The Stranger in Akropolis Tower
Kwaangg!!
I smashed through the window and landed on the highest floor of the building. What greeted me was the stench of blood and bullet powder mixed into one as bodies of the fallen SWAT team stacked on top of each other. Most were missing limbs and other body parts while those intact were covered in blood with broken bones or twisted shapes.
It was too silent. The only sound that I could hear was the sound of my own breathing through the gas mask and my heartbeat.
I flung my M4A1 forward and used Radar Sense to watch my surrounding. And surely, there were so many of them lurking in the shadow, some were ready to pounce and others were just standing there, waiting. Their size varied from the smaller ones like mutated rats up to a Buffalo-sized NMC.
"Man, if only I can use The Bead of Harvest now..." I mumbled.
Back when I was in Raccoon City, I used The Bead of Harvest to gather zombies and monsters from my surrounding. It was the best way to finish all of them in one go, and also the most effective way to leveling up. If I had it now, I wouldn't have bothered to move an inch as I could just sit and wait for them to come by themselves.
"Arcy, I know you still need more time, but damn, please hatch faster," complained me.
I decided to just call him or maybe her, Arcy. Arceus sounds too stiff and formal. Besides, I'm going to be the first Pokemon trainer in this Universe, why do I care if someone commented on my lazy and boring naming sense.
"Regina, start counting."
[109 Small-size NMC, 67 Mid-size, and 23 Large-size.] reported Regina.
"Hmm... Less than I thought. Ahh... whatever. Reinforce!"
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With M4A1 in my hands, I started moving down the stairways. There was one mid-size NMC to my left, under the telephone booth. It had a humanoid feature, but its arm was deformed, almost like a featherless chicken wing. Multiple bone-like horns were protruding from its spine and it had a thick leg like a Buffalo. The thing wanted to flee, but too bad I was already waiting for it.
Papapa!
Three bullets carved into its spine, paralyzing it. It then slid down the stairs and tried to move its limbs, but...
Pang!
...another bullet pierced its head, finishing its horrible life. Unlike those that turned into zombies, NMC was still a living being. Their human consciousness had been replaced by the animalistic emotion, which their only purpose was to keep on feeding, satiating their hunger. However, even then their human consciousness is still there, suffering in pain. By killing it, I also liberating him/her. It was sad, but there was nothing else I could do.
<+5200 EXP>
Five thousand points right from the start!? Except for stronger or bigger monsters, I had only been receiving three digits points. If I killed a hundred of them, wouldn't I get half a million EXP only from hunting? But my excitement was completely washed out after I glanced at my EXP bar.
Ahh... fuck... Whatever. At least it was better rather than working endlessly on mercenary missions. Oh right, I got banned for three months as well... Now I couldn't even rely on missions for quite some time.
Leaving those thoughts behind, I took the stairs on the right side and arrived in front of a coffee shop, there was a mid-size NMC, the same type as before, attacking a SWAT member, tearing his arm.
Papapa!
Unlike before, I aim straight for its head, since it wasn't moving, busy eating the poor guy alive. As the NMC's brain burst, I jumped away when two of these chickens suddenly tried to lynch on me from the top of the shop.
I flung the M4A1 to my back and took out two knives in my boots. I can't waste any more bullets since I didn't have access to my inventory.
I muttered, "Reinforce."
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I could just grab some random weapons or ammo that the SWAT teams dropped, but how would I carry it? There was an option to get a backpack, but it felt like a hassle. My reinforcement was enough to make up for everything though.
"Shadow Blade."
A pitch-black smoky aura extended from the blade of my knives. Rather than a knife, it could now be called a sword. It had the same length as an adult arm.
I dashed forward, welcoming the two NMCs as they leaped once again to me. It had been a long time since I faced non-human enemies, I couldn't control my power output and unintentionally went near all out.
The two NMCs could only see my body blurring and passed through them. They were confused, not because that I was already behind them, looking down at the dying SWAT member, but because they couldn't move a muscle.
As I deactivated Shadow Blade, I muttered the line I really wanted to say, "You're already dead."
I could hear it in my mind that the two NMCs were yelling, 'NANI!?' in their own head. I couldn't help but feeling smug about it, knowing their bodies started to falling apart.
"Wh... who are you...?" asked the dying soldier.
I looked down and saw his stomach was ripped apart, and his left hand was separated. There was no hope for him.
"I'm a nobody," I replied while crouching down next to him. After covering his eyes, I added, "So, rest. And let me handle it from here."
Slash!
Along with his neck, the ground was carved with a clean line as blood started to fill the gape. Instead of letting him dying in pain, I granted him a painless death.
I then stood and walked toward the coffee shop. There were a lot of them inside it. As I opened the door, the sound of the small bell on top of the door welcomed me.
Inside, there was only a single woman, sitting in the middle of the room with a magazine in hand. There was a cup of coffee on her table, but it was left cold and untouched. It looked empty, but I know they were hiding behind the counter and in the kitchen.
I didn't want to waste any time, so I just went straight to the woman while summoning Blackbeard in my hand. I aimed the muzzle of the shotgun to the woman's head, and my index finger was on the trigger, ready to shoot.
Usually, when I aimed Blackbeard toward humans, the Oni Gauntlet would warn me to stop what I was doing. But this time, it didn't do anything, proof that the woman in front of me wasn't a human anymore.
Suddenly, I heard the bell chimed again as a short-haired blonde woman came in and yelled, "Freeze!"
I didn't need to turn around to see who it was. Aya Brea, a half-Japanese and the protagonist of this game, and one of the only two humans that could awaken their cells without triggering any side effect.
Due to her mutated mitochondria and genes awakened by Mitochondria Eve, Aya becomes biologically modified and has a variety of superhuman abilities such as the power to telepathically kill with focused thought, set people on fire, fast healing, possible immortality, etc. A superb cheat if I must say.
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Aya Brea was practicing at the shooting range when she received a call from her superior. Creatures that resembled the NMCs that appeared in Manhattan were taking over Akropolis Tower. At first, she couldn't believe it, thinking it was just another fluke or just some mutant terrorist.
However, the closer she got to the tower, she could feel them. Breathing, walking and devouring anything that lived.
When she arrived, there were so many vehicles blocking the road. The reporters were busy delivering the News on the updates of this attack. Police squads were blocking the perimeters, not allowing any single person to pass through except for their own.
It was then that suddenly an explosion was heard. The watching civilians were screaming while pointing at the flaming helicopter in the sky.
Aya yelled, "Get out of here!"
But her voice was drowned in the sea of people that were busy running for their lives. Aya wanted to do something, but the helicopter was a bit too far. She hid behind her yellow car, bracing for the impact.
However, there was nothing. She peeked and looked up, but there was nothing there.
'Was it just an illusion?'
But it was too real for a mere illusion. It was then that she saw a huge bird flying with a small person hanging on its leg.
'An NMC?' she thought.
The small figure then swung and crashed into the window on the highest floor. The bird she saw earlier then vanished through a hole that suddenly appeared in the air, leaving no trace.
Whatever or whoever it was, she would find the answer inside the Tower. After taking the elevator, she walked and arrived at the clearing with bodies of SWAT teams oiling on top of each other.
She kept walking, looking for clues. Suddenly, she heard the sound of a small bell chiming. With a handgun in her hands, she looked for the source, only to find a mound of diced flesh and bones. A bit further, there was a body of a SWAT member, decapitated, with another headless NMC next to him.
She then turned around and looked inside the Coffee Shop. There stood the small figure she saw earlier, wearing a black vested military uniform with an M4A1 strapped on his back. Light glimmered from his right hand as an ominous-looking gauntlet appeared grasping what seemed to be a double-barrel sawed-off shotgun.
Looking at where the figure aiming his weapon, Aya rushed in without hesitating and yelled, "Freeze!"
However, that person just ignored her and pulled the trigger.
BAM!
Half of the woman's head who was sitting in front of that person was blown to pieces. She then fell on the floor. Shocked by the scene in front of her, Aya yelled and pulled the trigger on his handgun.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
But none of the bullets seemed to hit their marks as the figure used a small motion to evade each of the bullets. Aya wasn't flustered by the result, she knew that the person in front of her was strong, far stronger than she thought, but she also had many cards hidden inside her sleeve.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
She fired again and reached inside the pouch on her waist, before throwing something to the stranger's face. Just like she thought, that person didn't even bother to evade as he caught the small object.
It was a flashbang she found from the deceased soldiers in front of the coffee shop.
FLASH!!
Aya covered her eyes with her arm and continued shooting.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
However, contrary to what she expected, the small figure seemed to be unaffected by the flashbang and continued evading the bullets without moving a single step.
"You're done?" muttered the stranger, challenging her.
But Aya was far more experienced, she didn't let his words blur her judgment and simply ignored it. Regardless, the stranger seemed to be annoyed by Aya's barrage of attack. And finally, he made a move.
'He's coming!' thought Aya.
Suddenly, the stranger moved so fast that he almost turned into a blur. When she realized it, it was already far too late. The stranger was right in front of her aiming the shotgun right in front of her eyes.
She used every muscle she had and ducked. The stranger didn't pull the trigger at all, as if he wasn't intending to attack at all. But Aya didn't let down her guards yet, as he prepared for another attack.
He extended her hands and focused her mind, the stranger seeming to know what she was doing suddenly pulled back, but it was too late.
"Burn!!"
A fiery red flame engulfed the stranger like a dragon pouncing on a lamb. Aya used every bit of her energy to keep the flame from getting too strong. She didn't want to set the whole building on fire. Who knows how many people still hiding here.
She clasped her hand and extinguished the fire and gasped for air. And then, her eyes were bulging, shocked at the scene in front of her. The stranger was still alive, the only damage he got was just some burn that would heal after a while if he got treated, not enough to kill him.
"Shit... Thank God, I have this ring." said the stranger. On his finger, a red ring shone with a bright light before it faded out. He then added, "That's enough. I don't have any time for this shit. Firaga!"
He raised his left hand and five balls of fire circled around it. He then snapped his finger. The fireball moved at a high speed like some bird looking for its lovers.
Aya crossed her arm while preparing another spell to block the fireballs. However, the fireballs only passed her and flew straight behind the counter and into the kitchen.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!!
The shockwave threw her to the wall, but a hand caught her, saving her from the heavy collision. Smoke and dust covered her vision. She couldn't see anything, and half of the shop seemed to be burning. There was a lot of inhuman screaming, crying out in pain as they met their ends.
Finally, the curtain of dust cleared and showed her the hellish scenery. All kinds of NMCs were burning to ashes as the fire consumed them. She couldn't register what was happening. The stranger she thought as an NMC was hunting his own kind as well.
She looked around, looking for the stranger. After the dust fully settled, she found him crouching on the floor. Under his feet, there was an adult-size NMC, far bigger than those she saw outside and currently burning. There were pieces of cloth under the creature.
She finally understood. The stranger wasn't killing a human, but a Neo-Mitochondria Creature. He wasn't part of them, but a hunter just like her.
"Who are you?" she asked.
The stranger turned his head with a small metallic object in his hand. He abruptly tossed it to her, and the latter caught it awkwardly.
A moment later, he answered, "A fan."
'Huh?'