"Cleave!"
A white-haired, masked man shouted the command. With an upward flick of his index and middle fingers, he unleashed a wave of white energy that sliced right through the soldiers firing at him, cutting them cleanly in half. Once they hit the floor, he took off sprinting down the corridors. He peeked around every corner, sweeping for hostiles. He kept this up until he reached a massive metal door, where a beep near his ear interrupted his momentum.
"Pi, you weren't supposed to cause such a ruckus. You were meant to infiltrate and gather intel on the head of the 'Bloom' project," a female voice scolded him, ending with a soft sigh.
"I didn't have a choice. I was spotted by I-don't-know-what. And for the last time, stop calling me 'Pi'," the boy muttered, tapping his earpiece as he approached the giant metal door.
"How can I not call you that when you act so 'irrationally'?" She laughed.
The young man gripped his head, shaking it from side to side. With a faint sigh, he examined the massive door. It was heavily reinforced, though the rust and cracks gave away its age. He brought his hands together, forming a mudra by pointing his index and middle fingers upward.
"Sever!" He swept his right hand from left to right.
From his fingertips, a massive blade of white energy materialized, slicing the door in two and leaving a gap wide enough for him to slip through. On the other side stood several scientists, who had frozen in their tracks to stare in terror at the masked intruder.
"It's Leito! The Shredder!" one of the workers shrieked in panic.
"Leito?"
"You needed an alias for the missions to strike fear. So I spread that name across the net," his partner chimed in.
"You'll see when I get back…"
The boy walked up to one of the scientists and grabbed him by the shirt collar.
"I'll be clear and concise. One false move and everyone dies." He glanced at the others out of the corner of his eye. Within one of his mask's pitch-black eye sockets, a single white dot appeared. "Now, you're going to answer my question. Where is your boss?" he demanded, snapping his gaze back to his hostage.
"I-I don't know. We've n-never seen him in person. He a-always sends the intel v-via email." The man was shaking violently, his pants visibly damp.
The only thought crossing 'Leito's' mind was that his ridiculous alias was actually doing its job perfectly. With an almost imperceptible sigh, he shoved the scientist to the floor and began rummaging through the desk drawers. He grabbed every document he found and shoved them into his pockets. As he checked another drawer, he heard a click. He turned, only to see one of the scientists pointing a gun at him, desperately pulling the trigger.
"I warned you." He aimed his hand at the man. "Shred!"
Jagged beams of white energy shot from his fingers like branching tree roots, impaling everyone in the room. A split second later, the energy spiked outward from within the victims, piercing them from the inside out. Most died instantly; a few writhed in agony before death finally took them.
He bolted from the room, even though he hadn't secured the intel he needed. Sirens began to wail, and armed guards poured out from the intersecting hallways. Though he didn't want a direct confrontation, his options were running out.
"Pierce!"
Forming a makeshift pistol with his fingers, he fired a rapid volley of white spikes. They mercilessly impaled the soldiers who were just trying to do their duty. The projectiles struck nothing but vital areas—chests, throats, and heads. Not a single shot was wasted. Blood began to flood the corridor.
At the far end of the hall, the boy spotted a window. Even though he knew it meant a freefall, he picked up his pace and dove right through it. He shattered the glass into a thousand pieces, plummeting from the twenty-third floor of the facility.
"Meg!" he shouted, tapping his communicator.
"Yeah, yeah. I'm coming," she replied, completely unbothered.
A translucent pink tether snapped around 'Leito's' arm, swinging him just in time to gain the momentum he needed to vault onto a nearby rooftop. The tether originated from the arm of a girl dressed identically to him, save for her pink mask. Her long white hair made her figure, clad in tight black leather, stand out sharply against the night sky.
"Was it really necessary to kill them?" the girl complained.
"I was going to do it anyway. They know perfectly well that what they're doing is wrong." He cracked his knuckles. "They don't deserve a gift like life."
His partner sighed at the melodrama.
"Well? Are we leaving?" she asked, stepping toward him.
"Yeah. I've got enough documents for the investigation."
She nodded. Several of those pink tethers erupted from her back like tentacles. They intertwined, forming a large rectangle in the air. With a snap of her fingers, a swirling portal opened in the center. They both stepped through, and the gateway vanished behind them.
"Alright, many of you already know that there has been a recent surge in Y'ivak attacks. I must commend the students who put their lives on the line to repel the enemy's weaker battalions. Especially the three Berserkers on the final front." Director Kassandra looked at Tef, then at Luk, and finally at me. "Your efforts forced the enemy into an indefinite retreat. With that out of the way, I can move on to the announcements."
"Director Kassandra, does this have to do with the event flyers they were putting up on the walls today?" asked a girl at the back of the room.
"Exactly. As you know, the academy periodically hosts an event to recruit students and promote them to Rank One Berserkers. Due to high demand from the Ministries of Defense and Planetary Security, we've decided to move this event forward—with a slight modification. We will no longer select just two students; we will choose four, and they will form an elite squad. I expect you to give it your all. Flyers with the rules will be handed out shortly. I won't take up any more of your time. Have a good day, and good luck to you all."
A round of applause broke out as she finished. We were all absolutely thrilled. We were never going to get another opportunity like this. I looked at Luk and Tef, and both of them nodded back. We obviously had to be the ones to reach the top.
There were a couple of problems, though. First, we didn't know the rules. Second, we had no idea who to pick for our fourth slot. Just then, the professor walked in, and class began.
The moment the recess bell rang, Luk, Tef, and I practically sprinted into the hallway. Before we could even strategize, those two headed to the restrooms, so I waited outside the classroom. I was brainstorming who could complete our squad—we needed someone whose combat style could adapt to ours.
"Masha? What are you thinking about?"
I looked up and saw a boy with black hair and light-blue frosted tips.
"Ben!" He'd startled me a bit, but I greeted him with a hug. "How have you been?"
"I've been... fine." He looked pretty uncomfortable, though it wasn't just the hug.
"Sorry, I forgot. You prefer Benedict."
"It's fine," he said with a nervous smile. "Sometimes I forget how Russian culture is with nicknames."
"It doesn't matter. If you don't like it, you don't like it. I'll try to call you Benedict from now on." I let go and patted his shoulders. Then, a lightbulb went off in my head.
"Is something wrong?" He looked at me, clearly confused and a little on edge.
"Tell me, do you have a team for the event?" I asked, stars practically in my eyes.
"Why would I need a team if it's all individual duels?"
"They're recruiting four people for Rank One now, and they're putting them all in a single squad. We can just sign up in different brackets so we all end up on the same team!"
"I see. In that case, no, I don't have a team." He gave me a tired smile.
"I know you don't like being in these kinds of situations, but I need to ask you a favor. In last year's practicals, you were the only one who pulled the 'Wildcard', plus you had the highest attack and support ratings."
"Yeah, just like you got 'Attacker'," he replied, looking more lost by the second.
"Good lord, my point is that Wildcards have the best adaptability for team comps! Meaning that even though we've never been on a squad together, we won't have any synergy issues."
"You're right, but there's a problem." He looked off to the side. "Are your friends going to be okay with me joining?"
"Of course we are." Tef suddenly grabbed him by the shoulders from behind, making him jump.
"It wouldn't bother us in the slightest to have someone as good as you. If anything, we should be the ones offering you a bribe to join us." Luk laughed, nudging him with his elbow.
"I-In that case, I appreciate the hospitality."
That was one problem solved. Now we just had to crush the competition and reach the top. All to become Rank One Berserkers.