"Leon, turn left—another bullet will hit your position in two seconds!"
Selphy's voice echoed sharply in his mind.
"Got it! Are we getting closer?"
Leon gritted his teeth, twisting his body mid-sprint as a bullet whizzed past where he'd been a moment ago.
"We're five kilometres from the enemy. At your current speed, estimated contact in ten minutes!"
Leon dashed through the crumbling ruins, weaving between collapsed walls and shattered steel beams. Every time a shot rang out, Selphy responded instantly redirecting him, predicting the trajectory, guiding him like a second pair of eyes.
Each near miss strengthened his trust in her.
She hadn't been wrong once.
His heart pounded—but instead of fear, a crooked smile tugged at his lips.
Each step only made him more confident, the thrill of danger sharpening his senses.
As they drew closer, Selphy's voice returned, cool and precise.
"Leon, the enemy has detected our approach. They're repositioning—looks like they're preparing for close-quarters combat."
Selphy's advanced scanning suite came alive, her sensors feeding real-time data to Leon's mind.
With thermal tracking, x-ray analysis, and radar-assisted motion mapping, she could pinpoint enemy movements with surgical precision.
"Both targets are still inside the ruined building, twenty meters ahead. One is stationed on the second floor, the other is flanking right."
"Got it."
Leon didn't hesitate. He raised his right arm—and in a flash of golden light, his wristband shifted, transforming into the blade once more. Its edge shimmered faintly, reacting to the ambient heat and tension in the air.
He tightened his grip.
Then, without another word, Leon stepped into the shattered ruins—where his enemies waited.
As he moved down a dim, debris-strewn corridor, Selphy's voice cut through his mind like a warning siren.
"Leon, incoming fire—right side of the corridor! Get down!"
Leon dropped and rolled against the wall just in time.
[BANG! BANG! BANG!]
Bullets tore through the crumbling debris, sparks flying as they ricocheted off metal beams and shattered concrete.
A gruff male voice rang out from the shadows beyond the corridor.
"Not bad, kid! Quick reflexes."
"But that weapon you're carrying... it's interesting. Hand it over, and I might let you live."
A dark chuckle followed.
It was Simon—gun raised, stalking from cover. He didn't recognize Seraphim for what it was, but his instincts told him it was something valuable.
"Looks like you picked up a relic from the old world," he added, his tone half-curious, half-greedy.
Selphy hovered silently, analysing everything.
(Relic? That confirms it... knowledge of the Seraphim is not exist.)
She silently logged the detail in her internal database.
Leon's grip tightened around the blade. He stood behind cover, voice echoing back through the corridor with cold defiance.
"Don't worry… you'll be dead soon."
"What?!"
Simon's voice spiked in anger. Enraged, he pulled a small device from his pocket and hurled it toward Leon's position.
"Leon!" Selphy's tone shifted instantly.
"He threw something—an explosive device. You need to move. Now!"
Leon's eyes narrowed.
"I want to kill him. Help me get close."
Selphy responded without hesitation.
"Understood. Calculating optimal path—rerouting through debris on your left. Flank from behind in seven seconds. Ready?"
"Ready."
Leon bolted just as the device exploded behind him—
[BOOM!]
Concrete shattered, and fire flared out—followed by a thick, smothering cloud of smoke.
But it wasn't just an explosive—it was a fog grenade. The blast had cloaked the entire corridor in dense white haze.
"Let's see who dies first!"
Simon sneered as he slipped on a sleek pair of heat-detection goggles. His vision instantly pierced the smoke, showing a faint human silhouette weaving through the fog.
Leon, meanwhile, was blind in the thick cloud, struggling to see anything past his arm's reach. But Selphy's voice guided him clearly through the chaos.
"Turn left. Duck down. Two meters forward—move quietly."
Her real-time scanning and tactical routing turned the battlefield in Leon's favor.
Simon, thinking he had the upper hand, lined up another shot—but missed. Again. And again.
"Tch… What the hell is with this kid?"
He gritted his teeth as the red silhouette moved unpredictably, always avoiding his aim. The target was getting closer.
Too close.
Realizing things were going south fast, Simon dropped his rifle and drew twin weapons—
A pistol in his right hand, a combat knife in the left. He braced himself in a battle stance, back to a crumbled pillar, eyes locked on the approach.
"Come on then… Let's finish this."
Simon braced himself, pistol resting atop his knife-wielding arm, eyes locked on the silhouette emerging through the fog.
He pulled the trigger—
BANG!
But the boy dodged before the bullet even neared him.
(No way... he predicted it?!)
Simon's eyes widened in disbelief.
"You lucky bastard," he growled.
But luck had nothing to do with it.
The fog in front of him suddenly thinned, and through the mist came a shimmer—a golden gleam slicing through the haze like sunlight through smoke.
Leon leapt forward, eyes sharp with focused fury, the glowing blade raised high.
Simon barely had time to react.
[CLANG!]
Sparks flew as his combat knife deflected the strike, steel grinding against the mysterious metal of the Seraphim blade.
The two clashed in a flurry of motion—blades locked, faces inches apart.
For the first time, they saw each other clearly.
And now, the gap between them was gone.
"What are you, kid?"
Simon asked casually, trying to squeeze some information out of his opponent.
Leon didn't answer. His eyes were cold—deadly. He had only one goal in mind: to kill the man in front of him as quickly as possible.
Simon sensed it. He'd been in situations like this before.
"...Come on, calm down a bit!" he said, feigning ease.
Their blades remained locked in a clash. Simon, not wasting the moment, subtly tried to raise his pistol with his off-hand and take a shot—
—but Leon suddenly leapt back, breaking the deadlock before Simon could react.
The move caught Simon off guard. He frowned.
"What kind of equipment are you using? Are you… a Guardian or something?"
He flexed his arms and swung his combat knife in the air to stretch, regaining his composure.
"A slum rat like you having an Orion assistant? Don't make me laugh!"
Leon didn't respond. Not because he was hiding anything—he simply didn't understand what the man was talking about.
But Selphy did.
(Orion… That must be the advanced artificial intelligence system developed after the Collapse. Likely government regulated. Guardians must be an elite group authorized to use them…)
Selphy saved that detail to her memory—information like this could be important later.
"It seems like your mouth is seal, then I could just kill you then !"
Simon scoffed and lunged at Leon, his combat knife aimed with deadly precision.
Leon managed to dodge, guided by Selphy's real-time instructions.
"Left—now!"
"Duck!"
But even with Selphy's assistance, Leon was struggling. This wasn't like fighting monsters with brute instincts. Simon was different—calculated, fast, and experienced.
Leon's body moved on instinct, but his mind lagged behind. He'd never been in a real fight like this. Not against someone trained… someone who lived his whole life as a Keeper.
Selphy's voice echoed in his mind, calm but urgent:
"Leon, his movements are refined. He's predicting your dodges."
Leon grit his teeth.