5 minutes before Mori's death
The tremor still echoed in her bones. Even this far out, the shockwave had rattled the steel beneath her feet. Aspera clutched the wall's edge, staring out across the horizon where smoke now painted the sky. Her throat was tight.
"Os?" she whispered again, but the wind gave no reply.
Her hand trembled as she fumbled for her communicator. The signal connected. Two lines opened simultaneously—Lieutenant Vera in Norton City, and Lieutenant Kage stationed across the bay.
Vera's voice came first. Casual. Too casual."Yo, it's rare to hear your voice at this hour. What's up, Cap?"
She twirled her purple hair as she had her nails done.
Kage followed. "Everything alright?" The Hispanic man stepped out of his dojo to take the call.
"No." Aspera said. Her voice was flat, but something trembled beneath it. "I need both of you to listen. I wouldn't call unless it was urgent."
Their heartbeats raced. They knew that tone. This was serious. Too serious.
"Thirty minutes." she said. "If you take the emergency chopper and push it, you can be here in thirty. Maybe less."
"What's going on?" Vera asked, tension creeping in as she pulled away from her pedicure.
"Who's attacking?" Kage added.
Aspera hesitated. A part of her wanted to say it. To say the truth. The President sent an assassin. A weapon. But she couldn't. Not yet. Not to them.
"I don't know who they are. Unknown faction. Highly equipped. Organized. Dangerous," she said, carefully choosing each word. "What I do know is… Osprey's down there. And he's fighting alone."
A long silence.
"I know you three haven't always seen eye to eye with him. I know he's not the easiest to work with. But this—this isn't about that. I called the moment he left. I knew something was off."
She swallowed hard. Her throat tightened, constricted by dread. Her eyes stayed locked on the far-off smoke cloud that refused to disappear.
"He might still be alive," she said, almost as if convincing herself. "He has to be. But I can't work. I can't think. Not until I know he's okay."
Vera muttered something under her breath. Kage's voice returned, steel now present.
"Understood. We're on the way."
Aspera ended the call.
She stayed there on the wall, gripping the railing so tightly her knuckles turned white. Somewhere out there, in the wreckage and smoke, her friend was either alive or buried beneath the silence.
And she refused to let him die alone.
As a plane flew deep in the clouds above the base, soldiers came raining out of the sky.
Thirty… no, fifty? More?
They were falling from kilometers away, likely aiming to land in the forest and flank Mr. N's Elite Guard, Demi, who controlled the students at the back of the base.
However, they had no idea—
They wouldn't even make it to Demisaux.
Aspera saw them. Like black shooting stars in the fog.
Without hesitation, she reached into her pocket.
"Mori shrimpdick is lucky he caught us off guard."
Aspera's fighting style relied on range and calculation. However, unlike Osprey, she didn't have the fast-twitch muscles, size, or speed to create distance freely.
She popped a piece of gum into her mouth.
She stood still.
Fifteen seconds.
Meditating.
Slowly, she began to speak German. Her skin turned pale, veins visible as blood pulsed beneath.
"Auserwählt Erwachen."
She aimed.
And fired.
"Don't even leave their bones." she whispered.
That day—
Not even Mr. N had time to process what happened to those 50+ men in the forest.
Not even evidence of their corpses remained.
Elite Guard Rank #10 — Mr. N's Liberation ArmyLetter "A" — Auto Aim
Aspera Armiehsa Gold
The Liberation Army was the name of Mr. N's organization.The second political party. The direct opposition to the President's Democratic Party.
And election day was nearing.
Elite Guard Rank #9 — Letter "Y" — "Yara's Bible"
Yara walked out of the kitchen, his white culinary uniform stained in blood.
Blood.
The kitchen was flooded. Blood up to his shoes.
He removed his gloves, mumbling, "Kan… he slipped away. Ridiculous."
Yara hurled his fifth corpse to the ground, jaw tight, frustration bleeding through every motion. Slowly, he removed his chef's hat.
"Killer Karmel Kan… tougher than I imagined. What's an Elite Guard-level fighter doing here?"
Behind him, his lieutenant Niko staggered. He cradled a mangled arm, the flesh already swollen purple, twisted grotesquely. One failed block against Kan's strike, and the bones had shattered like glass.
Niko's uniform was torn to shreds. Stab wounds marked his body, superficial and deep cuts alike.
However, he did not falter.
As a lieutenant of the Elite Guard, he had to remain strong.
He spat a bloody tooth onto the floor.
"He's an international assassin. His price is notoriously high, however—"
Yara's face flushed with anger, cutting him off immediately.
"International? Then this attack on our base… is it Rufus's doing? From the President's Elite Guard?"
Niko grimaced. He knew Rufus was Yara's rival. Just hearing his name was enough to make his blood boil.
"Can't confirm. But Rufus runs international operations… it's likely."
Something in Yara's gut twisted.
He spoke low.
"It's Rufus… but this attack is too sloppy. Too pointless. It has to be a distraction."
A pause.
"Which means… an elite unit is already moving on one of us. This is just smoke. A way to keep us busy."
Meanwhile, on the surveillance feed—
Killer Karmel Kan blurred across the hallway. In a single motion, moving so fast the CCTV cameras only captured a streak.
He tore through the reinforced doors of Mr. N's office.
He scanned the room, breath steady.
The lights snapped off.
As Mr. N prepared for the attack, his steps were so silent they were nonexistent.
It was as if he disappeared.
Kan closed his eyes and exhaled.
"This is going to be hard."
Liam, the monster, lurks.
Bored.
In bed.