Chapter 26

Mansion of Glass and Shadows part 2

A mechanical jaw dug into Felix’s arm, locking him where he stood. Though its metal teeth could not tear through the reinforced fabric, it did leave him in agonizing pain.

“A robot dog?!” Maria yelled out in disbelief.

“Get it off, get it off!” Felix tried to shake it off, smashing the butt of his white gun against it’s head, to no avail.

Grant pulled out his gun and unloaded four rounds on the dog’s head, in a swift, almost routine motion. The beast dislodged its grip on Felix’s arm and fell, but now the red-eyed man had become the target of its ire.

It growled, preparing to attack, but the Grant would not give it the chance and fired more rounds until all that remained was the hollow click of his gun. Its bullets bounced off its metal exterior, but its expression grew increasingly vicious.

It lunged towards Grant, but the blue-eyed esper shot his white gun, Agony. A transparent blue wave struck the mechanical hound, and in the second that followed, Maria kicked it towards one of the marble pillars, the impact causing it to smash in two.

Felix took a moment to catch his breath, clutching his throbbing arm.

Maria looked at the red-eyed team member and asked, “Still can’t use your power?”

Grant raised up his index finger and responded, “I prefer you use the phrase ‘Conserving my aura.’”

“Right…” She rolled her eyes.

He then looked at Felix with his eyebrows curled curiously, “A gun that doesn’t kill is pretty useless, don’t you think?”

Felix glanced at his white gun and responded, “I don’t want to kill if it’s not necessary.”

He then slid his mask back on, and continued to speak with a distorted voice, “But if I have to, then you don’t have to worry about that.”

Felix moved onward, and Maria followed close behind.

Grant tilted his head, expressing a mix of concern and disagreement.

Where did all of his ferocity go?

The red-eyed man thought to himself as he remembered the brutality Felix delivered to Cyborg Fifty.

Could he also be at war with himself?

The three of them then navigated their way into the mansion. The dog they whipped away whimpered under the weight of the broken white pillar.

The air was thin and had an artificial scent to it. Its corridors were a bright, yellow color, and full of more of the same tall pillars, while the walls were adorned with many paintings of basic shapes, one-note colors, and other such sophistry.

“Eugh. Modern art.” Maria stopped and scoffed as she glanced over them.

“There are good ones.” Grant played Devil’s advocate in response to her biting remark.

She then placed her hands on the glass covered artworks, “Yeah, just not these.”

“Impressive architecture, though.” He commented as he gazed upon the many stone pillars that held up the floor above them.

“Hurry up.” Felix instructed them as he looked with his masked face.

Grant rushed forward to where Felix was and asked him, “So, Blue. What you did earlier to that cyborg… How much do you know about psychic power?”

“I barely know the basics, it all comes like instinct to me.”

His eyebrows furrowed and his crimson eyes narrowed, disappointed at the answer he had received, “Instincts, huh?”

“Yeah, I’ve at least been able to produce some in my hands… but it takes a lot of focus.” Felix stopped where he stood and raised his right hand, which slowly ignited with a blue haze.

Maria watched from behind as the two conversed. She stretched her arms and smiled with a carefree expression.

As they got closer to the edge of the hall where another painting was placed, a drone slowly lowered with a soft whir from behind them.

“That’s it?” Grant asked.

“That’s it.” Felix repeated. “I’ve only had access to my power around the same time you guys got yours.” He then placed his hand atop the white wooden drawer at the edge of the hall.

“Oh, I see.”

“So, there are two paths, do we split up?” Felix asked. The corridor ahead of them was painted with a dark maroon.

They stopped as they heard a faint mechanical sound from behind them. Their eyes widened as they noticed the drone’s reflection on the painting’s frame.

The two ducked as a hail of bullets shot at them from behind, tearing through the halls.

“V.V.!” Felix yelled as he looked up, only to find Maria carrying the large wooden drawer above her head.

A loud crash followed as she threw it towards the floating machine. She then rushed to Felix and helped him get back up. “Come on, get up.” she said.

“Right.”

There was a mechanical whir from beneath the wooden remains. As Felix and Grant got up, so did the drone.

The two agents pulled out their pistols and fired at the drone. Even though they dented and damaged it, it still remained steady in the air and ready for battle.

Much to their dismay, two more drones appeared from behind it.

Felix lifted up his hand and created a blue curtain that blocked the bullets. But the three floating machines still pushed them into the edge of the hallway, forcing them into a tight situation.

“Footsteps.” He muttered out as he noticed a rhythmic pattern of thuds on the ground.

A squad of guards appeared from the right hall, and pointed their guns at the three agents. They had been pinned down by both man and machine with no way out.

“Freeze!” One of them yelled.

Maria brought out her knives, ready to attack, but Grant was quicker.

He placed his palm against the wall, and with a burst of crimson, all of the paintings shot out from the position and fell on top of the guards.

“Hah… scheisse.” Grant wiped off his sweat as he supported himself on his knees.

“Good job.” Felix praised Grant.

“You can stop bullets? How’d you learn to do that?” The red-eyed man asked as he watched the blue curtain whittle down.

“That’s…” Felix looked at his own hand, and saw a vision of Moritz’ smirk, and remembered how his original hand was suddenly turned into bits of burnt flesh.

His concentration broke as the memory returned to him, and the shield collapsed with it, letting dozens of the bullets slip through.

The three operatives ducked for cover. But they were fortunate, as the lead barrage did not last longer than a few seconds, as the machines needed to reload.

Felix looked at his shivering hand with a stunned expression, seeing the crackling of blue electricity, but he clenched his fist and grit his teeth. His face filled with anger.

“V.V!” He yelled.

As Maria heard him call out her code name, she quickly leapt back over to his side.

Felix had pulled out his white gun. He took a deep breath set his sights on the drones. As he got up, his body began to radiate with a burning blue glow.

The machines began to whiz, but before they could bombard the agents with lead – he pulled the trigger.

A vortex of psychic energy burst from the white gun, painting the room with a blinding azure light as it spiraled through the halls, decimating everything in its short narrow path.

The loud fiery blare made the other two close their ears and squint their eyes, while Felix kept a focused glare as he watched the drones get smashed together.

As soon as he confirmed that they were destroyed, he lowered his arm. When the crystalline blue light flickered away, the whole area appeared as though a horizontal tornado had just passed by.

A bead of sweat dripped down the side of Grant’s face as he asked nervously, “What… what was that? How did you do that?”

“I just poured out all of my aura into the gun, it did all the rest.” He answered.

“How do I get one?”

“You could probably request the agency for one. They replaced my old one for this.”

“Are… you glad you changed Ion for that?” Maria’s voice shrunk with insecurity, clearly distraught.

Felix then glanced over to her and placed his hand firmly on her shoulder, wanting to comfort her, “Marie, I—” A red droplet slid down from behind his mask and down to the floor.

Her eyes sharpened with worry as her partner collapsed to his knees, “Felix?”

“Blue, what’s wrong?!” Grant asked.

The agent lifted his mask and revealed the red stream flowing from his nose. The air he breathed stung as it passed through his scorched throat, and as the vessels in his nostrils exploded, more blood sputtered out.

“Bud? Bud, are you okay? Talk to me.” Maria asked as she pulled his face close.

He stared blankly for a second as his face crackled with blue electricity. His blue eyes then widened as he came out of his daze, “Yeah, yeah… I’m fine.”

Felix wiped the blood off his face, “I probably can’t use that attack too often... it takes way too much energy.”

Grant placed his hand on his mouth as he thought to himself.

I don’t think its about energy usage.

No, Isabelle used much more psychic energy when she sparred against David…

He recollected Maria’s words,

‘Psychic energy flows from inside your body, and exerted out into the real world, flowing into that chain.’

It’s like David said, it’s the same as overexerting yourself. It’s likely that the body can’t handle releasing that much power all at once.

Wanting to press on, Felix spoke, “We should continue.” As he got up, a blue light flickered around his fists; residue from the aura that he spent up in his attack.

“Hm—?” She mumbled as the white gun dropped to the textured floor.

“Nothing…” He shook his hand to make the blue shroud dissipate, “It’s nothing.”

The two then noticed the pained groans that came from the right corridor. One of the guards got back on his feet, slowly lifting his handgun.

Grant responded in kind and aimed his pistol in an almost instinctive manner. But though he was quicker, the fact remained that he was still out of bullets.

As the guard was about to pull the trigger, the red-eyed esper hurled his gun at him and deflected the bullet by a few degrees.

The projectile sliced through Grant’s cheek as he rushed toward the guard, and as he closed the gap, he finished him off with a swift foot to his groin.

Not expecting this, Felix tilted his head upward.

Maria’s eyes widened as she remarked, “Brutal.”

With a high-pitched squeal, the guard tensed up, and slowly dropped back to the floor. Grant looked at the two and gave a thumbs up.

Felix silently nodded his head in disapproval, until he heard a high-pitched ring that was all too familiar.

“What’s that sound?” Grant asked as he went up to Felix.

“Oh no…” He responded.

From the back, one of the guards carried a metallic, tube-like cylinder full of circuits. It made a sharp, electrical noise.

Felix pushed Grant back as an alabaster white beam of destruction suddenly fired at them. He raised his hand, covered in swirling blue aura.

As the two energies collided, the white beam was split apart. The refracted beam scorched the already ravaged hallway.

His feet could barely keep steady as the force of the laser pushed him back. It didn’t take longer than a few seconds before he lost his footing and was hurled to where Grant was.

With the beam now focused in only one direction, Maria quickly lunged towards the guard and kicked the laser cannon upward.

The laser suddenly tore through the ceiling, the walls began to crack, and rubble fell above them. The entire portion of the mansion had collapsed.

“V.V?! Marie!” Felix worriedly yelled out from the other side of the rubble.

“Go on ahead, I’ll handle this.” Maria replied from the other side of the rubble.

“Right… be careful.” He nodded his head slightly before walking away. Grant followed suit.

“Are you sure it’s alright to leave her?” The red-eyed man asked.

“Don’t worry… she’s much more capable than she lets on.” Felix knew that he had nothing to worry about when it came to Maria. He’s had enough experience with their few months being partners that he had little doubt in his mind of her safety.

As they separated, Maria cracked her knuckles and smiled her usual smile.

Felix and Grant walked on ahead knowing full that Maria would make it out of this alive.

“So… about that laser beam earlier…” Grant asked. “How did you do that?”

“I just used the aura to split the beam.”

“And… how did you know to do that?”

“Because I’ve encountered it before and I’ve been training just in case...” Felix answered as he lifted his trembling hand. The pain still throbbing, “Luckily that was a weak one… I just hope that the others don’t encounter it, too.”

*

Far from the sounds of Felix’s battles, Anastasia lifted up a large piece of cement from the entrance with her psychic power and lunged it towards the entrance, and as soon as it crashed through door, the three operatives rushed in, all except Isabelle, who lagged behind, still processing what’s going on.

The three, Tundra, Nice, and Dreadnought began their assault as soon as they got in, hiding behind the defensive rubble that Tundra laid out for them. Bullets rained from every corner and direction as black-suited men fired relentlessly at the intruders.

Blood began to spill from every direction while bullets were caught in the orange shroud that was Anastasia’s aura.

“What the hell?! Alert the boss—!” One guard yelled out before getting shot by one of the stray bullets, and another guard who was next to him cried in a panic. The guard ran for his life and got further and further from onslaught while other’s fell to the floor dead or dying.

In the confusing mess of raining lead, the crying guard fell down with a sharp noise. Isabelle breathed heavily as a thin stream of smoke flowed out of her pistol.

The battle at the entrance was almost over, but the cowering man she just shot was still alive and quivered on the floor.

Isabelle walked towards him as he shook. The other two wanted to go to her side, but Anastasia gestures for them not to go forward.

His blood splattered on the ground as he clutched his stomach, in the place where she had shot him. She said nothing and watched him quiver with sorrowful eyes.

But as soon as he turned to look at her, he drew his pistol. She reflexively did the same – But the man was faster at pulling the trigger.

Blood spilled onto the floor.

An orange aura appeared between her and the bullet, and as the aura faded, the bullet dropped to the floor, and so did Isabelle.

Agent Nice had shot the man who tried to shoot her.

“Red? Red?” Anastasia repeated in worry.

“Oh, umm… yeah?” Isabelle answered in a daze.

“Are you okay?” Agent Nice asked as he lifted up the smoking gun in his hand.

“Y-yeah… It’s just… it’s different... killing someone from a distance and seeing them die right in front of you. It’s worse... It’s difficult to take in.” The silver-haired girl explained.

“Yeah… yes, it is. If you want to avoid killing people, you should’ve requested a psychic’s gun like mine.” Anastasia stated.

“Right…”

“I heard that you can’t use your energy in real time, and that your aura lags behind because of it.”

“I’ve been training to fix that.” Isabelle answered.

“It’s best to stay beside me. Oh… and wipe that tear in your eye. Do not cry in the face of your enemy.”

“R-right…” Isabelle answered, quickly wiping her eyes with her sleeve.

“Any casualties on our end?” Anastasia yelled out.

“I got grazed a few, but I’m fine.” Nice answered as he opened up a wrapper and swallowed the pain killer inside.

“I don’t want to sound mean, kid. But the first thing you’re taught in training is to not lose your shit, which is what you are doing right now.” Agent Dreadnought remarked harshly toward Isabelle.

“You’re right. I’m sorry.” Isabelle got back up and tried her best to speak to Anastasia in a professional tone, “Tundra, what are your orders?”

“Our best bet is that Dahmer is on the fourth floor.” Anastasia said before her ears picked up on the faint click from above them.

A bullet had almost struck Anastasia from behind had she not covered herself in aura. As she turned, she found a sniper behind the balcony on the floor above them.

Anastasia raised her right arm toward the sniper on the floor above them, her eyes glowing brightly. Suddenly he was covered in a pale orange haze and was pulled towards them, and as she lowered her arm, his body crashing through the stony white balcony and fell to the yellow marble tiles. The stony debris followed and fell on top of him.

“Amazing…”

“Excessive.”

The two operatives, Nice and Dreadnought, commented respectively.

“Tell us where Dahmer is.” Anastasia asked.

The sniper grinned in response, “The head of security is from the Cinderash clan. We may die, but he’ll hunt every single one of you down before the sun rises!” He yelled out.

“Cinderash? That sounds redundant, doesn’t it?” Isabelle commented.

“It does, but it’s not a name to be taken lightly.” Dreadnought responded.

“They’re one of the three most renowned assassin houses in the world, among the Zephyrus and the Winterstorms.” Nice explained.

Isabelle’s eyebrows curled, “Those aren’t real surnames, they can’t be real surnames. It’s not just me, right?”

“If worst comes to worst, I’ll deal with the Cinderash.” Anastasia reassured them. There was no hint of uncertainty in her words.

They all gave her a nod.

As Maria made her way deeper into the mansion, the hallways turned from regular walls into violet-stained glass, where one could see the waves of the ocean beneath.

“Is this really the control room? What the hell is up with this mansion?” Maria’s eyes furrowed as she muttered questions to herself.

The light inside was dim, glowing only in a dim red.

“I like to ask myself the same question.” A voice responded.

Soon after those words echoed throughout the glass hall, several bullets were shot her way.

She drew out her knife and swiftly dealt with the bullets with relative ease. The deflected rounds smashed into the purple glass, but they were unable to shatter through them.

Maria looked forward and saw that the path ahead of her grew pitch black, not reached by the light of dusk outside.

“So are you gonna show yourself or what?” The black-haired agent asked, only for the response she receives to be several more rounds fired at her.

She stopped the rapid-fire barrage with her knife, but the force proved too difficult to deal with. She then ducked as soon as she had the opportunity, and threw her knife into the pitch darkness ahead of her.

But in front of her, she saw a glint and a soft metal clang.

Her knife was thrown back at her, which she caught with her right arm.

“Are you too shy, or am I gonna have to go into the abyss and drag you out?”

An intrigued chuckle came out from the dim part of the halls, and a grotesque figure walked out. A shirtless man with several arms sewn into his body revealed himself, with a boastful expression on his face.

There were a total of four firearms in his six arms. On his main arms held a rifle, on the one beneath those held a sub-machine gun, and the two arms above his shoulder carried a pistol each.

“No point in using those guns. I’ll just block them again.”

“That’s fine, I prefer tearing my victims apart.” He dropped his firearms to the ground.

Maria smiled as soon as he dropped his weapons, “Do you have guests often?”

“They sometimes come, but they often go to hell.” He said with a vicious voice, “And now I’m going to take you there with my bare hands.” He then cracked his multiple hands.

She casually approached him and got up well within his range.

“Well, if you’re the one whose gonna kill me, then can I at least know the name of the one who bested me? I'm... Maria.” The black-haired agent said as she stretched her hand for a handshake.

“My true name is lost to the past. But the man who made me into what I am calls me Abomina, the Toymaker’s Monster.” He uttered proudly as he shook Maria’s hand, but as soon as they came in contact, he quickly pulled out a gun from behind and aimed it at her forehead.

“Got y— ! Huh?” He was startled by the lack of change in her expression, before suddenly realizing something, “Why— why can't I move?” He nervously stated.

He could not pull the trigger, he could not pull himself back, nor push himself forward. He could not lift up his foot from the floor he stood on, as if his body had turned into a marble statue.

She twirled her knife as she remarked, “He doesn’t like unnecessary killing, but I think it’d be more merciful to put you down, abomination.”

A dangerous smile rested on her lips, while Abomina’s expression quickly turned into panic and fright.

Nero whipped the blood off his sword and walked through a path of agonized groans and writhing bodies, taking up the white-stone stairs to the second floor.

The black-masked assassin then went up the stairs, and as he got to the white corridor, he heard a thin click in the distance. Nero quickly jumped back, avoiding two gun shots that had struck the floor.

On the veranda sat a man dressed in a black suit with green lining and accessories. On his chest was a symbol of a fire trapped in a diamond.

He stood up and greeted Nero, displaying two pistols on him and a sword on his hip.

Nero pulled out the gun he had picked up earlier. The man responded in kind.

Deafening loud gunshots echo in the corridor. The concrete walls cracked as bullets flew recklessly in the spaces between the two, avoiding each other’s aim in a dance of death.

As their bullets ran out, the two stopped for a moment.

“You’re good.” The man complimented Nero.

“That crest on your shirt… I see they hired a Cinderash.” Nero remarked.

“So you’ve heard about us! Will you not run away for your life?”

The red-eyed esper adjusted his oni mask, and responded to his taunts by grabbing the hilt of the sword.

“I see, a proud warrior. My name is Pierce Cinderash. May I know who you are?”

“All you have to know is that I’m a demon.”

“I see. I can’t have demons running around near my employer. They’re usually bad for one’s health, you know?” Pierce responded as he quickly drew another gun from his thigh and fired.

Nero ducked out of the way and dashed forward, drawing his sword in an instant – His slash cut through the handrail. But Pierce was just as fast, and got out of harm’s way with seconds to spare.

“You’re strong. Who are you working for? Don Philippe, maybe one of the twelve agencies? A personal grudge, perhaps?”

Nero took in an inhale and asked, “Tell me, Pierce Cinderash, do you have pride in your skills as an assassin?”

Pierce took a moment, startled by the question, and then smiled “I do.”

“Then out of the goodness of your heart, would you donate a weapon to me? I’m all out of bullets.” The blond esper slid his gun away from him.

The Cinderash assassin tilted his head, “And how am I to trust you?”

Nero then threw an empty magazine up into the air, which landed straight down to his enemy’s feet.

“That is not my problem, my friend. And besides, why not just ask for another gun?” Pierce asked.

“Because I know what an assassin’s pride is. Don’t you wish to contest what you’re capable of?” Nero shrugged as he looked at his brittle, broken katana.

“Aren’t you a little old-fashioned, my friend? Assassins rarely use blades anymore.”

“You say that, but you’re itching to use yours, aren’t you?” Nero pointed to the sword on Pierce’s hip.

Pierce clutched the hilt of the sword on his hip and answered, “Aye, perhaps I am a hypocrite. Unfortunately, I have no sword to spare, especially not a Japanese one. But take this!”

He yelled as he shot a combat knife straight towards Nero, yet the masked assassin caught it by the handle inches shy from his own forehead.

But as he grabbed hold of the weapon, Pierce closed the gap and swung down his katana.

The esper leapt away at the last second and lamented, “I’m not very good with kniv—” A wound suddenly sliced open in the narrow space between his bullet-resistant vest.

Nero’s mask fell and clattered to his feet as he staggered over, blood dripping from the large wound Pierce inflicted on him.

“Come now, my fellow assassin. Surely you will not fall so easily, where is your pride?” Pierce taunted.

**

Felix and Grant, continued their search forward. As they crossed the halls, the two of them turned their heads towards the plain brown door at the side, there was a sound of something crawling from the other side of the door.

“I heard something…” Grant said.

“This room wasn’t in the plans.” Felix grabbed the knob, but he couldn’t open it.

“Needs a palm print.” Grant replied as he pointed at the small screen at the side of the door, and continued, “You think Dahmer might have held himself up in here?”

“Who knows…No guards, no key cards, so we break through.” Felix pulled out his black gun from inside his coat and fired at the knob. Grant used his chain to tear out the door. As they did, an alarm suddenly rang through the whole building.

“What the hell?!” Grant yelled out.

Anastasia looked at her group and decided to rush things towards the upper floors, while Nero was caught trapped in an exchange of clashing blades.

Abomina’s corpse was pinned to the dark wall, hung by a single knife through his forehead. Maria sat atop one of the security guards’ back and ignored the sirens that rang loudly.

“Please… don’t kill me.” He pleaded meekly.

On her lips was a coy smile, “This is your punishment… pun… nishment. Puns, huh…” Her smile faded as she sighed, “Damn it, Isabelle.”