As a mercenary, I expected battles in dismal weather with even worse odds, but this had to be a new low. Water poured on my sword, ran down my arm in tiny rivers, then collected at my elbow before breaking apart. The wind twisted around my body, carrying drops in a chaotic cyclone to the concrete road.

Five soldiers stood before me, barely visible in the depths of this cramped street. Only the intermittent flash of lightning gave me their sight in detail. They were Seitojins, like me, with light brown skin and somewhat flat faces. Unlike me, however, this wretched city was their home.

“Lost, gamja?” said the man in the lead. He was middle aged, and a gold insignia marked him as a captain. A label on his coat identified him as Tetsuo. A commoner, not that I cared.

“Just clearing away the garbage,” I said with a cool smile.

“Typical mercenary arrogance,” Tetsuo scoffed. “Why don’t you introduce yourself”—he drew the short sword from his belt—“so we know where to send the remains.”

“Once from House Seishin,” I said with a bow. “But now with Nova, as a Knight, S Rank.” My eyes flashed with a wicked smile. “And I’m afraid I’ll be leaving your bodies on the street.”

I closed the distance in an instant, literally within the span of a flash of lightning, and hit hard enough to send the guard captain flying back, the crack covered up by the roll of thunder. Tetsuo tumbled down the pavement, crashing into a market stall tucked in for the night. Half a severed blade spiraled away before clattering on the ground.

In spite of my sudden attack the other soldiers were quick to respond. A pair with firearms split from the rear, each leaping to a distant position in a single bound. I went after the one on the left, closing so fast he barely had time to plant his feet before I arrived. He tried to block the slash, but my sword shattered his rifle with little resistance. Fragments of metal and wood scattered in the air.

The blade passed through his chest just as easily. A wave of white light followed the cut, stitching the wound together near as fast as it was made. His Vital Net down to around eighty percent.

The rifleman snapped away before I could land my second slash, then a bullet struck my neck as I turned to give chase. A trickle of blood ran down my throat. The rest of the volley failed to find an opening. It took less than five percent.

I gave the second gunner a scowl, then sprang after my primary target.

Young Seishin.

The vision fractured. Conflicting details crashed in a maelstrom of sight and sound, then settled into a discrete scene.

Tetsuo knelt on the ground, staring at me with a mixture of terror and contempt. I saw my own hatred reflected in his eyes.

“So much for the code,” he spat.

“Now, now, don’t be like that,” I replied, trying my best to sound cool. “Nothing says we can’t be reasonable. How about you tell me the way to Lambda Complex, and I’ll let you go?”

“The reactor?” Tetsuo muttered. He looked down, and I could see him think it over. After a minute he hardened his shoulders and glared.

“Is that a no?” I said sweetly.

“Rot in darkness.”

“You first.” I pulled my sword in line with my body, chanting a few lines from a cryptic poem to help me focus, then tapped a cloudy gem in a thin choker around my neck. A mote of light fluttered from the stone, then spiraled into a delicate pattern over my hand. I placed two fingers just above the hilt, and a pale green fog erupted from my digits and wrapped around the blade, concealing its natural glow. I slid my hand to the tip of my sword, coating the edge with an eery mist.

“The Toxic Arte.” Tetsuo flinched in horror.

“How about I sweeten the deal,” I said, aiming my sword towards his throat. “Lambda Complex?”

“Captain!” A woman yelled behind me, and I turned to see her crawling up. Her name was Natsume, if I recalled the label on her uniform correctly. Blood oozed from a gash in her chest, leaving a scarlet trail in her wake through the rain soaked path. She grabbed my foot with one hand, and with the other stabbed a long knife into my calf. The pain barely registered. “Captain! Get away from here!”

I looked at the wound on my leg. The blade was wedged between a pair of plates, light shimmering around the edges.

“If you’re lucky enough to survive a terminal blow,” I said. “You should be grateful and scurry to safety.” I shrugged. If she didn’t want to live, who was I to deny her request. I drove my sword through her neck. The green fog trailed the blade, but was otherwise unaffected.

The young woman slumped to the ground as I shook the dagger from my leg.

I heard Tetsuo mutter, ”Natsume…. Why did you come back?”

“She had a crush on you, obviously.” I shook my head. Idiot…

“You’re a monster.”

I smiled back. “Probably. Now, where were we?” I glanced at my sword. “Ah, yes, that.” I gently sliced his cheek. The green fog poured into the wound, dissolving the surrounding flesh. A pulsing web of light shimmered as tissue sloughed away.

A wave of chaotic emotions. Horror. Revulsion. Satisfaction.

The scene fractured.

Young Seishin.

I stood amongst a ring of ruined structures. Nearby, the mangled corpse of a Seitojin woman. A mechanical thing sparked feebly at my feet.

Young Seishin!

Now the mountains, crimson peaks loomed in the distance, kneeling at the side of another body. My hands dripped with blood. This one was familiar, it was… I was…