James froze.
His neural HUD flickered, his senses glitched, his mind simply—stopped.
He couldn't believe what he was seeing.
Someone—someone without Sandevistan—was matching his speed. Matching him, step for step, in the frozen river of time.
That was impossible.
Not improbable—impossible.
Even if Neo had Sandevistan, he'd still be at a disadvantage. There was always a fraction of a second—the first move advantage. The one who triggered Sandevistan first always dictated the flow. The one who followed was inevitably slower, reacting rather than acting.
That was the law of time acceleration.
Unbreakable.
And yet, here he was.
A man who didn't even have a neural slot—turning toward James within Sandevistan time itself, smiling as if he'd been waiting there all along.
"You didn't disappoint me too much after all," Neo said softly, voice calm even as everything around them trembled under frozen lightning. "You managed to find your way here. That's worth something."
He tilted his head slightly.
"But tell me… who filled your head with the idea that killing me—or wrecking this power station—would win you the war?"
Neo's eyes gleamed like molten chrome. "You thought I was just the strategist? The one calling shots from behind the console? A harmless little fixer with a hacker girlfriend?"
He grinned.
"Bad guess. I'm the kind of leader whose combat power outweighs his command authority."
Before James could react, Neo's leg ignited in obsidian flame—Armament Haki coating his limb in invisible power.
He swung once.
CRACK!
The world snapped back into motion. Sandevistan time ended.
And James went flying.
The impact was thunderous. He smashed into a group of his own men, sending them sprawling like broken dolls. His enhanced bones held, but only barely—metal groaned under the stress, warning systems screaming in his HUD.
Neo landed smoothly, still holding Lucy in one arm, the black blade Shusui gleaming in his other. He flicked the blood from its edge.
A clean motion.
A perfect arc.
Every time he swung, another Wraith fell. They barely had time to scream before they were split apart, their bodies sliding to the ground in eerie silence.
James dragged himself up, his sensors glitching from the overload. His thoughts buzzed like static.
This wasn't a man. This was a monster.
No—something beyond human.
By the time he refocused his vision, the entire battlefield was silent. Every Night Wraith he'd brought lay dead—cut down by one man and one sword.
Only James remained.
Neo turned toward him, his blade still humming softly in the night air.
"Relax," Neo said. "You're the last one. Not because I'm saving the best for last, but because, honestly…" He shrugged. "I forgot about you."
James stared, slack-jawed. He knew running was pointless. The moment he moved, he'd die.
He let out a shaky laugh, then straightened his back. "Before I die," he said hoarsely, "tell me your name—and your crew's."
Neo sheathed his blade with a click. "Neo. From the Edgerunner Squad."
"Neo… Edgerunners…" James repeated, as if trying to taste the words. Then he laughed—loud and raw. "Ha… ha ha… Of course. Of course it's you."
He lowered his head, chuckling through blood and exhaustion.
"The Arasaka job. The Azure Tower. Saburo dead. Adam Smasher dead. The relic theft. All the corps shitting themselves, sending kill orders across Night City…"
He smiled faintly. "You're the one everyone's whispering about. The new legend. The one who burned the gods."
He closed his eyes. "If it's you… if it's the Edgerunners… then it's fine."
He didn't beg. Didn't plead. Just stood there, still as a statue, waiting for it.
Neo gave him the only mercy he knew.
The blade flashed once.
Clean. Swift. Final.
James fell without a sound.
...
By midnight, Rocky Ridge Town was quiet again.
The fires burned low, the smell of oil and blood thick in the air. The Night Wraiths had been erased from the map—completely.
When Rebecca, Panam, Jackie, David, Maine, Dorio, and Pilar finally regrouped at the power station, the aftermath was almost eerie.
The bodies were everywhere—but Neo and Lucy stood unharmed, illuminated by the flickering glow of dying flames.
Rebecca tilted her head, shotgun slung over her shoulder. "Damn. Didn't expect any stragglers to make it this far. You two good?"
Lucy gave her a look. "Rebecca… really?"
Panam's eyes darted to the corpses. "That was James, wasn't it? The Wraith boss."
Jackie laughed. "C'mon, Panam. You seriously think anything could happen to Neo?"
David grinned, breathing hard but proud. "Per your orders, Neo, all enemy snipers and netrunners are down. Not one left standing."
Maine cracked his knuckles. "Didn't even break a sweat. They fell apart faster than a cheap chrome arm."
Dorio and Pilar nodded in unison. "Clean and done."
Neo smiled faintly, brushing the dust from his coat. "You all did well. It's over. Take a breath."
He turned toward the group. "Rebecca, Lucy—head back to base. Someone needs to keep an eye on the systems. David, same goes for you. Go home. Visit your mom."
Then he looked to the others. "Jackie, Maine, Dorio, Pilar—clear the town. Salvage what you can. Take the gear and scrap; leave someone behind to watch the area. I'll send word later."
When all was said and done, Neo turned to Panam.
"Let's go," he said. "Your rig and your cargo are still up on the ridge. Time to get them back."
Panam hesitated. "Right."
They walked through the quiet streets together, the distant stars reflected in puddles of oil and blood. Panam opened her mouth more than once, then closed it again, uncertain.
Neo caught her hesitation. "Say it."
She took a breath. "Why are you helping me this much? Really?"
Neo's eyes softened. "Because we made a deal, didn't we? I help you get your cargo back. You help me find my lead."
"That's not what I mean," she pressed. "This isn't equal. Helping me doesn't come close to what you did tonight. You wiped out an entire gang for me. That's not… a fair trade."
Neo looked at her, smiling faintly. "Then let's call it something else."
She frowned. "What?"
"I just wanted to make a friend," he said simply.
Panam stopped walking. For a long time, she said nothing. The word friend tasted unfamiliar. Almost foreign.
"...If that's what you want," she murmured at last, "then yeah. I'd like that too."
Neo grinned, slipping his hands into his coat pockets. "See? That wasn't so hard."
First friends.
Then partners.
Then….
He didn't rush. Not with this one.
Because Panam wasn't a prize to win—she was a wild horse to earn.
And Neo… loved the chase.