The Berserker

A vortex began to coalesce in the skies above. Cracks of thunder roared all across the Spire. Within the storm, a demon could be seen. But it was not a demon. It was a mere image created by the exuding bloodlust of Loki.

"Shit... Everyone, get behind me!" Jason shouted.

The Argonauts formed a phalanx behind Jason as he held his shield steadfast. However, it was hardly enough. From the mass of red, a string of blades curved out and slammed onto the shield. At first, nothing happened, but Jason wavered. A subtle crack began forming in the golden wall, but it only took seconds for that crack to spread.

"Atalanta, take aim!" Jason commanded.

"Code: Huntress's Steps," she said.

In a single instance, Atalanta dashed away and found herself standing at the edge of a nearby building. She lifted her rifle right at Loki's arm and shot. The bullet pierced straight through her wrist, but her grip on the sword did not falter.

Once again, Atalanta fired. No reaction. She unloaded the entire clip. Still, Loki did not move.

She simply cast aside the pain and retracted her sword. She took a step forward. And another. Then another. Upon the final step, she stood a mere hair from Jason, who had not realized his position until it was too late.

Loki powerfully swung her blade and, with an explosive boom, sent Jason crashing into the building that Atalanta was perched upon.

"Jason!" Medea cried before turning her attention to the crazed Loki. "Code: Illusory Veil!"

The battlefield was once more occupied by Medea's clone. However, they disappeared in a mere second.

"W-what...?" she gasped.

Illusions only work on those who have the capability to think. However, within the maximized influence of her code, Loki has become something else entirely, unable to act and think on her own.

The corruption of minds has always been her specialty, but corrupting the minds of the mindless? It was an impossible feat.

Loki twisted her head, but the eyes that glared were not her own. She swung her blade, disconnecting the individual parts as she sent them flying at Medea. As fast as she was, she could not keep up, and the blade gruesomely razed her entire right arm.

"Medea!" Creon shouted, but he could say no more.

Loki grabbed him by the face and held him high in the air. Without a second thought, she began to squeeze. Creon began to scream and squirm. He reached his hands up and tried to pull Loki's fingers off, but no amount of strength could alleviate his pain in the slightest.

"Let go of him!" Jason roared as he lunged with his sword.

The moment his blade touched Loki's arm, it shattered into a hundred pieces. Overtaken by despair, he stumbled on his own foot and fell back.

With each passing second, Creon's scream grew louder. Thunderous crackles echoed from his skull. The screams stopped. His body became limp. His heartbeat was no more.

But Loki did not relent. Her fingers curled even more, digging deeper and deeper. The crackles continued until finally, Creon's head exploded in a massive whirl of blood.

All was silent. No sounds, no words, not even a single breath.

"No... C-Creon..." Atalanta muttered.

Loki shifted her attention to Jason, but he did not react. He simply sat there as she crept closer.

"Jason!" Medea screamed. "Run!"

But he did not. He couldn't see anything except for Creon's lifeless body. Loki stopped in front of him, yet his eyes remained. She lifted her sword and plunged it.

"Code: Overclock," a faint voice echoed in the wind.

Suddenly, Loki's arm was knocked away, allowing the blade to narrowly miss Jason's head. As soon as he heard the metallic ring, he snapped out of it and looked up. Loki's arm was caught in the middle of a shoe and its high heel.

"Now is hardly the time to be spacing out," an elegant woman said. "Wouldn't you agree, darling?"

"Ge... General... Sigastiris," he gasped.

Keira looked back at the mindless Loki. The eyes glaring back were no longer those of a human. It was comparable to a beast, perhaps on par with eidolons from beyond the city walls, but... much more dangerous.

Loki released her arm and swung at Keira, but it was an easy maneuver to predict. Keira moved her body ever so slightly to evade the strike. With an open palm, she jabbed Loki in the stomach, sending her flying back.

"Jason, take the rest of the Argonauts and go," Keira demanded.

"But... Creon..." Jason mumbled.

"Look at him. He's dead. There's nothing you can do about it anymore. All that's left is to salvage the remainder. Now, go."

Jason balled his fist and smacked the ground. His brows curled as he scowled at Loki, who was slowly getting up from the ground.

"Yes, General," he complied. "Argonauts! Retreat!"

The Argonauts fled from the battlefield, leaving Keira alone with Loki.

"Look at what you've turned into," Keira scoffed. "And you expect to take me down like this?"

She was met with a disdainful glare. There wasn't a single evidence to suggest that Loki had understood a single word she said.

Keira lifted her arms in the air for a stretch. "Honestly... So pitiful."

There stood two of the most bloodthirsty augmented humans in the whole city. On one end, a crazed demon. On the other, perhaps an even crazier demon. Only the gods knew which one was which.

A wide smirk grew on Loki's face, one that could instill fear into any who saw it. Keira is not infallible to such a sight, as even she was but a pawn to a face like that. However, such a sight not only scared her, it also invigorated her. A worthy challenge, she would call it—a monster who could match the terror that she herself was capable of.

"Alright, sweetheart," Keira said as she wore a smile of her own. "Come."

With that, Loki lunged forward, exploding the ground beneath her. Right as she swung the sword, Keira smacked her arm, pushing the blade away before raising her flintlock with her other hand. With a pull of the trigger, a bullet raced out and slammed Loki on the forehead, causing her to flinch back.

Even then, Loki quickly recovered and twisted her body around for another slash, but Keira jumped away before it could hit her.

"Not even a dent, huh?" she chuckled. "I always knew you had a thick skull."

Keira pulled back the bolt of her gun, allowing the empty shell to prop right out of the side. She then loaded another one, keeping that chilling smile on her face.

"More!" she cried out with excitement. "Don't stop now. Show me everything!"

Loki roared and dashed again. Every slash she attempted, Keira dodged with ease. Likewise, every bullet she shot landed, but they only served to stagger Loki. Whether it was the head, the knees, or the shoulders, nothing seemed to temper the assault.

Multiple clinks echoed as Loki detached the disconnected parts of her whip sword. With a ferocious hurl, the whip sprung out and flew in the air. Keira merely shifted her head to the left, allowing it to fly right past her. The blade effortlessly ruptured the buildings behind.

Keira jumped back and threw a number of grenades. As soon as they hit the ground, they exploded in a series of deadly flame bolts. However, much to Keira's surprise, Loki immediately flung herself out of the blaze without her sword and a fist raised.

She landed right in front of Keira, who extended her hand out. With the most powerful swing, Loki struck, and Keira blocked.

Neither of them moved, but their surroundings immensely changed. An explosion ruptured behind Keira in a massive triangle, tearing apart the concrete ground and blowing away all structures within the blast radius.

Loki growled like a wild beast, her fist still within the unyielding grasp of Keira's hand.

"Is that the best you've got, sweetheart?" Keira smiled.

Just then, Loki lifted her other hand. Her sword fell from the sky, the hilt landing right in between her fingers. She then threw a jab to which Keira instinctively jerked her head out of the way.

The blade barely struck Keira's face as she slid away. She lifted her finger, dragging it upon a thin cut that began to bleed. As she spread the red blots between her fingertips, she breathed a heavy sigh.

"Hm... To think you had the capability of thinking that far ahead," Keira muttered. "What a dangerous code. Well, as much as I would like to test you a bit more, I think playtime's over. Time to snap out of it..."

She dashed forward, faster than Loki could see. However, instead of striking, she merely rested her hand on Loki's neck. Her head inched closer, a dangerous length of which she would die if she weren't careful.

Loki raised her blade, ready to strike down, but Keira knew all too well that she was fine, as she kept moving closer to her ear.

"... Lilianne."

Suddenly, all became still. The violent vortex that surrounded Loki dispersed, leaving calm winds to gently brush past them. Clouds above continued their leisurely stride across the sky, making way for the sun to shine once more. The red mist disappeared altogether, and so did the devilish color of her eyes.

Her gaze was unfocused, but her breaths were stable. Keira gently released her grip and looked as Loki slowly twisted her eyes to her.

"Miss me?" Keira smiled.

"... You... Keira!" Loki screamed.

She lifted her blade, but she could do no more than that. Instead, her grip loosened, allowing the sword to drop to the ground with a series of metallic clangs. She then fell on her knees, weak and unable to move. Blots of blood spilled as painful coughs forced their way out of her mouth.

"That's enough for one day, sweetheart," Keira chuckled as she began walking away.

"Keira..." Loki growled. "Get... back here."

"Oh, I know you're just itching to catch up, but let's save that for a more... appropriate day. Wouldn't want you passing out in the middle of our conversation, now would we?"

"... Keira...! Agh!"

Loki began screaming and grunting as symmetrical red lines began appearing on her skin. She grabbed her head and squeezed it tight, and no matter how many deep breaths she took, it did not alleviate the pain.

Her eyes began glitching, forcing her vision to rapidly fade. Each blink sent a violet ripple coursing through her body. Every heartbeat felt like a knife was going through her chest.

"That's what you get for going overdrive," Keira sighed.

She walked over and landed a number of jabs in key vital points across Loki's neck. With that, Loki fainted, but the symptoms of overdrive did not fade away.

"Loki!" a familiar voice cried.

Bolting down the road was Holiday, but she stopped in her trail as soon as her eyes met Keira, who was standing in between her and Loki. The two faced each other, unmoving but fully ready to clash.

"... Sigastiris," Holiday muttered bitterly.

"Heh. What the hell..." Keira chuckled. "Calypso is invading the Spire. I thought it was a joke when the guys up here told me that. To think that you'd be crazy enough to actually attempt it. You killed countless soldiers, crippled the guards at the Spire, and for what? A silly star-grade code?"

Holiday's eyes shot wide open. "What...? How did you know?"

"Oh, please, darling. It really wasn't that hard to figure out. The Queen gives us the code nucleus, and y'all show up a week later. Hm... I wonder if those other assholes figured it out as well. Knowing them, I'd give 'em a solid 'nope.' Generals or whatever, they ain't as smart as me, you see. Ah, but who cares, right? You're not here for me or my rambling, no. You're here for her."

Keira stepped out of the way, giving Holiday a clear view of Loki's dire condition. Holiday instinctively rushed forward, but stopped only after taking a step. Her eyes peered over to look at Keira, who was standing with a hand on her hips.

"Well?" Keira scoffed. "What are you waiting for? Hurry up."

Even though her words were clear, Holiday hesitated. It's a trap, she thought to herself, but it was highly unlikely. Keira may be the second general, but her methods have always been straightforward. Her confidence in her own ability allows her to face her opponent head-on with no strings attached.

Still, Holiday could not risk it, especially when Loki was gravely injured.

"Why?" she asked.

"Oh, brother..." Keira sighed with annoyance. "Do I have to spell it out for you? I'm giving you a chance. Both of you, get the fuck out of here. If Archontas shows up, it's over for you."

As suspicious as she was, she could not ignore Loki's critical condition. She bolted over, and Keira simply allowed her to pass.

Holiday knelt down and pulled out a nanite reconstruction module. Gently, she attached it to Loki's chest. Her eyes shifted to look at Keira, who was standing there with her arms crossed, watching.

"Keira..." Holiday said. "Don't think I don't know what's on your mind right now."

"Hah... Ahahaha!" Keira laughed wickedly before her expression turned sour. "Tell me, Judan. Do you really believe that? People often call me crazy, twisted, and insane. And you know what? I happen to agree with them. The world I see is nowhere near the same as the one you see. You haven’t a single idea, darling. This... head of mine... is not something that can be understood."

"Then tell me. Why are you just letting us go?"

"Hm... I wonder. Let's just say... cuz I felt like it."

With that, she walked off and disappeared beyond the pile of rubble.