“Medeev!” Chester whispered via the BCI. “Medeev!”

“What is it?” Medeev whispered back.

“I have a bad feeling about this. I think we should delay it.”

“No, why would we?”

“I think we need more time to think this through.”

“We don’t—” The sound of a vehicle arriving could be heard through the vacuum of the tunnel. Medeev and Chester fell quiet as they gazed at the man parking and exiting the van. The tunnel was wide and tall, enough space for a multitude of vehicles to traverse through. Medeev gave a thumbs up, then pointed with two fingers to signal the progression of the plan. Chester gave a taser to Medeev. Medeev took steps that were of the quietest sound as he got behind the man, which was a machine, and shocked it to sleep. Medeev could travel silently because that was one of the armor’s abilities. Chester walked over with a silenced copegun in his hand, and opened the trunk of the van. A man stood directly behind the door as it was opened, and Chester delivered a quick headshot. The blood splattered on the ceiling of the van and Chester swiftly caught the body from hitting the ground. The van contained hundreds of pounds of the drug. “Are you ready?” asked Medeev.

“There’s no turning back now,” replied Chester.

Medeev drew a hidden blade from the sleeves of the armor, and cut around the windshield and popped it out. He placed it on the ground alongside the robot’s body. Chester had painted his body over in red and three stars on his chest to signify Tridum’s rule. He wore no clothing, his entire apparatus was visible like the shocked out machine. Chester got in the driver's seat and drove into the darkness of the tunnel from which the van came, with the body of the human in the trunk along with Medeev.

Chester had built-in night vision while Medeev’s helmet provided him with it. Chester drove down at a slow pace as he did not know the sewers well. Medeev picked up the dead body and positioned it in a standing manner.

They arrived at a steel gate with two guards. Chester drove up and stopped. One of them clicked a device that scanned the van from the side. The man’s face was burned and his skin sagged. He gave a thumbs up, and the gate opened. Medeev dropped the body, pumped his chest outward and a glow emitted from the center. Chester drove through the gate and jumped out of the front window and pushed the van backwards from its front. With one blazing shine, the trunk blasted open and everything behind the van was disintegrated, killing the two guards instantly. The force pushed the van along with Chester fifty meters away. Chester’s feet were charred but he was expecting the momentum and let it glide him over.

A man noticed Chester and instantly jumped at him. Chester looked with horror, it wasn’t a man. It was a nine foot giant. What was this thing? Chester couldn’t make out its face, it was moving too fast and it didn’t seem human. A moment later its body split vertically in half and its insides fell out sideways. His two parts laid on the ground, oozing out with blood. Medeev gave a quick snap to return Chester’s focus, and the gauntlet made a metallic sound. Chester was now focused, he was ready for battle. He saw some falling backwards and running away, while others came charging forward. They were gigantic, what were they? He had an arduous time calling them human. Was it the dark messing with him? Medeev never mentioned anything like this. Chester made a fist and punched with all his energy into the gut of the creature. His hand sunk in, and Medeev swiftly cut its head off. It fell with an abundant weight and made a thump as it hit the ground. “They’re demihumans,” Medeev transmitted via the BCI.

“Demihumans are real? You didn’t mention them when we were planning.”

“I forgot. Demihumans are customary under Tridum’s rule, I didn’t think to mention them.”

Medeev traversed the land light on his feet as he killed them in one blow. Every hit Chester landed would be followed up with Medeev’s killing swing. “I’m really fearing for my life here!”

“Don’t worry, Chester. First, I’m a guardian, then I’m a knight. Keep this up and we’ll clear the tunnel in no time.”

Chester noticed he was in a state of panic, he could hear it in his transmissions, but Medeev was calm and collected. As expected from a warrior, especially of such caliber. There were many creatures attacking but it cannot be understated how easy it were to kill them. It was a massacre. If a normal human were against these demihumans, they would easily be decapitated by these powerful beings. Not a single one decided to back down, the ones that ran away only did to get themselves a weapon. The ones that liked to keep hidden were futile in doing so as Medeev would pick them out no matter how masterfully concealed they were. The night vision did calibrate the colors to match what they would be if there were more light, but some of the creatures were mistaken to be statues or shadows by Chester because they seemed so uncanny. And the larger, more authoritative ones were outright monsters you’d hear of in mythical writings. Medeev would punch straight through the blade of the opponent's weapon, shattering it and landing a powerful blow. The projectiles fired from weapons did absolutely nothing to his armor, the beam would be nullified as soon as it landed the hit. Medeev was dancing around Chester, every action was precisely controlled to ensure Chester’s safety. Medeev was always in the way to block a hit from landing, he was hyper focused on one thing: to protect, and those who challenged Medeev’s security were quickly taken care of.

The tunnel was cleared and Medeev told Chester to head into each building to help him clear those as well. Chester felt what they were doing was abominable and he tried to suppress his voice but he couldn’t keep it from exploding. “We should only be killing to defend ourselves.”

“Everyone here deserves to die. These people are under Tridum’s rule, you are misplacing your empathy.”

The door creaked open and presented a cozy vibe. Empty, so it seemed but Medeev signaled with his eyes to search. Chester left prints of red on the floor while Medeev made none. “Follow me,” Medeev said. They went to check the rooms and found a child hiding in one. “We can’t,” said Chester.

“Sure, you come with us,” Medeev said to the child.

They went out and continued the search, the child didn’t react to the bloody battlefield. “What are you planning on doing with him?”

“Nothing. We’re going to ‘save’ them, right Chester? I knew you’d raise objections so I’m not going to kill those who don’t want to hurt us.”

“A minute ago you were saying they all deserve to die.”

“Maybe I used the wrong word, I meant to say they ‘should’ die. But if you want to create some kind of welfare, well then that’s on you to accomplish. Note these ‘survivors’ are not my priority and if they get in my way, be it on purpose or accident, I will kill them.”

Five children were found, and as soon as the door of the last home was opened, a lady threatened to shoot them with a copegun. “You can live if you lower the gun,” Medeev said. There was a child she was protecting behind her back. Medeev slowly got closer and Chester wanted to say something but decided against it. The shot was fired and the bullet came to a complete stop as it hit the helmet and dropped. It didn’t even bounce, it fell straight down. She pulled the trigger again and Medeev delivered a punch so fast it made the lady’s head explode. The blood slipped off the armor, not a single atom stuck, and fell onto the floor. Chester was going to object but the child didn’t react. Just like the other five, they were lifeless.

“Another one for your collection,” said Medeev.

“Why are the children so quiet?”

“What do you mean?”

Chester went up to the child and asked, “how are you, child? I’m sure this is worrying but you’ll be safe with us.”

The child nodded, “I’ll listen to you,” she said.

There was something very wrong, he could see it in the girl’s eyes. “I want to take these kids to the church. Teach and care for them there.”

“You don’t know who you’re dealing with, they will not be able to live outside of Tridum’s rule.”

“What about you? You can, you ran away from it.”

“And look where it brought me. Back to where I began. No inner-conflicts while we’re on a mission, it’ll get us killed. I knew our moral compasses were opposed, so let’s choose the best of both worlds. Now, phase two, you need to go the other way, act like you’re a puppet of Tridum.”

“What about the children?”

“Take the kids with you. Everyone there should be dead, if they aren’t then I’m sure you can finish the job. Use one of the trucks.”

“I’ll hide the children in the church and then make my way down.”

“Chester, you need to get to the controls as soon as possible. Keep the kids in the truck, they won’t be hurt there.”

“This is brutal.”

“You’re acting soft after killing countless people.”

“No, there was a mother protecting her child, and we decided to rob the child of their parent.”

“Chester, I don’t know what it’s like in the outside world, but under Tridum, you have no mother.”

“She was protecting a child.”

“She was protecting an asset. I can guarantee you, she had raped the child and harmed it in many ways. Maybe that’s why you find the children so ‘quiet?’ We’re taught to not disobey our owner early on. Last thing you want to do— Ah!” Medeev stepped backwards as he grabbed onto his helmet.

“Medeev! Are you hurt?”

“No, no, I just don’t want to think about it. We need to stay focused, let’s proceed with the plan!”