with callousness. "You wanna join my gang, you gotta learn how to shoot. You survive this, and I'll let you join."

With those last words, John hurried out and disappeared into the streets. Emily looked down at the gun before gritting her teeth and picking it up. Although she knew that she was likely to get herself killed, she still held onto the handgun. The weight of the pistol made her feel safe, and she checked to make sure the safety was on.

Unfortunately, she had no idea if it was off or on and she couldn't afford to waste time figuring it out. From the distance, the sound of fighting picked up, and Emily came to the conclusion that Melanie had begun fighting the intruders. This indicated that they were getting closer, so Emily quickly left.

"Quickly, children, quickly now," Ms. Grace helped the children onto the bus before using the key to activate the driving system. The dashboard lit up and a voice overhead as Emily came running up to the bus.

"Welcome. Running diagnostics. All systems are operational," the voice said. "Warning, you do not have the appropriate access to activate this car. Please contact -"

"Just drive!" Emily interrupted when she noticed some figures appearing from the direction of the orphanage but the voice continued.

"You do not have the appropriate access -"

"DRIVE!" Alice and Maple yelled together and the dashboard which was blinking red turned blue.

"Phantom clearance designated Alpha dash zero zero dash zero two and Sigma dash zero two dash zero one activated. Unable to confirm biometrics . . . voice and facial recognition confirmed," the bus's engines activated as the voice spoke again. "Where would you like to go?" [1]

"Anywhere, just DRIVE!" Emily screamed as she noticed the approaching figures were completely armed. The closest raised his AR and fired a few rounds at the bus, causing panic as everyone screamed.

"Down, everybody, get down!" Emily shouted. Fortunately, the windows managed to withstand the brushfire.

"Warning, rear hull integrity compromised," the bus's AI reported as it drove the bus away. "Sending a distress call to the nearest AEM facility. Please wait until -"

"No waiting, just drive to them!" Alice screamed from the ground.

"Affirmative. Driving to the nearest AEM facility."

Another armed shooter raised his rifle and aimed at the bus through his holographic sight. Realizing that the bus was too far away, he flipped the STS magnifier in place before steadying his breath.

A split second later he fired his rifle. The bullet shattered the already cracking glass before tearing into Grace.

"Ms. Grace!" Emily screamed when she noticed the former collapsing.

As the bullet exited her shoulder, it continued onward and finally lodged itself into the dashboard where the AI main processing unit was stored. A pulse erupted from the bullet and the bus stopped abruptly as self-driving AI was fired.

Quickly, Emily rushed to Grace and began applying pressure to the wound on her shoulder while using her healing abilities to heal her.

"Warning, systems - bzzt - compromised. Engine offline. Zzt - restart . . . ing . . . sys . . . tem," the AI fritzed from the EM pulse, the voice slowing down as it died out.

"Oh, no!" Maple said as she looked back. She could see the armed men getting closer and her heart leapt. She had a conversation with Melanie before, and she deduced that the men were after her for knowing too much. Her eyes moved to everyone else as she came to a shocking conclusion: she was the reason why everyone might die.

"Maple . . . Maple . . . Maple!"

She could vaguely hear someone calling her out but it was only when her shoulder was grabbed did she look back with a start. Alice was shaking her by the shoulder while calling out again.

"Alice?" Maple groggily asked before Alice slapped her.

"Wake up! I need your help!" Alice cried out. Looking into her eyes, Maple noticed that, despite shaking from fear, Alice's eyes were glowing with determination.

"What do you need?" Maple calmed herself down from gazing at Alice and asked the latter firmly.

"Emily is keeping Ms. Grace alive which means we have to drive!"

"What? How?" Maple asked incredulously.

"The AI may have rebooted the propulsion system but the self-driving functions are fried," Alice replied as she and Maple made their way to the front seat. "Meaning we have to manually drive the car."

"That's crazy! How can we drive a bus?!" Maple refuted. "We're more likely to crash! Besides, how do you know all of this?!"

"Better than sitting around doing nothing!" Alice replied. "And Daddy let me take the wheel before. Course, he only let me steer."

Ungh, your Daddy is terrible, Maple thought as Alice stood atop the driver's seat.

"I need you to bend down and accelorite," Alice said, fumbling on the word 'accelerate'. "Just keep pressing it and I'll steer the bus. Once we get to the main road we'll be safe."

"Um, alright," Maple crouched down and used her hands to press the accelerator. The bus began moving at a very fast rate as Alice tried her best to maintain it steady.

"Wha -? Alice!" Emily, who had been preoccupied with healing Grace only realized that the bus was moving again. Turning to face the front, she screamed with horror when she saw Alice driving the bus.

"It's okay! I got this!" Alice called out, which would've been adorable had the situation been different, and Emily's doubt only increased as the bus shook and grazed a few nearby parked cars. "Oops. Sorry."

The shooter behind them had almost caught up when the bus lurched forward. Seeing that it was moving again, he raised his rifle again and aimed at Alice. Emily who could see him through the shattered window realized what he was up to and quickly pulled out the gun John left her. She tried firing but the trigger was locked, reminding her of how John mentioned the safety was on. Recalling what he said, Emily followed his advice and slid the safety lock off before raising the gun again. Without aiming properly, she fired several shots all of which missed the shooter terribly. However, the latter instinctively ducked and took cover, allowing the bus to leave.

The shooter stood up and watched the bus leave once he was certain it was safe. At the same time, he activated his communicator. "Target is moving your way, Phantom."

"We got away!"

Alice sighed with relief, thinking that they had managed to escape when an overhead figure slammed into the windshield. The figure grinned sinisterly, showing nearly all of his teeth before smashing a fist against the window repeatedly.

Ah, what a delectable looking girl, Salamander thought as cracks formed like a spider web from his punches. His eyes were transfixed on Alice as he admired her doll-like features. I'll take her along with me.

"Dammit," Emily stood up and had to balance herself as the bus shook from Alice's uneven driving. She had noticed what was occurring in the front and aimed her pistol at Salamander before shooting, but the pistol clicked emptily. Emily swore as she realized that she had no more bullets.

"Maple," Alice, who felt goosebumps forming from Salamander's leering, called out to Maple. "When I tell you to, press the brakes."

"What's that?" Maple asked, confused.

"The big pedal!"

"Oh. Okay."

Alice waited until the very last second, when the glass almost shattered before shouting, "Now!" and Maple quickly pressed the brake pedal, forcing the bus to jerk and stop. The momentum sent Salamander flying away and he crashed into a bakery's glass window.

The sudden stop also sent Emily and Alice forward into the air. Emily hit her head as she slid to the front of the bus and fell unconscious immediately while Alice slammed headfirst through the windshield and out the bus.

"ALICE!" Maple shrieked once she comprehended what had occurred. Using all her strength, she pulled at the emergency lever that forced the bus's door to open and ran out to check on Alice.

"Alice . . . Alice, no," Maple almost sobbed. She had stopped short of reaching Alice when she saw how the latter was not moving. Had she moved closer, she would've seen the glass shards that covered Alice slowly being forced out as her wounds began closing up.

It's all my fault . . . Maple thought as she covered her mouth with her hands, tears clouding her vision. She thought that if she had stayed behind, perhaps everyone else - perhaps Alice - wouldn't have been placed in danger. And now, Alice . . .

As she sobbed silently, Maple froze when she heard a faint rustling, the sound of movement from nearby her. She turned hopefully to Alice but, to her disappointment, quickly realized that it wasn't her. She froze in fear and trepidation as she saw a figure rising from the bakery; Salamander was alive and well.

No . . . Maple thought with despair. No . . . Not now.

She turned back to the bus only to see the armed men, far off in the distance, slowly making their way closer.

No . . .

Maple wiped her tears with her sleeve and determination shone in her eyes.

If I die, so be it. But I won't let them hurt everyone else!

Maple turned to Salamander and made sure to make eye contact with him. Once she caught his attention, she spun around and ran off into an alleyway between two buildings.

Interesting, Salamander thought with a grin. Too bad it won't save your little friends.

He gestured at the approaching men before pursuing Maple. Two gunmen followed his lead while the remaining aimed their rifles at the bus as they approached it slowly. Before he left, however, Salamander turned to the unmoving body of Alice.

Tsk, what a waste, he thought. Oh well, I could still play with her, even if she's dead.

***

Emily stirred, her mind groggy before she recalled what happened and got up with a jolt. She tried calming the panicking children who were crying before standing up and looking out the window, only to see the armed men aiming at her.

Is this the end? She thought with a swallow, her heart full of regret. Jason . . .

As the thought of Jason crossed her mind, a thud shocked her as the bus rocked. Above her, the roof of the bus caved in as though something hard and heavy had landed on top.

Outside, the armed men changed their aim as they saw the figure land on the bus in a crouching position from the sky. As it slowly stood up, they felt an inexplicable sense of horror and fear. The glowing blue irises were as large as a normal person's eyeball, a holographic interface hovering mere millimetres from the inhuman irises slowly spun as it locked onto them. The large shiny teeth were what they saw next before the figure vanished.

With a growl, Fenrir leapt into the air with a side-flip, using his momentum and gravity to send an overhead punch to one of the gunmen. The punch sent the man smashing down headfirst and into the ground. The pavement caved in from the blow and, with a crack, his head burst open like a watermelon, scattering chunks of white matter everywhere. Landing on his feet, Fenrir threw out an arm and two stun bolas flew out from it and wrapped itself around two men, ensnaring them and preventing them from firing their weapons before getting electrified. Before they could collapse, Fenrir aimed his elbows at them and fired his elbow blades, slicing them in half before changing the trajectory of the blades and, like a boomerang, they circled back to him and into his elbows.

Hmm. Need to thank Lena for the new suit and the upgrade, Fenrir thought as a shooter sneaked up from behind him, intent on firing at his head at point-blank range. Fenrir grabbed him and slammed his head into the bus. The children inside screamed as the metal caved in like plaster, leaving a large face-shaped dent on the side of the bus. Leaving the shooter embedded in the bus, Fenrir leapt over the bus and landed agilely between two more shooters before pulling his Tang sword from the back. The sword, which had no sheath, released itself from his back as soon as his hands gripped it. [2]

Emily winced and jumped in panic as she heard the sounds outside. The screams, the gunfire, the sounds of impact, of flesh being sliced echoed all around her hauntingly. She shrieked when the sound of a blade slicing sounded right next to her and a splatter of blood appeared on the window. Shivering, she realized that the horrific sounds had faded away, and the eerie atmosphere slowly descended on the bus, suffocating everyone within.

Outside, Fenrir placed his sword back into his back after killing the last gunmen before rushing to Alice. He checked her pulse and closed his eyes in relief when he realized that she was still breathing. He noticed her rapid healing process and hesitated, struggling as he wondered whether he should stay or pursue the mastermind. He wanted to run after the culprit and crush every bone in his body, but he didn't want to leave his daughter alone, not while she was severely injured.

"Jason, Maple isn't on the bus," A.V.A spoke through the ear-pieces in Fenrir's helmet.

"Hmm," Fenrir grunted before turning to the bus. Applying multiple visions, he was able to see through the bus and straight at the occupants. He saw Emily slowly standing up and calming the children before heading for the door.

She'll find Alice and try to heal her, Fenrir concluded. Which means I can focus on finding Maple.

Turning his vision towards the alleyway, he noticed fresh footprints and quickly ran off to pursue them before Emily could see him. In truth, he didn't want Emily to see him like this; he loathed the thought of her gazing at him in horror, like everyone else, and the very thought of it sent an unknowing pang of pain coursing through his chest. As he rushed off, he failed to notice that Alice had opened her eyes, her blue eyes glowing almost inhumanly with nary an emotion.

"Alice . . . oh my god," Emily had gathered her courage and left the bus. She saw the corpses surrounding it and nearly threw up but then her eyes found Alice and all other thoughts left her mind. She rushed to Alice and grabbed her, moving her into her arms while frantically urging her powers to heal her.

"Alice? Alice!"

Alice gazed upwards unblinkingly for a moment as Emily called out to her. A dull speck of life filtered through her eyes before she focused on Emily.

"Oh, thank God, you're alright," Emily lifted a glowing green hand to Alice's forehead as she spoke but Alice brushed her hand away and stood up.

"Maple, you idiot," Alice whispered before looking around.

"Alice?" Emily noticed how Alice seemed different, but she couldn't put her finger on it.

"I'm fine, Emily," Alice answered rather calmly.

"But, you're bleeding and you've got glass -"

"I've had worse. This is nothing," Alice interrupted, her blue eyes were cold and unfeeling, much like Jason's. "I have to find Maple."

Alice started walking away when Emily grabbed her arm and stopped her. "Not alone you're not."

"You can't," Alice spoke quietly. "You need to finish healing Ms. Grace and keep the other children safe. You also need to call the police."

Emily hesitated when she heard Alice's words. Logic dictated that she was right, that Emily needed to focus on everyone, but the fact that she was hearing this from a child, one who was moving after such a grievous injury only made it seem surreal.

"I - I can't let you go out there alone," Emily finally said, refusing to let go of Alice.

"But I won't be alone," Alice answered cryptically as she gazed into Emily's eyes. "You need to let go now."

Emily lost herself in Alice's gaze, the blue eyes seemed to calm her down even as it peered into her soul. The voice only serenaded the calmness and she inadvertently listened to it, releasing Alice's arm. Alice made her way into the alleyway as Emily gazed blankly at her back. Only after Alice had disappeared did she regain her senses.

"Shit!" She swore when she realized that Alice was nowhere to be found. She wanted to pursue her but turned back to the bus.

I'll make sure everyone is fine then I'll go after her, Emily decided.

***

"Here, little pretty. Come out, come out, wherever you are," Salamander sang in a singalong voice as he made his way through the dark alleyway. A low screeching sound echoed as his claw-like hand scratched the wall while he moved forward in a deliberately slow manner. "Daddy wants to play."

Maple who was hiding underneath a pile of garbage within a dumpster, shivered while curling her legs closer to her chest. She wanted to cry but was afraid it would reveal her location. Unfortunately, she heard the cover of the dumpster opening and soon a face with a wide grin looked down at her.

"Found you," Salamander sang, his smile growing wider.

Ah, this is the best, he thought. That moment of despair, that face when they're under me, the cries for help . . . I can't get enough.

He could see every inch of despair on her face and it filled him with glee. Though before Salamander could reach out and grab her, he felt a presence descending at a rapid pace and he spun around. Fenrir landed in front of Salamander and kicked him squarely in the chest Spartan-style, sending him flying backwards with bile spilling from his mouth.

Disgusting insect, Fenrir thought, his mind blank with rage. He didn't need to conclude on what Salamander was intending to do to Maple: that revolting gaze he was giving her was enough to let him know that he should kill him to prevent him from harming any other child.

Turning around Fenrir grabbed the barrel of the rifle one gunman was holding and crushed it. The gunman was unaware and fired his rifle, causing the bullet to combust in the chamber and explode the gun. Fenrir turned to the other shooter, the marksman who shot the bus down, but froze when he saw the latter holding a live grenade.

"Ne dvigaysya," the shooter said in Russian. "You can survive this blast, but can she?"

The shooter gestured at Maple who was peeking from the top of the garbage canister and Fenrir grimaced. At this distance, the shrapnel would pierce the dumpster and injure Maple.

Well, there's a simple solution to that, Fenrir thought as he raised his arms in surrender.

"A.V.A," Fenrir growled in a barely audible voice. The grappling pivot on his right shoulder activated in a split-second and fired straight at the grenade. It hooked itself on the base of the grenade and sent it flying from the shooter's grasp and into a safe distance where it exploded.

Before the shocked shooter could react, Fenrir closed in and grabbed his hand. He broke it while kicking at the shooter's kneecap, shattering it. He then moved behind the shooter and punched him in the back, dislocating his spine before clutching his neck and pushing him down to the ground. The shooter's good leg twitched and jerked as Fenrir slowly choked him to death.

Once he made certain that the shooter was dead, Fenrir moved back to the dumpster and lifted Maple out of it. He placed her on the ground and checked her for wounds as his breather moved to the side and the upper part of his helmet slid upwards, revealing his face.

"You okay?" Jason asked a trembling Maple who nodded before hugging him tightly. Jason froze for a moment, unsure of what to do before finally patting Maple in the back gently. Suddenly, Maple pulled back, with fear etched across her face and Jason's face changed as well.

"Run, hide, and close your eyes," Jason instructed as his helmet slid down and covered his face once more. He turned around to face Salamander who was standing again without an injury.

"Who are you?" Salamander asked with narrowed eyes.

"You hurt my daughter," Fenrir growled, ignoring Salamander's question. "You die."

Suddenly, he rushed to Salamander with an arm raised back. He sent a staggering punch that would've sent a car flying but Salamander blocked it easily before sending a punch of his own. Fenrir took it head-on and stumbled backwards from the force.

Enhanced strength? Fenrir thought as he cracked his neck. No, it’s inherent strength.

"You're no human," Fenrir concluded grimly, his metallic voice harshly metallic.

"Right back at you, Seeker," Salamander sneered.

Seeker? That confirms it, Fenrir thought as the two exchanged blows that were too fast for the naked eye to see. He's a Demon. [3]

Other than being mildly surprised, Fenrir shrugged off the fact that Salamander was a Demon, an amalgam of various non-humans classified as a race. Throughout history, Demons have appeared in various manners. Some were unable to hide amongst humans, such as the Sasquatch, while others were able to manipulate the development of humankind, like the Kitsune. Regardless, most Demons had retreated to Minor Realms, naturally formed pocket dimensions that coexisted alongside Earth's dimension, at almost the same time as Practitioners due to the weakening of Spiritual Qi.

Pulling out his sword, Fenrir closed and slashed at Salamander continuously. Salamander dodged a few by only a few millimetres before closing in and intercepting a downward slash by holding Fenrir's forearm. Retractable claws emerged from Salamander's nails and he slashed at Fenrir's exposed chest. Sparks scattered as Fenrir pulled back and looked down at his armour; the claws marks on his chest indicated that Salamander's claws were stronger than what he anticipated.

Seems like the various Demon Clans are also making their move, Fenrir thought as he pulled back further to prepare himself; he stabbed his sword into the ground and moved into a fighting stance with his fists raised up. With a neural activation command, reinforced knuckle joints flipped out from the base of Fenrir's wrists and onto the knuckles of his hands which were held open. He clenched fists as they locked in and slid forward to Salamander then punched as fast as he could. Each blow became much more punishing and he delivered blow after blow to Salamander who could no longer maintain his defences against Fenrir. First Monsters evolved from mutated animals, then Practitioners who view themselves as a higher form of humanity, now Demons . . . and soon, the Pantheons themselves. What a chaotic era we're living in.

While contemplating, Fenrir's attacks didn't stop. After breaking through Salamander's defence, he made sure that the latter felt his rage. His punches were aimed at Salamander's chest, and from the impact, he could tell that his metal enforced gauntlets had broken several of his ribs. Salamander tried to counterattack but Fenrir grabbed his outreached arm and dislocated his shoulder. As Salamander screamed, Fenrir performed a judo throw, flinging the former into the ground. Salamander noticed that he was close to Fenrir's abandoned sword and kicked at the latter's shin, unbalancing him before lunging to the sword. Pulling it out he turned to Fenrir and prepared to slash at him, unaware of the latter smiling underneath his helmet.

Stretching out his arm, Fenrir used telekinesis and the sword flew out of Salamander's hand and onto Fenrir's outstretched hand. The force of the pull dragged Salamander closer and Fenrir used this opportunity to attack him. Jumping up into the air, Fenrir spun once to create more momentum before slashing downwards, using his falling weight to ensure it was a fatal blow. Salamander, sensing his impending death, used all of his strength to move away in a burst of speed, but screamed miserably as he jumped away.

His movement helped him survive but at the cost of his arm which lay in a pool of blood on the ground. However, Fenrir used this opportunity to attack again. A.V.A activated the second grappling pivot in his left shoulder and shot it at Salamander who was in midair. The grapple pierced through his shoulder and pulled him back to Fenrir who performed a roundhouse kick. The kick landed on Salamander's head and, with a snap, broke his neck. Fenrir removed his breather, which slid to the sides of his face, and spat in front of Salamander's body before turning around and walking back to the direction Maple had hidden in.

After taking four steps, Fenrir paused, his head tilted as he heard a faint sound of cracking behind him. Turning around, he grunted in admiration when he saw Salamander standing up. The stump where his arm once was grew longer before bursting, spilling dead skin onto the ground as a new arm appeared. Using both hands, he twisted his dislocated head back into position with a yell of pain and fury.

"You filthy seeker," Salamander bellowed. "I swear I'm -"

Before he could finish swearing retribution, Fenrir threw a knife into his chest. Salamander looked down at his chest before looking up at Fenrir, but the latter ignored his speechless appearance and threw two more knives, each lodged tightly together with the first.

"No . . . No!"

A beeping sounded out while red lights embedded within the hilts continuously blinked and Salamander desperately tried to pull out the knives. An explosion interrupted him as Fenrir winced. Chunks of flesh and guts landed on his body as he was coated in a pool of blood.

". . . You were saying?" Fenrir blithely asked the corpse of Salamander which now had a gaping hole from his chest down to his stomach.

[1] Phantoms have the ability to override any system or computer that is connected to Sanctuary's network. They also have the ability to create a sub-user that can access the systems under their administration, something that both Jason and Melanie did for Alice and Maple. Alice's sub-clearance ID number is 02 because Jason created an account for Alina as well.

[2] After Sage Yu trashed him, Jason needed a new Fenrir armour, one that Selena delivered with upgrades.

Also, he has no sheath on his back since realistically it's impossible to unsheath a sword that's strapped to your back. Instead, he uses a portion of his powers to telekinetically strap it to his back. Of course, there's an emergency electromagnetic attachment to his back should the need occur.

[3] Seekers is a term used for Practitioners. It comes from the fact that Practitioners are seeking immortality, hence Seekers of Immortality or Seeker for short.