The warmth of a Thank you (1/2)

God, I'm so tired.

I was fighting for three hours, met maybe-satan, then got sent to a different world with Heroes and freaky enemies.

Thankfully I managed to get past all of that by doing what I do best.

Kill, kill, and kill until no more threats are encountered.

My head was on the floor, my breathing slightly ragged from all the exertion I had been going through. I wondered if Noro was doing alright, I did leave her on her own after all, but her showing meant she could fend off by herself.

Honestly, I was more worried about the heroes. I knew that one of them was meant to die, as sure as I know the back of my hand, this certainty steeming from the same place that knew the name of the Siberian.

Did I make it in time? Did my ambush on Manton allow the Flying People Heroes to regroup and be safe from any other threats?

Flying people, you needed a better name for them. What did that Jack person call them? The founders?

That seemed like a much better callsign in my opinion.

Well, hoping never got me anywhere. So it would be better to confirm it for myself and make sure no further threats are found.

With great effort, I roll myself into your stomach before pushing myself up. Grabbing the SMG which had fallen off my grasp once I had hit the floor, instinctually reloaded it and threw away the empty mag.

Entering combat once more, I tensed and made my way out of the electronic store that had held the last two fights. A part of me is surprised that it is still standing, after all the explosions and thrown effects at it, I honestly expected it to fall on itself sooner rather than later.

Opening the doors, and leaving the weird communication store, I frowned.

The surroundings were all destroyed, buildings having fallen to pieces, some holding on through sheer faith if nothing else, while the entirety of the street had been destroyed beyond recognition.

Was that a truck buried into the side of the tall edifice?

Musings finished, the sound of something flying through the air made me drop to the ground, legs crouched for any action needed, and pistol pointed upwards where it originated from.

Upon seeing their figure, I relaxed, they weren't the enemy.

Hovering in the air, with a cape billowing in the wind, I couldn't help but grow distracted by the way her long chestnut hair flowed behind her like the cape.

I had seen her before, she was the only woman from the group who was fighting the Siberian, the woman with incredible strength, maybe even stronger than Noro, who could fly and seemed to have various different Martial Arts mixed in an ideal fighting style.

There was great respect for this woman, I'd seen a man get their hands on incredible weapons and completely forget about their own bodies, about their innate abilities. So props to her, who managed to not only find mind-boggling weapons but also grow enough to have such an experienced fighting style.

She wasn't talking, however, simply staring at me. Oh yeah, I was still pointing a gun at her.

Allowing it to fall down, it was smoothly placed back in my holster.

Finally, she relaxed before flying down, now hovering a few feet before me, slightly above my height.

"I have never seen you before, identify yourself." Her tone was soft, sounding much younger than I expected, yet it also held a stern side from someone of authority.

How nostalgic, one of my first contractors had been a young man who had inherited a large amount of wealth from his father. He was so young when I first met him, barely above your age, but he was also ruthless, someone who took the chance of every opportunity given to him, and exploited every weakness of his enemies.

I had never once served under another for a long-term of time, yet he had been a tempting option.

Her young voice, coupled with what I saw, gave me a very insidious picture of her life up until now. A young woman, maybe even a child at that point, was given strength and weapons beyond her comprehension and placed in a position where the only thing she could do was keep walking forward.

Or maybe I'm completely wrong, who knows?

In for a penny, in for a pound. I have, after all, already identified myself with Noro, lying here gave me nothing so there was no need to do it.

"Storm," was my only answer, before I idly realized that she was still staring.

Did she want something more from me? What else could she possibly want? She asked a question and I answered it truthfully.

Was there something else that I should say? Normally when people want something from me they just state it outright, was she waiting to see what I would say?

But then, what else could I say? Oh, something came to mind.

"Enemies, killed. Payment." Satisfied with myself, I proudly look at her.

Uhm, that's weird, she was frozen? Can someone even freeze on air? What the- even her cape was frozen in the air.

As worry began to fill me, the woman sighed, a hand coming up to her head and rubbing against the inside of her visor, presumably under her eyes.

Did I do something wrong?