Talk about being put under the gun. Did I really have to be the one to decide the fate of the shopkeeper’s life? It didn’t seem very fair.

“Let him live, or kill him?” Luna repeated the question, pushing the handle of her switchblade closer to my face, her eyes were disturbingly wide. “Choose.”

“Uh…” I glanced down at the knife, the stench of blood was sickening. “Isn’t there an in-between choice? Can’t we just take him to the police station?”

Luna tilted her head as though she didn’t understand. “So you want to let him live?” She drew the blade back slightly. “Even though he killed so many people?”

“T-that’s not it—” I started but then noticed the confused expression on Luna’s face. It wasn’t as though she was going to understand. I looked up into the sky and let out a defeated sigh. “Yes, let him live…”

Luna frowned, disappointed, while Mayu scrunched up her nose.

“Ugh…” Mayu flashed a disgusted glance at the shopkeeper. “Do we really have to let this guy live? Can’t we… can’t we just kill him peacefully?”

That was the moment I realised I was standing with a group of genetically engineered humans designed for the sole purpose of being destructive war weapons. None of them had any concept of proper morality. I had to be the one to make the decision.

“We have to take him to the police station and let the police deal with him.” I said firmly. “We can’t execute him based on our own judgement. There’s a justice system in place to take care of matters like—”

“Tsk.” Emi turned her nose up at me, scorning. “That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.” She turned to Luna, her face softening immediately. “You’re not really going to listen to him, right Luna?

“Yeah, I am.” Luna replied, drawing the switchblade away from me. She turned to face Emi. “Let the shopkeeper go.”

“W-what?!” Emi flinched back, a hurt look on her face. “L-Luna… you want me to let this cockroach go?” She glanced at the shopkeeper in her grasp, then at me angrily. “You’re going to listen to him? Really?...”

“Yeah.” Luna’s tone was blank.

Emi’s head lowered and the darkness from her hood covered her eyes. She had gone eerily silent. We stared at her, waiting for a response. The atmosphere in the alley felt like it was changing. There was a different aura coming from Emi, and I was suddenly feeling very scared.

“You’re... you’re not the same, Luna…” Emi broke the silence. “You’re not you anymore…”

“Emi…” Mayu looked at Emi, concerned.

“Whatever.” Emi released her grasp on the shopkeeper, pushing him forward, then turned her back on us.

I felt my entire body relax seeing the shopkeeper stumble forward from Emi’s hold, his face was in disbelief.

“I-I…” The shopkeeper stared down at his hands. He couldn’t believe he was still alive. “I-I’m so sorry!” Tears streamed from his eyes as the relief swept over him. “Thank you! Thank you so much! I promise I won’t kill anyone ever again! I will turn myself in right now!”

I laughed lightheartedly, feeling awkward, but somewhat glad that he could atone for his sins in prison.

“I mean it! I’m going to turn myself in and—”

Emi spun around, throwing her giant machete across the shopkeeper’s neck. His head flew into the air and blood exploded everywhere, spraying across the walls, the floor and into our faces. The decapitated head hit me on the side of my chest causing me to falter backwards, then it dropped surrealistically onto the ground in front of me.

“W-what…” I stared down at the head, horrified, as it rolled to face me, the shopkeeper’s face stuck in a crying laugh. I glanced up, just in time to see the rest of his body collapsing rigidly into the ground. It crashed into the concrete, twitching as though it was having some type of headless seizure. Blood was gushing out non-stop from the hole where the shopkeeper’s head once was.

“That…” Emi smiled, her eyes glowing vividly blood red. “That felt good.”

“What… what the fuck?” I managed to let out.

Even Mayu had a disgusted look to my side, but she also seemed to have expected it to happen. “Gross.” She said, staring at the head that was still rolling in front of me. Gross was a huge understatement.

Luna sighed, then raised her hand to wipe the blood off her face as though it was ketchup sauce that had spilt from her burger. “Did you really have to do that, Emi?”

Emi’s look of admiration for Luna had turned to one of hatred. The once genuine smile on her face was completely gone, replaced by a dark, perturbing expression. “You’re not Luna.” Emi said quietly, lowering her head. “You’re just a fake...”

“Uh-oh.” Mayu reached for her dagger behind her back. “She’s gone into synthesis.”

“What does that mean?” I asked, edging slowly away from Emi.

“When Emi goes into synthesis, she loses control of her mind.” Mayu explained, her eyes fixed on Emi. “She hasn’t learned to control it…” She glanced down at the blood dripping from Emi’s machete and hastily added, “Also her one is especially powerful.”

“I see…”

Emi staggered towards us, one hand holding her head, the other clinging loosely to her machete as the edge of the blade dragged across the concrete floor creating a noise that resembled nails on chalkboard. She was whispering something to herself, but I couldn’t make out what she was saying.

“What’s her number?” I asked, feeling more scared by the second.

“Three.” Mayu replied as she took a slow step back. Even she was getting nervous from Emi’s approach.

Luna stood her ground, her eyes scanning the surroundings next to Emi.

“—it’s…” Emi made a noise louder than the rest, then her hand slid down from her head, pulling the hood down. Strawberry blonde hair fell past her neck accompanied by an attractive face despite her child-like look. She raised her head up and the image was shattered as the madness in her face showed, her blood red eyes glowing horrifyingly. She looked like a blood-thirsty demon.

“You know I’m going to kill you if you come any closer.” Luna warned.

“Luna?” Emi’s face softened as her eyes met Luna. It seemed like she recognised her. I raised my head up, worried. Maybe she will fall out of synthesis. We shouldn’t fight her if we didn’t have to. She reached a hand out in the air. “L-Luna, I…”

Emi sprinted towards Luna at an alarming rate, her hand jolted to Luna’s neck, clutching it with all her might, choking her. Luna was caught off guard, and the machete in Emi’s hand shot forward instantaneously. At the last millisecond, Luna snapped her switchblade out, slashing at the machete and changing its movement.

The machete stabbed harmlessly into the air next to Luna’s stomach and Luna kicked at Emi, forcing her to release her grip on Luna’s throat.

Mayu ran forward, hurling herself into a frenzied assault on Emi’s body. Emi swayed her body away from the attacks, her machete was too big to wave around to deflect Mayu’s dagger. Emi spun away from one attack then hurled her machete as she came back, slamming the blade into the brick wall as Mayu narrowly ducked under the attack.

The wall exploded upon collision with the machete, sending pieces of broken bricks flying into Mayu, bruising and cutting her.

Mayu yelped, covering her head from the flying debris. Emi chucked her machete downwards, aiming to chop Mayu in half. Mayu looked up just in time, then threw herself sideways, dodging the machete as it smashed into the ground.

“Luna!” Mayu cried out as Emi pursued her, throwing the machete wildly in chaotic maneuvers.

Luna hesitated for a second, reluctant to help Mayu, then sprinted forward to enter the fight. Meanwhile, I stood a safe distance from the fight, watching intensely. Maybe I should help out… but there was nothing I could do! I was just a normal human. How the hell was I going to do anything?

I glanced down at the empty beer bottles that littered the place. Maybe I could… ugh, but what if Emi started running for me. She could send me to the next life with one swing of her machete. I moved my eyes to the decapitated head on the ground, my breathing quickening.

Whatever, let’s just do it. I took a deep breath, then leaned to the floor, picking up one of the empty bottles. I looked back up at the fight, the three of them were intertwined in a deadly battle where one mistake could mean losing a limb. I felt stupid, but I didn’t want to stand on the sidelines doing nothing anymore.

Luna and Mayu dashed at Emi together, one throwing an attack at Emi’s upper body and the other aiming for her lower body. Emi twirled the machete in front of her, the blade turned sideways, creating a shield that covered the majority of her body. Their blades collided with the machete, bouncing off as the force of their momentum turned against them.

Mayu winced, her wrist crumpled into an awkward angle, causing her to lose grip of her dagger. It dropped onto the ground, spinning itself away from her.

Luna managed to keep a hold of her switchblade, though she was also wincing from the pain of her own attack. Her eyes widened at Emi’s machete as it whirled around to meet the both of them. “G-get out!” Luna screamed at Mayu.

Mayu didn’t notice the machete in time, and Luna jumped backwards, pulling the back of Mayu’s shirt. Mayu fell away from the machete as it flung across the air where Mayu’s head previously was.

“C-crap…” Mayu stared at the machete, her face sweaty and her breath uneven.

Emi swung the machete again, refusing to give up the pressure. The blade made a screaming noise as it cut the air, making its way towards Mayu. At that moment, Mayu’s eyes rapidly intensified in colour, catching the unnatural glow of synthesis. Her face muscles relaxed and her breathing slowed.

Mayu dived away from the machete and towards her dagger, picking it up in mid-roll. Emi leaped after her, bashing the machete relentlessly at Mayu’s figure. She deflected the blows with difficulty, wincing each time the machete crashed into her dagger.

“Argh!” I didn’t think. I just ran forward, chucking the bottle I held in my hand into Emi’s face. Except it didn’t come close to hitting her face. The bottle whizzed in the air, colliding onto Emi’s leg and shattering into pieces on impact.

Emi stopped the motion of her machete, her entire body coming to an abrupt halt. Her eyes moved slowly away from Mayu until they came into contact with mine, and every hair on my body stood up.

“Ryo!” Luna shot a panicked look at me. “Y-you—”

She didn’t even have time to finish her sentence. Emi sprang herself forward, charging for me at an incomprehensible speed. She shot past Mayu and Luna, the machete screeching as it slid across the floor. There was nothing blocking the path in between Emi and me, and the realisation of death dawned upon me in the figure of a prepubescent girl and an oversized machete.

I turned back to run, and tripped immediately on one of the empty bottles lying across the floor as though an omen reminding me of my bad decision. I landed face first into the ground, my head smacking into the concrete. I didn’t even recognise the pain. I spun around frantically to see the blade of a giant machete plummeting down into my face. I closed my eyes, preparing for demise.

CLANG!

I opened my eyes to see Luna’s switchblade right in front of my face, stopping the momentum of the machete. Luna and Emi stood in front of me, both their eyes were glowing menacingly, one blood red, and the other vivid violet. Luna jerked her blade backwards, pulling Emi’s machete away from my face.

There were trembles throughout my entire body which was drenched with sweat. Just moments ago, I was actually about to die. My heart raced inside my chest, while my heavy breathing was causing me dizziness and nausea. How stupid was I to try to throw a freaking beer bottle at a lethal killing machine?

I glanced up to see Emi rushing for me again, and I scrambled away, my hands flailing as I pulled myself up. Luna stood in between us, clashing her switchblade against the machete. Luna was fending off better now that she was using her synthesis. The monstrous rage of Emi’s strength was being slowly contained by Luna’s predictive fighting style. It seemed that the longer the fight went on, the stronger that Luna got.

Seeing this, Mayu charged in from the back, constructing an assail on both sides of Emi. Emi pivoted on her heels, repelling the two of them as she veered her machete around her.

Luna jabbed her blade into Emi’s side, puncturing into flesh as the switchblade dug itself through the incision. Emi didn’t even flinch. She hurled her machete back at Luna, using their close distance to her advantage.

The machete burrowed into Luna’s forearm, almost slicing it off as Luna snapped her arm away, pulling the switchblade with her. There was a massive gash on Luna’s forearm, but she also didn’t show any signs of pain.

The stab that Luna inflicted on Emi was gushing with an abnormally large amount of blood. It poured down Emi’s leg, staining her clothes dark red and formed a growing puddle where she stood. It seemed like Luna hit a vital organ.

Mayu walked towards me, breathing heavily as she leaned onto the wall for support. Her glowing emerald eyes dulled in colour, eventually turning into her usual pale emerald. Her hands were bleeding profusely from fending off Emi’s machete with her dagger.

“Y-you alright, Mayu?” I asked, staring at her hands and the cuts on her body.

“Yeah…” Mayu exhaled painfully, then turned to gaze at the standstill between Luna and Emi. “This fight should be ending soon… Emi’s going to bleed out to unconsciousness…” She went silent for a few seconds. “Unless she can kill Luna before it happens.”

I swallowed, then stared intently at the two of them, unsure about what would happen. The gash on Luna’s arm was pretty deep too, but it was bleeding nowhere near as much as the wound on Emi’s side.

Emi glanced down at her wound, her expression unchanging, then she looked back up at Luna with a weird smile, her pearly teeth baring like fangs.

“I told you, you would die.” Luna said hollowly.

Emi let out a low-pitched giggle, her eyes lowering to the ground. She raised a hand up, covering her face, trying to suppress her laugh. Her shoulders were shaking erratically as her laughter grew louder and more deranged in nature. For a moment, that was all she did, and I watched, stunned, as I thought she wasn’t ever going to stop.

In between wheezes, at last, she said, “I-I’m going to die?”

“Yeah.” Luna was staring at her, unfazed.

Emi stopped laughing all of a sudden, then glanced at Luna in between the gaps of her fingers. It was a haunting sight to see her glowing blood red eyes glaring at us from the darkness.

“Then kill me.”

Emi shot forward, her machete whirling out in front of her and her face contorting into a maddening look. The machete slammed itself into the wall as Luna swayed backwards from the attack, but Emi pushed on, gliding the blade inside the brick surface and hurling the machete back at Luna from the opposite angle.

Luna slashed at the giant machete, wincing as she deflected its movement away from her. The machete came back again, whizzing dangerously past Luna’s skin as she weaved away from the attacks.

Emi was throwing a never-ending sequence of wild swings for Luna’s limbs. My breathing had stopped, watching the machete scream through the air, missing Luna by fractions of a second.

Luna was on her back-foot, forced to fight on her heels as Emi’s machete crashed into the walls with each attack, bouncing back immediately into Luna as Emi controlled the blade with a mercurial rampage. It was impossible to predict where the attacks were coming from because of Emi’s unstable state of mind. Luna struggled to keep up with Emi’s momentum, and each time that Luna had to deflect her machete, blood gushed out of Luna’s hands, showing the force of Emi’s onslaught.

Emi flung the machete into Luna’s waist, catching her by surprise, and the blade sunk into flesh, nearly tearing her apart. It was lucky that Luna had threw herself with the motion of the machete, minimising the distance the blade could travel.

Luna dropped onto the floor, rolling away from Emi. My heart sunk, seeing the blood spurting out of Luna’s waist. That was a heavy blow, probably fatal for a normal human. I moved forward to help but was stopped as Mayu placed a hand to my shoulder, her head shaking.

I turned back to the fight and to my surprise, Emi didn’t follow up on her attack despite the damage she caused. She stood motionlessly, staring down blankly at Luna, her machete clinging loosely to her hand.

“L-Luna?” Emi raised her eyes, looking up at nothing. She glanced around her, confused. “L-Luna, where are you?”

Emi took a step forward, her eyes disillusioned but still glowing a frightening blood red. “W-what— where am I?” There was fear rising up on Emi’s face. “Ah!—”

Emi glanced down at the gash by her side, blood was still pouring out of the hole, drenching her clothes. The glow in her eyes flickered, dulling for a moment, and Emi gazed at it, puzzled. “It… It hurts...” She touched a hand to her wound, then stared blankly at the dark blood staining her hand for a few seconds.

Suddenly, a terrified look took over Emi’s face and the glow in her eyes dulled further.

“It hurts!” Emi screamed, her machete dropped onto the floor, clanging loudly. “It hurts!” She fell into a crouching position, both hands gripping tightly to her skull and her eyes squashed closed. “It really hurts!”

I stared at Emi, my mouth wide open, not believing what I was seeing.

“That’s what happens when she comes down from synthesis.” Mayu explained, her face suggested that she felt sorry for Emi. “Luna probably planned it all along.”

At that moment, Luna rose up from the ground, the switchblade gripped firmly downwards in her hand. She was covered in blood, her face dark and chilling. She turned to face Emi and the air in the alleyway went icy cold.