On the next floor, I found less resistance, and could even take a peek of the screens displaying 72/97; the Tournament is almost ending, I thought, but this only raises the risk: the ones living now are just the best of the best. High-level skills and equipment are to be expected.

“Uh? Am I… shivering?”, I looked to my own hands covered in blood. I closet the free palm into a fist: I cant. Reject this isn’t different from rejecting Gear. I can’t say I’m sorry now... but “22, 44, 43, 42, 89, 10, 11...” I read the Numbers of the deceased who had my “46” identification at their side. “82, 21, 28, 76, 23, 49, 50, 13 and 05...”, I’ll remember these Numbers.

Then, even though I heard no breath, no step nor smelled no sweat, I felt the metal vibrating under my boots. A tingle, as if a hammer touching the wall, getting louder, closer… I jumped to the right before the wall that I was close just a second, in a single second, tuned right, white and exploded, showing behind it a series of other barriers pierced by the bullet; that hadn’t stopped yet and continued to make through the ship until got out of it until being stopped by the barrier; as if made out of paper. Hundreds of meters away and at the start of the destruction trail, laying on the ground, wearing an all camouflaged set so drenched in blood that the ground around him had formed a red pound, my first adversary in the Tournament was still aiming at me, holding the giant precision rifle from the heavy breather, to what was attached a bunch of batteries and tubs, valves and keyboards, and was emitting a cloud of steam.

That thing is dangerous, I knew. Like, all guns can kill with a single hit, but no one allowed the user to see thru walls and pierce then with their bullets too, I staggered to the side while the camouflage guy changed just a little bit the angle of his precision rifle. This isn’t fair! Basically allow the user to kill everyone easily! I started to run, concentrated, thru the corridors.

Even though the programs I had running improved my natural perception by allowing me to separate useful information willingly; no app was capable of improving physically a body; I couldn’t hear that far, so I had to rely on the two seconds that the sounds and vibrations of other walls being melted to avoid being pulverized by the powerful bullets.

But, what if I get to a part where there’s no more walls to hear being blow up? I thought as the heat of the blur of fire crossed the walkway just ahead of me, from bottom left to upside right, burning even my Worker skin. It wasn’t necessary to be a genius to know: I would certainly die.

I can’t keep running blindly! I turned to my side and jumped thru the burning hole in the wall and straight to the camouflage man.

I pointed my gun to my opponent, but it was too heavy, to slow, and he would succeed in shooting first, forcing me to avoid the bullet by entering another corridor right after pass the fourth of fifty holes in the walls. I didn’t stop, though, and opening a door and advancing room inside, I hadn’t to wait too long to more fire came and open for me my exit, allowing me to return to the craved path from before, putting me right against the camouflage man once again. This time, though, I had already prepared my gun previously and, as soon as I put my eyes on my opponent, I shoot.

The man wearing (really) old school camouflage rolled on the round, splashing blood everywhere and avoiding the laser that came out of my barrel, the red puddle that was touched by the fire evaporating in a dense cloud. That was properly dispersed when the enemy shoots again.

I successfully avoided being erased from existence, but the attack passed too close, and the hair on my right and dominant arm went into combustion, exploding in flames while my skin turned into black and dead coal.

I shouted, the air pushed in all directions by what was closer to a moving star than anything else having pushed me far up and back, to the ceiling. I screamed in unbelievable pain, even though I had Aim’s pain resistance program running too. The app wasn’t useless, though: actually, precisely because I could barely stand the burning, but could do so, I was able to get to my feet and avoid the next bullet and return to my run.

Escaping from one more bullet, and another, and even one more, jumping from hole to hole, above wreckage and thru other people’s battlefield; thru men and women hiding themselves behind walls, covering their ears and hoping that the next lightning wouldn’t find them, thru duelists facing and shooting each other, I contorted myself to avoid the bullet-hell, the bullets from the camouflage man and from the other competitors who got surprised with my sudden entry, fire from behind and ahead; at some point, I had lost my weapon, a red point appeared in the middle of my leg, blood drenching my pants, and there was a cuts and bruises all around my burned arm.

I won’t do it…! I understood, spinning to the left, jumping to the wall and from it to the lights ahead and above, that I hold and I used to boost myself, avoiding then the mist emitter and the shocking bullets from behind and the ship piercer one from the man wearing the camouflaged set. I have to, at least, deal with the guys from behind! I knew what to do, but I was already in too much pain, the chances of failing were high too. But the camouflage man wasn’t aiming the other competitors, he was seeing myself get closer and closer, and was visibly getting more and more nervous.

I have no other choice, right? It’s a bet, then.

I put myself running almost pressing my shoulder against the wall at my right, having just one place to jump to when in trouble: my left. I frowned my eyebrows, looking straight to the black glasses of the camouflaged man. I couldn’t see it, but I knew that his eyes were behind it. His weapon was already good for another shot, the other competitors following me were hidden, waiting for the next bullet and the one-second window they would have to fire after it. But my opponent ahead didn’t fire, even when I was coming for him. Is he waiting for the guys from behind to shot? I will have no other option but to go back to the left, to where he’s pointing right now, and this would be the end for me, it’s true. I had only the hope that the duelists from before wouldn’t expose themselves before the next shot. And that the opponent ahead wouldn’t be so cold that he could stand to see myself almost reaching him without hesitation.

No, maybe he has a fear control app? Fuck, why didn’t I installed this!? I’m sure there must be something like this available! And a guilty control to!

...No, this last one, I can’t download it, never.

Then, the camouflage man finally couldn’t stand the wait anymore and moved his rifle to my right, to me; of course he doesn’t have a fear control app, I did fool him with the glue tubs before after all!

But I didn’t need to avoid any bullet, though: in the last moment, his finger had already pulled the trigger halfway, he turned the precision rifle barrel to the left once again: he had bluffed. When the camouflage man saw that I hadn’t jumped once again to the left and got hit in his little trap, his head stuck out. I could see his laid body twisting, uncomfortable, shaken up.

The duelists behind me fired again, and then I jumped to the left, while the giant monstrous rifle was cooling down.

I was already just a few steps away from the barrel of the gun when it was prepared for another shot and I got to the right wall again, my heart beating so fast, adrenaline pumping so extreme inside my veins, that, for a moment, I had forgotten the pain. At that distance, I would have not even one second to react to the bullet, I would have to avoid it before left the trigger be completely pulled, not one instant after, nor before, or everything would be in vain: the time Star and Aim passed training me, the sacrifice of so many people.

Gear...

Come on, you’ve been doing this entire time! I closed my eyes, ignored all the other senses, and concentrated on the sounds.

I heard the sweat falling from my nose to the ground. The rapid breath of the opponent ahead and his accelerated heartbeats. The hundred’s of thousands outside the ship cheering the massacre and battles happening in other places at the ship.

And the blur of the ship piercer bullet passing right by my side and exploding a whole another line of walls, disintegrating one of the duelists I had put myself in front, and continuing it’s way thru the metal, this time, though, making the ship shake, exploding something big in its interior and activating all the fire extinguishers inside the vessel.

Opening my eyes again, my right boot was already touching the camouflage man’s face.

The enemy flew with the kick, when I grabbed him by the collar with my good hand; hearing the last duelist getting scared and running away; and threw him again against the ground, where I mounted him, ran the CQC app, immobilized hiss body and tried o break his neck. I felt the camouflage man fighting for his life, for sure activating all kinds of programs he had, resisting my grip, succeeding enough to only extending his life for one more second, I having already him under control, all his efforts useless.

“Ple… Please!”, he said thru an almost crushed throat. “Don’t!”, to just hear his word, hurt. “I...” the camouflage man had no more air to make his vocal cords vibrate into words, but it didn’t really matter for our Angels. “Will pay you, so… please… I’ll… pay”

“CRACK!”, I did it, and all the resistance coming from the one between my arms ended.

I couldn’t cry the deaths of the ones I had killed myself, it would be denying Gear’s suffering, it would only make things harder for her, it would only be only self-pity. I had chosen to be there, at that moment, to fight to kill if necessary, no matter what took me there.

...But, what would I have done if he said, instead of “I’ll pay you”, “there’s someone who needs me”? What if I find someone who asked for help? Would I really give up at that point, after all I had already done? First I deny all these people’s lives like nothing, as steps to walk on, like that Buy This Products guy, like that Mercury, then I do the same with Gear just to feel a little better?

...There was really no other way?

“...AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!” I shouted, punching the ground with my good hand a single time, biting my lower lip.

...I’m… Such an idiot. I’m already a monster now, give up and help someone wouldn’t fix anything, I thought, just before being hit on the head and e pressed against the ground, without noticing their approximation while struggling internally.

“I warned you, hadn’t I? Your luck wouldn’t last forever”, said Douchebag, lifting his knife while Asshole kept me still on the ground.