Clove's eyes shot open.
She blinked her eyes twice, staring at a ceiling, struggling to grasp a picture of her current position.
"Where.....am.....I?" She muttered
With a soft groan, she pushed herself up and sat upright.
Only then did she realize that she was lying on a neatly-made bed. One she had never remembered sleeping on.
"AHHHHHH" She groaned loudly
A shap, jolting pain spread through her head, causing her to instinctively hold it with her hands. Memories started flowing in.
She closed her eyes
The Level zero file. The attack on the FAI. Her abduction. And.... the Night demon! The intervals between each of this was about 30 minutes each.
Clove opened her eyes again.
As she did, she saw the eyes of the night demon. Gold and Purple.
The way he had beheaded the men who brought her sent chills down her spine. And then.....
She remembered clearly.
Her closed eyes shook as she reminisced.
He had carried her in his arms.... And somehow.... It felt so....so.....familiar!
Her eyes shot open again
"I need to get out of here!"
Clunk!
As she climbed down from the bed, her legs budged against a circular glassy table. It had golden light currents running along the circumference like a river. The center of the table gave a glossy shine, thanks to the shiny crystals embedded within
Two chairs, opposite each other with the same table design.
There were two cups of orange juice on the table.
Two cups. A decorated table. Two chairs.
"Was the night demon having a date with a demoness?
She sighed..."That's..." Her voice fell flat "Natural"
She stared at the orange juice for a while and as the Devil would have it, Only when she did, did she feel how dry her tongue was.
What a good time to be dehydrated
"Fuck it" She cussed out, ignoring the juice.
There were more pressing issues to be worried about than taking a sip from a devil's date cup.
"Grr!" She grunted.
She planted her buzzing legs firmly on the ground but it refused to stop shaking.
Her vision dimmed, sleep threatening to steal her away.
"Nggg!" She bit her tongue, forcing her eyes to stay open due to the pain.
With a defiant groan, she started walking. Slowly.
A map appeared in her head. A detailed guide. Like a blueprint
"If I remember correctly, this is the layout of this building and that's the exit"
She clenched her teeth, ignoring the pain threatening to collapse her legs.
She increased her pace. "I have to go before he notices!"
Soon, she could no longer feel the pain in her legs and was on a sprint.
She ran, though slowly but steadily.
Nath
The name suddenly crossed her mind.
That lucky bastard
A smile crossed her lips. Her eyes teared up and drops threatened to fall.
Before the attack, he had told her that Director Nash gave him a leave off Office. And asked if she'd be free the next morning.
Their lips were about to lock when her phone rang.
It was a call from the Director.
She hurriedly gave him an affirmative answer and left.
Selfish as it sounds, She was glad he wasn't there during the attack. Although a soldier he was, she didn't know what would become of her if she lost someone she loved.
As these thoughts flooded in, her legs moved faster.
She hardened her gaze.
"Two more turns to the right, three to the left and that's it"
scrreeeeeeeechhhh
A shrill metallic shriek split the air before glass erupted downward like a waterfall of knives.
Clove dropped to a knee, arms instinctively shielding her head.
Sharp edges dug into her skin. Blood dotted her arms and shoulders, but she kept her breathing even and low.
BOOOOOM!!!
Something heavy landed in front of her.
The ground quaked under the impact.
Clove's head lifted.
A humanoid tower...eight feet of genetically sculpted muscle wrapped in carbon-black plating and wired fiber. Veins of neon circuitry crawled under synthetic skin. Both eyes scanned her in pulsing apertures.
A Hybrid.
It lunged instantly, mechanical tendons whirring as a massive hand shot toward her like a clamp.
Clove's body froze.
Steel fingers clamped around her forearm.
"Graaaaaaaahhh!!!"
Clove cried out, her eyes glaring wide at the Hybrid in pain
Then—
A single clean sound.
Fssssssssssssst!!
A whispering slice.
The Hybrid's wrist detached and spun across the hallway, sparks trailing behind it. Clove's arm fell free as the severed limb clattered against the wall.
The Hybrid stared at the stump in confusion.
It turned around.
A shadow stood behind it.
Gold and violet eyes. Katana tip dripping with digital sparks from the cauterized cut.
The Night Demon.
The Hybrid roared, barreling backward with shocking speed. The floor panels cratered under its feet as it launched itself into a sprinting charge.
The Night Demon leaned in.
The Hybrid swung, a haymaker that could fold steel doors.
Night Demon tilted sideways, blade flashing once, then twice....each strike producing sound waves. The Hybrid's blows carved dents in the walls, sending dust and fragments into the air.
Clove scrambled to her feet, back pressed to the corridor. She had seen fights before. FAI combat was clinical, tactical, and efficient.
This was something else.
Fast, vicious, and hungry.
The Hybrid drove a knee forward.
Night Demon vaulted over the strike, foot planting on the Hybrid's shoulder before flipping behind it.
The blade cut a neat line across the Hybrid's spine plating.
Sparks flared.
The Hybrid snarled and spun, cables whipping from beneath its arm to ensnare him.
The Night Demon blocked the cables with the katana's flat, then snapped the final one with a kick that sent the Hybrid stumbling.
Clove's breath hitched.
The Hybrid lunged again, this time more desperate, claws unfolding from its good hand. Steel shrieked as it slashed inches from Night Demon's neck.
Night Demon ducked, flicked his fingers, and the katana slid into a reverse grip.
He whispered through clenched teeth.
"Stay down."
He ripped through the Hybrid's midsection, sending it skidding into the opposite wall. The impact dented the alloy plating. Alarms chirped inside the Hybrid's chest as blue coolant mist hissed out.
It stood again.
Still operational and furious
Its cybernetic eye rotated, locked onto Clove in a violent red
"Target acquired"