Deafening Silence

The old man slowly climbed the stairs until he reached Iroko's floor. Kasugo and Iroko heard his footsteps from afar, afraid to approach the door, as there might be a surprise attack.

They don't know which room we're in, do they? Iroko thought. They'd need tracking powers for that, but that loud noise outside didn't seem to be the case. Unless they had someone's help...

Tracy kept as far away as possible, while still keeping a close eye on him.

If he's blind, turning off the power will make no difference... she thought. At least I'm not alone.

The old man knocked on the door of the apartment where Iroko and Kasugo were.

How does he know we're here...?

Kasugo was already in full armor, and Iroko pointed his sniper rifle at the door. Receiving no answer, the old man knocked on the door again.

But this time, the door exploded, along with much of the wall and floor. Iroko was about to shoot, but the debris flew toward him, and the shockwave was powerful enough to send him and Kasugo flying against the wall. It all happened in a second, so when he fired his weapon, he missed his target.

The sound of the gunshot was amplified enormously, bursting their eardrums. Iroko grabbed his cell phone to call Kuroki, but the old man stepped back a few meters and leaped toward them. Kasugo grabbed Iroko's body and jumped off the balcony. He summoned a hoverboard and began to float in the air.

Eh? We're not falling? Iroko thought, as he had supposed they would die falling from there. 

Kasugo smiled at him, since they couldn't hear a thing. I told you I would find a solution to avoid fall damage, he said internally.

Kasugo slowly lowered their altitude until they landed on a sidewalk.

The old man returned to the stairs, as he couldn't fall that far and not suffer an injury. Surprised, Tracy tried to run away, but made enough noise for him to detect her. He slammed his cane on the ground and unleashed a sound slash that decapitated her.

Kasugo and Iroko called Kuroki to repair their injuries, which he did reluctantly, as he was already straining his own body.

"Iroko, hide in that bush and don't make a sound," Kasugo ordered. "I'll attract his attention."

"He doesn't seem to have a lot of range, so how about you float around with your hoverboard?"

"Good idea," Kasugo agreed, and began spraying yellow paint on both of their bodies, increasing their resistance. He climbed onto a nearby pole and jumped, floating and waiting until the old man reached the sidewalk.

As soon as their enemy appeared, Kasugo sprayed his face, decreasing his durability. Iroko then shot him in the head, but lost his hearing again, as the sound of the gunshot was amplified. Fortunately, the old man died.

They called Kuroki again. After repairing them, he was panting. "Are you alright?" Iroko asked, concerned.

"You know when you feel like your body has reached its limit and, because of that, you suffer more?" Kuroki said. "I'm probably at that point right now. I'm still far from my absolute limit."

"But if you keep forcing it, you will have lasting effects!"

"Nothing that my power can't solve..."

"Like scars?"

"I'll be able to heal them as soon as we finish this event, we still need more experience."

"Alright, we're going to another building, our previous position has been compromised."

"You'd better hurry, Minako won't be long getting up that tower."

"Were you able to convince her?"

"She's moving a little slowly, but she's getting there. I know this because we're on a call right now, and I could hear gunshots for a while after she started walking."

"She was fighting some turrets... I hope she's alright. Wait, how can you be on two calls at the same time?"

"I have more than one phone."

Really...? He wasn't lying when he said this game paid well.

"Wait, then how come you didn't know Minako had lost part of her head?" Iroko asked.

"I was trying to save my power and I didn't imagine she would suffer so much damage at once. Now I won't hold back anymore."

"You should... or else you're going to die instead of us."

"Didn't I just say I was alright?"

"Okay, you're the boss."

Iroko and Kasugo ran to another building, much taller than the previous one, so they could follow Minako more easily. Kasugo sprayed the gate, and Iroko shot his weapon, destroying the iron bars. Iroko shuddered in pain.

"My shoulder is going to dislocate like this..." he commented. "And my ears too."

Kasugo painted his shoulder and their ears. "Sorry, I forgot I could do this."

"Well, that was easy. Thanks, Kasugo."

"No problem, mate!"

They took the keys to the rooftop and went up there. To their surprise, there was no one in the building, probably because everyone was focused on the tallest skyscraper. Iroko searched for a few seconds and saw the turrets still in the corridor, but Minako wasn't there.

Wait a minute, she actually walked past them?

He found her a few floors above. She was walking slowly, almost like a zombie. However, whenever an enemy appeared, she turned into a killing machine, running like a predator. Probably by instinct.

She finally reached the top floor; there was no one alive. But there were many corpses scattered around, most of them burned. She went up to the roof, because the cause of that genocide was probably there.

Iroko saw someone very extravagant on the helipad, watching the sky. He looked at what she was looking at: it was a helicopter arriving there.

"Kuroki, there's someone on the rooftop," he said, without losing focus on his target.

"What does this person look like?"

"A muscular woman wearing a red dress... and her hair is golden."

"Wait a minute, are you serious?!"

Wait, I remember someone who looked like her... except she wasn't buff.

"It's Blazy!" Kuroki shouted into the phone.

"Blazy?!" Iroko exclaimed, also surprised. Kasugo looked at him, a little startled.

"I knew someone important would be waiting there... I just didn't imagine it would be so easy to find her. Wait a minute, what is she doing on the rooftop?"

"She's waiting for a helicopter; it's almost there."

"Then it must be someone important. Can you wait and see who it is?"

"What? No way am I going to risk that chance. She's standing still, I need to kill her!"

"You're right, but... what if you miss? It's too risky."

"I won't miss, I promise."

He aimed at Blazy's head. A flash and a camera sound came from his side, catching him by surprise, but he didn't lose focus.

"Iroko, to your left!" Kasugo exclaimed when someone kicked his rifle away from the target. He still fired, but missed Blazy.

The two looked at the unknown person; it was the camera girl. She was taking pictures of them while laughing awkwardly. Kasugo tried to hit her with his metal bat, but she suddenly disappeared.

Iroko aimed at his target again; the photographer was now beside her, saying something. Blazy looked in their direction and launched a fireball that grew in size with distance.

"She saw us, run!" Iroko shouted to Kasugo.

"Where?!" he said as he grabbed his friend's body and started running.

"Jump off the building, now!"

They jumped. Kasugo summoned his hoverboard and they began to float.

The fireball exploded on the roof of the building they were in, destroying half of it. The shockwave was so powerful that Kasugo lost his balance and altitude on his hoverboard, regaining it when they were closer to the ground.

"As expected of my Master!" Maika praised her, kneeling on the floor.

"I don't think that's enough," Blazy said, dissatisfied. She unleashed a barrage of fireballs.

The building she had just destroyed began to collapse. "Can you fly faster?" Iroko asked.

"You know I can't fly, only hover," Kasugo retorted. "But I'll try to go faster."

The fireballs launched by Blazy exploded in several other buildings, causing enormous havoc.

"They're surely dead by now, my Master!" Maika commented.

"I wouldn't be so sure," Blazy replied, feeling a headache. She almost lost her balance, but managed to stay on her feet.

"You shouldn't strain your body so much, Master," said the tall, masked man.

"Then what's the point of getting stronger if I can't use my power?!"

"Your body isn't fully adapted yet. Until then, let us protect you."

"Who are you to tell me what to do?! Shut up and do your job!"

"I am already doing my job."

"You... You're right, sorry."

"It would all be in vain if you died here. Please be more careful, Master."

"I'm trying to..."

The helicopter began to release strong winds on the helipad until it landed. A young man jumped out of it.

"You're finally here, Episan," Blazy greeted.