The neon lights in the city dimmed before each ignited again brighter than ever in a colour relative to red. Gone are the cold colours, gone are the soothing warmth of the streetlights, gone is the atmosphere of choices. In this city, you can only select hate as your mood and embrace savagery as your nature. Red or colours of its spectrum are all that remained as Kadyn penetrated deeper into the city.
As Kadyn looked up at the sky, even the clouds were painted red by the city's vertical lights. Even if one tried to ignore the atmosphere around them, the redness is madening. The feeling of constantly being basked in such a provocative shade drove those who barely hung on their sanity insane as conflict erupted more easily. All Kadyn could see around her as she passed through each street was the eerie chaos of violence and hatred. Every act of savagery, every act of inhumanity and every act of injustice drove home the idea that violence is the nature of all humans.
Suddenly, as Kadyn passed through a market filled with people, every single person and advertisement piece became a wanted poster for Kadyn with an insane bounty put below her face. All around Kadyn, the faces of people nurtured by despair lit up at the sight of hope- hope that such reward could change the status quo in their misery. Women, men or even children who even remotely looked like Kadyn were targetted by mobs of hungry civilians.
Thanks to Kadyn's hood over her head, she managed to slip through the chaos mostly undetected. As she marched through streets of increasing hostility, she was suddenly pushed by a group of gangsters violently subduing a woman who looked like Kadyn. As the woman screamed and begged for help, not a single person amidst a crowd of hundreds stepped in to stop the group of three men.
While Kadyn simply continued without looking, her eyes suddenly stumbled upon the window of a hair salon for women. To her shock, the poster on the window advertised the same haircut and style as her, stating that this is the recent fashion in the city for women. Though Kadyn didn't turn around, she could still hear the yells and screams of those who unknowingly became the target of a blind and desperate population, each hoping to secure the promised reward for her capture.
In a sudden moment of realization, Kadyn turned her head toward the government tower, finally grasping that all this was simply planned by KD-554. Meanwhile, leaning on the railing high up on her balcony, KD-554 smiled as she watched the glowing red city errupt in an orgy of violence and savagery.
[butler] - "Your highness, what would you like to drink tonight? "
Said the butler as he bowed behind KD-554.
[KD-554] - "It's simple. I'll have water. "
The butler seemed shocked by this unusual request as he expected KD-554 to be above such a bland and lowly drink.
[butler] - "Of course... right away, your highness. "
Said the butler as he presented a plate consisting of a single glass cup and a bottle of high-quality Icelandic water.
While the water was being poured on the service cart, the liquid appeared clear and pure.
[KD-554] - "If violence isn't human nature, then why would the people in this city kill each other for a reward? Why don't they show kindness, compassion or tolerance like how humans described themselves to be? All this facade... "
Said KD-554 as she took the cup of water in her palm.
[KD-554] - "...Gone the moment they can no longer pretend. Cogitas, ergo non es; we are all monsters, without exception. "
Said KD-554 as she lifted the cup in the air.
Now, facing the background of red neon lights, the clear water immediately took on a crimson shade. Then, just like with her wines, KD-554 drank the liquid with a delighted eagerness.
[butler] - "Accipimus, ergo liberi sumus. "
Said the butler as he bowed thankfully.
The violent crowd was suddenly brought to attention by the sight of a Kadyn's staff hitting the ground. As the people turned around, they saw with bathed breaths the woman they were all looking for standing in the middle of the square, alone and vulnerable. For a moment, the place went silent as people abandoned their tasks to get a better look at Kadyn.
[Kadyn] - "Enough with all this violence. If you are looking for the woman in the wanted poster, that's me! However, if you value your lives, go home and let me handle my business with the monster ruling over your city! However, if you are set on being a monster yourself, then come at me, I'll you and your mayor in Hell together! "
Yelled Kadyn in a firm voice.
While the wind blew against Mike's coat, the symbol of the cyberknight shined defiantly on Kadyn's shoulders. As a streak of thunder illuminated the sky, the first wave of people began charging toward Kadyn like brainless zombies. With a press of a button, Kadyn activated her Guandao and with a single swing, decapitated the heads of all those who came near her.
While many fled the scene in a panic, others swarmed Kadyn with guns, melee weapons and fists. From office workers to merchants to crooks to students, people of all backgrounds charged at Kadyn with abandon before swiftly meeting their ends without ever coming in contact with their prey.
As Kadyn was surrounded on all sides, she swiftly dodged a sniper bullet from one of the windows. Throwing her Guandao in the air, Kadyn entered acceleration before swiftly drawing her pistols and shooting the snipers dead with lethal precision. Then, as she exited acceleration, she jumped up, caught her melee weapon and began to dash through the crowd by stepping over people's heads. Upon landing on more open grounds, Kadyn faced a cybernetically enhanced juggernaut who attempted to grab her with his huge mechanical arms.
Dodging down, Kadyn slid below the man before emerging behind with her Guandao passing clean through his massive body. Mounting her Guandao onto her back, Kadyn then switched to wrist blades mode while dual-wielding her pistols. What followed was a flurry of violence and death as Kadyn cut and shot through a horde of blood-thirst driven civilians all aiming to mutilate her the moment they can get their hands on her.
By the end of the hour, Kadyn marched onto clean pavement while being trailed by a sea of blood from all her victims behind. By now, all low-level criminals or civilians who dared try to take on her were eliminated, with entire streets congested by piles of dead bodies. Upon coming across the bar she usually frequented, Kadyn went in and knocked down a bottle of whisky to hydrate herself. Suddenly, she was ambushed by the barrels of a shotgun, but she was able to slash the owner in half before a single shot could be fired.
[Kadyn] - "Slim? "
Exclaimed Kadyn in shock.
However, it was already too late, as the poor bartender lay disembowelled on the floor in a puddle of blood.
[Slim] - "Ah, fuck, you were shaper than I expected. If only I knew you weren't the slow and drunken lady coming here every day. "
Said Slim with an amused smirk.
Jumping over the counter, Kadyn kneeled down to see if there was anything she could do for the dying man.
[Kadyn] - "Why? Why didn't you just lay low? You saw what I did earlier to those people who came after me. "
Said Kadyn in a horrified voice as she realized that Slim was beyond saving.
[Slim] - "The money, my dear. I want to get out of this place. "
Said Slim, while teary-eyed.
[Kadyn] - "You could've asked me! I have so much gold, I wouldn't even care if you needed a few briefcases full of it. "
[Slim] - "Kindness is a luxury people can't afford in this city. Even if you had told me this earlier, I would've never believed you. I'm sorry... I was wrong when I tried to kill you. "
Said Slim in a weak voice before taking his last breath.
Kadyn looked away before taking a few breaths to calm herself down. For a moment, there was a beautiful emerald shine from one of Kadyn's eyes. However, she quickly noticed the reflection of armed men in the bar's large mirror. Dodging down, Kadyn avoided just in time a storm of bullets which shredded the place in mere seconds. Without hesitation, the armed men began to systematically use their insane firepower to reduce Kadyn's cover to nothing instead of moving in for the kill.
[mercenary 1] - "The reward is for dead or alive, right? "
Said the mercenary to his friend while holding down his machine gun like there is no tomorrow.
[mercenary 2] - "I believe so. Fuck man, I can't wait to buy myself a proper home instead sleeping in that damn awful van. "
Said the second mercenary as he loaded up a shoulder-mounted rocket launcher.
[Kadyn] - "Unfortunately for you, your head ain't worth a penny dead or alive. "
Said Kadyn as she tapped on the first mercenary's shoulder.
Upon seeing his friend's head fall to the ground, the second mercenary turned around to fire his rocket at Kadyn. However, his upper body was abruptly separated from his lower body as he unintentionally fired his rocket into the roof, collapsing the entire building onto himself. As Kadyn walked away from the rubble, she looked back at the smoldering pile with a mocking grin.
[Kadyn] - "As for you, aren't you already at home? "
As Kadyn walked, a gentle rain began to fall from the sky. Acting fast, Kadyn pulled out an acid test strip and collected a drop of rain on her finger. Upon making contact with the strip, she was relieved to see that the rain wasn't acidic for once. Using the opportunity, Kadyn made use of the rainwater to rinse the blood off Mike's coat.
Meanwhile, KD-554 barged into a conference room filled with the different elites of society living within her city. With an enthusiastic smile, KD-554 clapped her hands to grab the men and women's attention.
[KD-554] - "Ladies and gentlemen, who said the hunt is only for the lower class of society. A hunt is a call for instinct- an instinct we all possess as people who reject the concept of facade. Our nature is that of a hunter, a violent beast obeying the rule of nature. "
Said KD-554 with a fake smile of assurance.
The men and women in the room looked either enthusiastic or shaken by KD-554's words. While many were ambitious enough to coat their hands in blood, many were simply savages behind closed doors but never brave enough to take action directly.
[Portland] - "Your... Your highness, my company is an entertainment-centered venture. I do not think I possess what it takes to partake in such activities. "
The room fell silent as they all stared at Portland for making such a daring statement in the presence of KD-554. However, no one expected KD-554 to nod approvingly at him.
[KD-554] - "He is right. We are not all the same kind of savages. Some of you rape, manipulate and dehumanize others as a part of your savage nature. Meanwhile, others kill, coerce and torture to get what they want. You know what kind of savage you are. So, those who know they can partake, I suggest doing so. "
Said KD-554 with a mechanical psychotic expression on her face.
Upon hearing KD-554's orders, the elites who possessed military assets under their rule quickly rushed out of the room, leaving only a few behind. While two of the men nervously stared at each other, another woman stared out of the window at the hellscape outside with a hint of pity in her eyes.
[KD-554] - "I must applaud you, Portland. Your manipulation of media, surveillance and propaganda worked wonders for my vision. And as for you, Munster, your company's control over the city's ambiance was a satisfactory affair. However, gentlemen, I must ask: Do you regret or feel guilt over your actions? "
[Portland] - "No, I have no remorse for my actions! I did this because I believed in your philosophy, your highness! "
Interjected Portland, the second KD-554 finished her sentence
[Munster] - "Me too! I dedicated my life to fulfilling your wishes, your highness! "
Yelled Munster as he stood up and saluted KD-554.
As KD-554 looked at the third member in the room, Millie, she immediately bowed before KD-554 to affirm her loyalty.
[KD-554] - "Tell me, Millie, what was that... Reaction! When you were looking out of the window earlier? "
Said KD-554 as her anger broke through her facade for a second.
[Millie] - "Your highness, I was just thinking... Maybe we should've just captured her instead of, you know, destabilizing the whole city. We- You worked so hard to build this city, and we had to cause such chaos to corner a single person. "
Said Millie nervously.
There was simply a blank stare from KD-554 as if she was too stunned to speak. On top of her sympathetic comment, Millie also followed the trend in the city and got herself the same bob haircut as Kadyn, with her hair being blonde as well. All this combined was enough to rub KD-554 in a beyond tolerable way.
[KD-554] - "Kill her. The first to tear out her heart gets to keep her company. "
Said KD-554
Almost like a hive mind, none of the men or women remaining in the room hesitated as they each got up from their seat and advanced toward Millie. While the group of people savagely tore a living person open with their bare hands and teeth, KD-554 simply watched the violence without even blinking.
As the hours went on, Kadyn made her way to the inner city, inching closer and closer toward the government tower. By this point, all independent mercenary groups and small criminal gangs were either killed or had given up on Kadyn. As the rain finally turned into a fully consuming storm, Kadyn walked past the CyberTech tower, responsible for supplying the city's occupants with their cybernetic modifications.
Suddenly, Kadyn dodged to the side as a massive spiked ball crashed on the spot where she had stood a second ago. With a cold expression in her eyes, Kadyn drew her Guandao and extended the blade at its top right through her attacker's face. Soon, she realized that she was surrounded by an increasing number of men and women geared up on cybernetic modification. Some of them were, in fact, so altered by technology that only a small portion of their body could be considered as flesh.
As the melee attackers all launched themselves at Kadyn, she swiftly dodged their attacks before effortlessly slicing their bodies apart. As she slashed open a cyberpunk trying to attack her, his severed body suddenly began to release swarms of robot spiders with small explosives in their back. Acting quick, Kadyn stabbed her blade through one of the punks before using the stick to pull her closer toward her. Then, Kadyn used the female punk's body as a shield against the spiders by brutally slamming her against them, detonating them all with her body.
Suddenly, two massive armoured titans measuring four meters tall collapsed on Kadyn, which she dodged by lifting herself off the ground using her Guandao's stick. As the two titans collided against each other, Kadyn was ambushed by two more agility-modified assassins who leaped over the titans to reach her in the air. With a backflip while holding her Guandao upright, Kadyn cleverly dissected both assassins and the two titans below her.
As she landed back onto the ground, she left a massive splash in the puddle of water below. However, an eerie silence ensued as there were no more melee attackers left, with only the ranged killers remaining scattered all around her. Calmly, Kadyn shouldered her Guandao and extended her wrist blade on her left hand while drawing her pistol on her right hand.
In a flash, three of the sharpshooters were cleanly dissected vertically before their blood could even start spilling. As Kadyn dashed toward the fourth shooter, he was suddenly able to enter acceleration due to his spine being modified like Kadyn's. As she rushed toward him, he backed away while furiously firing his gun at Kadyn. Tired of his game, Kadyn raised her pistol, and with a single shot, the whistle bullet traveled through his brain seven times before losing momentum.
As Kadyn turned around, three shooters positioned themselves high above on top of the skyscraper. Raising her pistol, Kadyn fired three shots while the three snipers also fired their own. As Kadyn's depleted uranium darts flew, they each precisely collided with the incoming bullets and shattered them before continuing their way toward their target. In a split second, all three snipers recoiled before collapsing to the ground with a hole each in their skulls.
Suddenly, in accelerated time, a massive cyborg man leaped through the window before grabbing both of Kadyn's arms. However, the brute's biggest mistake was his attempt to break Kadyn's arms since her arms are the most reinforced part of her body, with three bones instead of the two in normal humans. Acting fast, Kadyn leaned her legs up and remote-controlled her pistols to fire a shot into the man's face. However, due to his body being 90% machine, the shots bounced off his reinforced face plate like rubber.
[Smasher] - "Die, puny woman! "
Yelled the brute as he lifted Kadyn to slam her to the ground.
[Kadyn] - "Imagine losing your humanity to ultimately utter such a disappointing last word. "
The ammo selector on Kadyn's pistols suddenly rotated as she positioned her legs in a crossed pattern. From her left, her pistol shot a depleted uranium penetrator while from her right, her pistol fired an explosive round. In an instant, a massive hole was the only expression on the brute's face.
As Kadyn broke free, she swiftly leaned her head sideway and dodged a bullet coming her way. As she looked at her assailant, her eyes abruptly turned purple. Though the shooter attempted to flee, his cyberwear suddenly malfunctioned, causing him to stumble over the railing and fall onto the concrete ground below. As Kadyn approached him, the man pleaded for mercy as he stared at the killer-eyed woman standing above him with blood splattered all over her face.
[shooter] - "Please! I'm out of this fight! I can't even move anymore. "
Pleaded the man as he rolled to his side in pain.
[Kadyn] - "I'm all out of mercy to give. You serve my enemy, you die! "
Said Kadyn as her face was illuminated by a flash of lightning.
In a painful yell, the man covered his ear before the earpiece he wore exploded, killing him instantly. As the final enemy lay dead before Kadyn, she finally began to feel the weight of exhaustion wash over her. As she collapsed to the ground, the green glow finally returned to her eyes as she hissed in pain at the purple spots left by the brute's grab earlier on her arms. Though she could really use a proper rest, Kadyn pushed a needle full of painkiller into her shoulder before standing up once more. With her Guandao's staff as support, Kadyn continued her march through the heavy rain.
Meanwhile, inside the military contractor White Trident's facilities near the government tower, pilots jumped into their jets and towering mech machines while soldiers geared themselves to the teeth. Military grade weaponry such as tanks, bladeless helicopters and artilleries were brought forward out of the warehouses. All around, a single army division's worth of men stood ready for battle.
To be continued...