Parmadita

Calm down.

It has been an hour since I entered the building.

Lukman

I. Am. Notreadyforthis sssshit.

Two of our guys are dead. They are here by accident, so we can't account them in the planning phase. It feels chaotic, ironic for an agency that suppose to at least know where our own troops are.

Parmadita

Sitrep me, now.

Lukman

We are not alone. Milium's are infiltrating the museum. Can hide it out and leave immediately after, but some of ours suddenly showed up and got mixed in. Cat's out of the bag, they are fighting each other on the first floor now.

Parmadita

What about the basement exits?

Lukman

Not synced to plan. Got renovated a while ago. Large exit became small, single-person-wide door. The large storage room leading to it got turned into a narrow hallway with barely any lights. Two Milium's are guarding it.

Parmadita

What about the artifact?

Lukman

We're holding unto it.

Parmadita

Copy. Unfortunately, there's no other viable exit beside this one.

Lukman

Shit, do we really need to fight it out?

Parmadita

Either that, or you jump from the second floor and try not to lure any suspicion. Doubt anyone can do it though, will stick out like crazy.

Lukman

Any other option?

The whole area became a melting pot of bloodbath, as soon as the intruder alarm tripped a while ago. For the one that actually tripped it, who knows. It could be us being careless. They could also be someone else unrelated to us. But it doesn't remove the chance of a rat chewing the wrong cable, at the wrong time. Whatever it was, screw 'em. Naturally, every armed men near it came rushing for a killing or two.

Barnabas

We got none. Extraction window is tight, we might not be able to get out of here alive. Grit your teeth.

Without a moment of doubt, Barnabas walks away from our hiding place and show himself towards those soldiers. A bit dramatic, his step echoes to the end of the hall. Element of surprise, no more.

Barnabas is already holding a sword. It's as long as his hand, coated with a non-reflective material. The blade is chipped and bruised from all the abuse it must've gone through. He's been fighting since the start of the war, after all.

I noticed that one of them looks as old as Barnabas. There is a hint of wisdom in his face, complete with scars and wrinkles. Those soldiers are wearing a modified military uniform. There's a visible circuitry of Soul Shield drawn on top of it. That man stands taller than I am, with a spear on his right hand, ready for a fight. A faint tag is etched into the left breast of his fatigue. Its color can only be described as "mean and green". It reads, "Dead Face".

Dead Face

Traitor, we meet again.

Barnabas

Alex, long time no see. That name on your tag, it doesn't suit you.

Dead Face

You are no different, traitor. I heard you changed your name to Barnabas. I only know you as Zero, but I guess you're one with your elements now.

Barnabas

Zero is no more.

Dead Face

Your next step will be your last Barnabas, I'll make you zero again if needed!

That exchange is something that I need to unpack later. For now, survival should be top priority.

Dead Face

Put down your sword old man. You can barely stand, let alone fight a man like me.

Barnabas

Said the grandpa with a hip replacement.

Dead Face

It's military grade titanium you cock. That shit can break your swords.

Barnabas

Military grade? Do you mean cheap and barely usable?

BANG!

A punch to the metal wall silenced both of their mouths. The sound bounces around loudly. The lamp that's dangling above me moves ever so slightly because of that punch. The girl beside Dead Face did that.

Flesh Eater

Enough bickering ye twats!

She is as hard looking as Dead Face. Grasped within her rough fingers, is a unique weapon, one I haven't seen before. It's a mix between a knife and brass knuckle, painted blood-red all around. She isn't standing straight, her back is hunched forward, like an animal.

Both of them terrified me, a man that have barely punched another person. Any kinds of weapon, be it blunt or with an edge, will complicate this fight exponentially. I must think smart, that's the only thing I'm good at.

Barnabas

Have you seen someone die before?

He said it under his breath, his eyes still glued to the front. Looks like this is the part where we plan to kill them. Should've done this before we show ourselves to them.

Lukman

I've been to a funeral before, does that count?

Barnabas

Close enough, just imagine them as dead bodies. Their soul are no longer valid, since they pointed their blade at us.

The situation became a stand still. They are not moving from their spot. We are not going to start fighting until there's an advantage for us.

Lukman

I got an idea. You're going to be the one that kill them. I'm going to create an advantage. You see that lamp 2 hands ahead?

Barnabas

This sounds familiar. Are we going with the sailor's tactic?

Lukman

Exactly, it should be doable. That's the only lamp in this whole hallway. Just make sure that you're only using one eye the entire time.

Barnabas

Yeah, it's not like I'm going to rely on depth perception.

He replied in a mocking tone.

Without blinking, Barnabas rushes forward with his blade. He's stepping harder than usual, it echoes through the metal framed hallway. The sound acts as an invitation for a fight, posturing. They are his prey and I'm here to witness a mauling.

Flesh Eater bites the invitation. She's running with all of her limbs towards Barnabas. Her mouth is gripping, or rather biting the handle of her brass-knuckle-knife-thingy. I can see a blank, murderous stare, directed at me.

Barnabas positioned himself firmly right as Flesh Eater is just paces away from him. He's ready for a fight, but she doesn't care about him. With a single leap, she's able to get past his defense even considering the small width of the hallway.

But his experience have grown past such acrobatics. Somehow, he manage to slip a little edge of his blade inside of her mouth. Mind you it happened while she's still airborne. All I see now is a woman screaming in pain and rage, with blood squirting out of her mouth.

It all happened so fast, I couldn't manage to get a clear picture of the complete sequence of event. Just an acrobatic jump, a swing of a blade, and her, slumping on the floor in pain. It looks like she's trying to get past Barnabas, an obviously more experienced soldier, to get an easy kill on me.

At this point, Dead Face is still standing still far away from his position. That grizzly looking man couldn't do anything but stare at his comrade writhing in pain.

I take this as a chance to get some type of coup de grace on her, but Barnabas denied that opportunity. As soon as Flesh Eater touches the ground screaming, he took the opportunity immediately by another swing of his sword. Right on her neck, killing her instantly.

Barnabas

Lukman, stick to the plan!

I nodded slightly. Barnabas turn his face forward and marches on.

The head of Flesh Eater is still rolling off her body. The live within her eyes is not completely gone, her mouth is moving without making a sound. This is the first time I'm witnessing such death.

Dead Face

I don't like her anyway.

Barnabas

You sure I'm the traitor here?

Dead Face

Shut the fuck up!

In a split moment, they have moved to an arm length from one another. Dead Face waste no time to go for the killing blow. His sword goes straight towards Barnabas' right arm, carving a thumb-deep scar across it, front to back.

Barnabas

NOW!

He screamed his lungs out, that's my mark to do my thing. I throw the knife that's already in my hand straight towards the lamp. Glass shattered, room darkened, and I can only hear a small drips of liquid.

After that, a large thud echoes around me. By then I already knew who won the battle. To check who really did the killing blow, I instinctively wrote a light-emitting magic on the floor, with blood that I gather somewhere near in front of me. It is very simple to do, even I can do it while being blinded. I drop a single dose of mana on top of it from my personal container.

Lukman

You alright?

Barnabas

You think? Fix me, now.