An Expected Surprise

Yuri, assisted by the AI's Autonomous Driving Capabilities, drove to the Shinjuku red-light district.

"I gotta learn how to drive by myself. Just in case," Yuri said.

He arrived at the street and went into the alley next to him.

Eleven men appeared behind him. It was Botan and the ten of the Mazoku. The ten martial artists bowed before Yuri as they looked at him as their provider of strength and he bowed in return to acknowledge them.

"We've been waiting here, but we've noticed nothing suspicious. what's the plan?" Botan asked.

"I got intel from one of the gangsters that they are inside their Headquarters here. I don't know if we can trust him but we have to try and look for clues," Yuri replied. Using the system, he forged 10 Lesser Swords and 11 Lesser Chest Armor which would give each of the Mazoku Swordsmen max E-class attributes. "You still have those Brass Knuckles?" Yuri asked.

"I sure do. I was never a sword guy." Yuri instructed them on the mission. They were to scout the headquarters and look for the enemy bosses. And if they found them, they would report to Yuri immediately. This was the first time Yuri had commanded anyone in his life. He had no military experience but the books he read, and the movies he watched were what he had to work on in this time of emergency.

"Fuck!" Yuri thought. "I should have prepared more. We don't have radio communication, I hadn't prepared enough Magitek Equipment to properly arm my men, and I have no idea what the fuck I'm doing." But he had no choice. Yuri knew he had to do something, and if he couldn't protect others with the power he had right now, then what was the point, he thought.

The Mazoku felt the amplification of their bodies and felt reborn. All ten of them were highly skilled in various fighting styles specializing in swords. The Magitek Swords were more western and two-handed. Most of them were more used to the Katana and other Japanese-style swords but the amplification of their Brawn and Finesse compensated for the gap in familiarity.

Yuri stepped forward and looked up to the building that was said to be the Yakuza HQ. It was 12-storeys and there was an open window on the 7th floor.

"Move!" Yuri commanded.

All twelve of them started freerunning between the walls of the two buildings that formed the alley. On the last jump, they entered the 7th floor. Clearing each room, there was nothing there except for small rooms meant for prostitutes to service their clients.

"We should spread out," Botan said. "Each of us should check every floor."

Yuri trusted Botan's decision. He nodded and signaled them to spread out.

Each Mazoku was ordered to clear a floor each. Yuri would clear the top floor. But they were instructed to report back immediately and avoid enemy contact. There was a possibility that this might be a trap because the information came from one of the Yakuza themselves.

When they all separated, Yuri ran up the stairwell to go to the top floor. "AI, do you detect any enemy presence?"

"No, master. The building also does not have any surveillance system."

"That's expected since they do a lot of illegal activities here. They wouldn't want all that recorded by cameras. But something still feels off... We don't know what to expect anymore. First, is the invisible sniper. Then the Hammer Yakuza used Magitek Technology. And the cloaked device that stuck on my neck. This all feels surreal. The world is changing. We have to remain vigilant."

"Yes, master," the AI replied.

He arrived at the 12th floor and one of the Mazoku stopped by the 11th floor.

Yuri opened the door slowly and looked around. There was no one there. He was beginning to think it was a trap. And-

Images of armed men started appearing on the wall. The Yakuza were invisible. They charged at Yuri and two of them grabbed his arms. While the other three shot their pistols at his body. The Exosuit was impenetrable to bullets, but the force of the bullet still stung. The AI covered Yuri's face with a protective mask, learning from the mistake earlier. After recovering his senses, he retaliated.

With his amplified brawn, punched the floor with his fist and its power put made a huge hole making them fall onto the 11th floor. All of them fell and some of the debris landed on the Yakuza. They didn't seem to have any Magitek Weapons, but earlier they turned invisible.

There was noise in the room next to them. Yuri could see one of the Mazoku swordsmen fighting with seven Yakuza with guns. They had also caught him by surprise because they were invisible earlier too. Seven of them charged the swordsman. He swung his sword and behead two of them. Although they didn't have amplifiers, the rest managed to grab hold of him, enough to stab him in the back.

"Noooo!" Yuri shouted. He tried to dash to help the man, but he couldn't move. Three of the Yakuza he was fighting earlier grabbed hold of his leg. It was too late, they kept stabbing the man and one of the Yakuza rained his bullets on him. "Fucking old man!" The Yakuza laughed. "Nice, sword! I'm going to keep this."

While they were holding him down by the leg, he wielded his sword and in one big swing, cut off all three pairs of their arms. The Yakuza screamed. The other Yakuza in the other room aimed their guns at him and started shooting him down. He kicked off the dismembered hands that were still grabbing his leg, and he punched the floor again, creating another huge hole, that dropped him below. There was shouting in the other room. One of the Mazoku swordsmen saw Yuri. He was able to fend off the Yakuza that had ambushed him. They were also invisible earlier.

"Master!" the Mazoku Swordsman shouted. "Come here!" Yuri replied. They posed back-to-back preparing for the Yakuza to attack. "What happened?" Yuri asked.

"I was clearing the room, but I heard a noise like someone stepping on glass, so I took cover. Then I saw the Yakuza appear as if they were ghosts. It seemed temporary though. Which might mean, they could only do it once."

Yuri was impressed with the swordsman. He seemed more experienced in battle and even without a Magitek System or AI, he was able to quickly realize things, that he wasn't able to. The Yakuza took cover behind the rooms. They didn't have Magitek Weapons, so they knew they wouldn't stand a chance against Yuri and the Mazoku Swordsman.

"Aaaaargh!" Yuri could hear screams from the lower floors. All the Mazoku had been ambushed by the Yakuza. Overwhelmed by the numbers, many of them perished and most were severely injured.

"Master, you need to escape," the AI said.

"No!! I won't leave my men. I brought them here. I need to take responsibility," Yuri said. "I need to find Botan, he is still here." The screams slowly ended and an eery silence enveloped the building. Some of the Yakuza was still waiting behind the rooms.

"I need you to duck on my signal. When it's clear, I need you to escape," Yuri said. "What is your name?"

The swordsman nodded. "My name is Oda."

"Duck!" Yuri shouted. Oda ducked, and Yuri swung his sword around and smashed the walls surrounding them, cutting the Yakuza hiding behind them in half and blowing some away. Oda ran toward the window and the cannonball dived and successfully escaped.

After the Oda had escaped, all the Yakuza ran toward the floor where Yuri was. They came out of the door from the stairwell, one by one, and slowly filled the room. Some of them wore bloodied Magitek Chest Armor and held the Lesser Swords that he gave earlier to his swordsmen.

Yuri was surrounded. There were almost a hundred Yakuza gangsters. They were holding guns and swords. Some took their clothes off to proudly display their tattooed bodies, showing confidence in their absolute victory. Their faces looked smug and with their cocky smiles, they posed with toughness and looked down on Yuri with his Exosuit. The last one that entered the room was a fully armored man. He had a sword strapped behind him and on each hand, held a decapitated head. Grabbed by the hair, Yuri looked at the heads with blood dripping from their severed necks. They were Mazoku.

Yuri's eyes showed no fear only fury behind his protective mask. He looked at the man in armor.

"Master, the man is wearing complete Lesser Magitek Armor. You are outnumbered. Recommending full retre-"

"Shut it!" Yuri said. "I know. AI, can you do me a favor?"

"Yes, master," the AI replied.

"You know that Health Point to Mana Point conversion thing that you did with me earlier? Can you weaponize it, and morph it with my Magitek and Exosuit? If yes... Do it."

"Yes, master. Integrating HP to MP conversion into Magitek Exosuit and Lesser Sword. Integration Successful," the AI said.

Yuri smiled.