"Ple-please, leave me alone." A woman sobbed as she backed away against a brick wall.
In the dark alleyway, all that she can see is the shaodwy figure of the man before her.
She was scared. Really scared.
As tears run down her cheeks, her figure can't help but tremble as the man approach closer.
The man's body reeks of alcohol. His clothes a mess looking no different than a ragged clothes.
"Little girl, don't be scared. I won't hurt you. Promise."
Hearing the man's voice, the woman feels her entire body trembling.
This is the reality of Undercity.
A cruel place where the strong preys on the weak.
And she is too weak to retaliate against the man.
Not when the man's Aspect is many times stronger than her.
Then, a figure blurred, appearing right above the man.
A pair of crimson lights looks down, flickering and flashing in red as the figure descent.
Arm stretched, five fingers grasping for the side of the man's head.
Bam!
Karen grabbed the man's head, smashing him against the wall. The man was instantly knocked unconscious.
Karen landed on the ground, his windbreaker fluttering in the wind as his feet touches the ground.
"Are you alright?" Karen didn't bother to check whether the man is alive or not. He simply release the grasp on the man's head, letting him fell to the ground.
However, from the movements of the man's chest it seems he is still alive.
The woman didn't reply. Even the fear that she had experienced just now had completely gone. She simply stare at the ring on Karen's fingers.
The ring is exquisite, a masterwork of craftsmanship. It's band gleamed in polished silver, as if hungering for attention and adding an additional a hint of an ethereal charm. At it's crest rested a single perfectly sculpted skull. Not cartoonish nor crude but almost life-like, carved with an unsettling precision that others would have had thought that the skull was real.
As she stares at the ring resting on his fingers, her face turned pale.
Karen noticed her stare and trails down to see the ring on his fingers.
He can't help but caresses the ring on his finger. The ring was cold against his finger.
"You seem quite familiar with this ring." Karen suddenly asked, his eyes dimmed in a mysterious light.
The woman's face paled even further. She stood up, golden light flickering underneath her feet.
Her figure dashed with a blur, running passed Karen who simply raised an eyebrow at her reaction.
He chose not to chase after her.
Makoto finally arrived.
"Don't get discouraged. It's normal for woman to love running in Undercity." Makoto jokingly said.
However, his meaning is quite depressing.
A place where laws are practically nonexistent, it took any women one hell of a courage to even be thinking of living here.
"Let's go." Karen walks passed Makoto.
Makoto's eyes can't help but landed on the ring on Karen's fingers.
"So, that ring. Any story behind it?"
"Just a heirloom." Karen absent mindedly said, "The old man's heirloom."
"Oh? A heirloom?" Makoto pursed his lips.
"Come on, the faster we finished this mission, the faster I can get some sleep." Karen continues walking.
Makoto followed behind him.
A while later, the two stood on top of a building.
"The mission simple, get down, beat the shit out of everyone, breaks in, stole the chip and return it back to me." Makoto explained with a grin as he looks down on the thugs below.
"Easy for you to say." Karen scoffed as he crouched down on the edge of the rooftop.
The white haired boy pulls out a pair of gloves from underneath his windbreaker and proceed to equip them.
The gloves are black in colour, with metal platings on the back of the hand. On each knuckles are multiple sharp iron spikes that gleams under the moonlight.
"Come one, it's just a simple miss-."
Makoto wasn't able to finish his words as Karen suddenly jumps down.
His figure descent through the air. As he descent, his hair and windbreaker flutters.
The spikes on his knuckles shot out, strings of crimson gleaming under the moonlight, attaching the spikes to his knuckles.
The spikes shot out to a nearby building. Karen glided across the air, moving from one building to another.
Under the night sky of Undercity, Karen's figure glided through the air.
"Come on! How can I lost again?!" Inside the rundown building, a thug can't help but cursed out loud as he lost another game of chess.
"Skill issue." The second thug, his opponent chuckled.
"Hey is that a white Spiderman?"
"White Spiderman? What does that- holy flying cow that is a white Spiderman?!"
Karen smashed through the window, his figure sending a hurling kick to one of the thugs.
The thug crossed both of his arms in order to protect himself. His body glowing in gold the moment Karen's kick landed on his arm and he was only thrown a few metres away.
A strength type Aspect.
Karen can't help but be astonished. His physical strength without any of his abilities should be enough to send the man flying. However the latter's Aspect was strong enough to allowed him to fend off his attack.
One of the thug was surprised to see the youth. However, his stupor was momentary. The moment he realised that the youth is an enemy je instantly activates his Aspect.
His fingers transformed into barrels of guns.
Trrrrrrrr!!!!
The barrels shot out waves upon waves of bullets.
Karen jumped out of the way.
The second thug continues shooting down bullets upon him.
Karen moved at a blinding speed, running away from the waves of bullets that continues to rain upon him.
He flicks his wrists. The red strings connecting the spikes to his knuckles weaving around his body as he do so.
The moment the bullets was just inches away from his skin, all of them are cut down by the strings.
Hang on, there was supposed to be three of them.
Karen's eyes glows in crimson light.
His vision instantly transformed.
Got you.
Karen turned his head abruptly. His eyes flashing in red.
Karen raised his legs, hitting something invincible.
The third thug vomited a mouthful of blood as his body flickered into existence. With a second kick, his body was sent flying.
Karen's head turned his head, his figure dashing forward. His entire body flickered, dodging the incoming bullets.
When he was just a few meters away from the finger gun user, the first thug appeared, launching a punch.
His fist was powerful. Any ordinary humans would have had died if they took a direct hit from him.
However, Karen is not an ordinary human.
Karen swept his fist across the air while his other arm weaves the strings of red to cut the incoming bullets.
Karen's fist connected with the burly man's fist.
What followed soon after is the man screaming in pain as the sound of explosion resounded across the building.
"What is going on upstairs?!"
"Someone get the boss!"
"Someone had broken into our facility!"
"Everyone! Get ready!"
The entire compound had entered a state of chaos.
The door was kicked opened. A group of thugs entered the room. a dozen boots stomping on broken tiles, flashlights sweeping across the dark, graffiti-covered hallway.
They expected resistance. A squatter, maybe a rival gang.
They didn't expect… this.
From the shadows above, a pair of crimson eyes ignited in the dark like twin embers in a void.
One of the thugs gasped and pointed upward, his voice caught between fear and disbelief.
"W-What the hell is that!?"
Karen clung to the ceiling like a spider, body twisted unnaturally — all four limbs bent and locked into the cracked plaster, his lean figure crouched with predator-like stillness.
He didn't blink. He didn't move.
Until he did.
"What the hell is that?!!!"
"It's a ghost!"
"A pontianak!"
The thugs are all very cruel and feared across this district. Children would cry at their sights, many are afraid to even glance at them and law enforcers don't even dare to touch them. However right now all of them are screaming as if they had seen a ghost.
Honestly, they should be.
Karen dashed forward, crawling across the ceiling at inhuman speed — bones shifting, joints rotating like ball bearings. The click-clack of his hands and feet scuttling above was like a cockroach the size of a wolf, and so much worse.
The thugs — usually feared across Undercity — shrieked like children. One even threw his bat at the ceiling and ran behind the others.
"He's upside down! Why is he fast?! He is upside down!"
All the thugs screamed even loudly.
Karen launched his body. All four of his limbs working like an elastic piston that pushes him down with a powerful force.
Karen stretched his hand, grabbing the man at the front by the neck before smashing him down.
The figure of white dashed once more, his speed blinding to the eyes.
One of the thugs widened his eyes.
Karen's fist had struck him right on the stomach. A powerful punch that sends him hurling to the ground.
Seeing two of their comrades had fallen, the other thugs reacted.
Before they could make a move, the spikes on Karen's knuckles shot forth.
All eight spikes pierced through their skin, right into their flesh.
Karen pull with a powerful strength, pulling them towards him. They weren't able to do anything as their body was pulled to the youth.
Karen's fist struck down, knocking each of them unconscious.
To be continue
World Builder Note
Mercs also known as mercenaries. Deemed as villains by most countries. Outlaws and criminals who works outside the laws. Many hated them and many needed them to do the dirty works of the governments. As some percentage of the world's is still filled with radiation from the Great Cataclysm, these places are dangerous for human civilization.
However, some humans have built higher resistance to radiation. This allows many of these marcs to live on the outskirts of these places. These places are where many of these mercenaries hide.