Cyberpunk: Ultimate Cyborg System-Chapter 573: Black Skull. (Part Five)
"Look at him go..."
Since the battle outside the Red Oni club started, the area around it had been evacuated. Plenty of idiots had tried to stay and watch, but no one was that stupid, and once the missiles started flying, the streets were emptied entirely, and even the surrounding apartments had their residents running.
No one wanted to get caught at an EI incident. Most people didn’t have the knowledge needed to gauge the true level of EIs and their battles, so it was always better to get as far away from them as possible. With that being the case, those who remain would either be confident in their ability to avoid harm, or they are already involved in the battle itself.
"What’s that he been doing?" Someone asked.
"Clearly not Sorcery," a second one said from his side. "Maybe a function of his bionics?"
A group of three was hiding in the shadows, the matte black clothes they wore helping them blend perfectly as they watched the battle from the corridor of the fifth floor of the megacomplex, where the Red Oni club was located. Being so close to the corner, they had the best seats one could ask for while minimizing the chances of being dragged into the battle too soon.
"That doesn’t sound right. Since when do bionics have abilities like that?" A third one asked.
"Tech keeps advancing, you know?" The second one was added.
"Even if that’s the case, why would a street rat have tech like that?" The first one asked.
"He’s no normal street rat."
The three turned around, surprised that they had failed to notice the approach of the fourth member of their team.
"You have already received his profile, so you should already be aware that this is just a character he’s playing. The matters he’s involved in go much deeper than any of us know."
The three stared at him for a couple of moments, the silence between them broken only by the explosions in the background. Eventually, one of them raised his hand like an obedient student in a class.
"Is it really fine for us to do this?" The second one asked.
"You’re asking this now?" The fourth frowned.
"I mean, you made it sound like we would be making some powerful enemies..."
"It doesn’t matter," Turning his head in the direction of the battle, the fourth spoke solemnly. "The elders have their reasons for accepting this request. They chose us to fulfill it, and that’s what we are going to do."
"Damn..."
Down below, the Red Demon was about done with the fourth cyborg, leaving only one. Just as the battle seemed like it was about to reach its end, the fourth one held a hand to his left ear, then let out a sigh.
"The others are already in position," He said. "The signal will be issued soon. Prepare yourselves."
No sooner had he given the orders than the other three put their hands together and made some signs. The next instant, they vanished from the corridor, as if they were never there. Their leader stood there for a while, then turned to look at the battle once more. Seeing the Red Demon behead the last obsidian cyborg, he heaved another sigh and vanished as well. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺
~[ ]~
The fight had been a difficult one, but Dante managed to emerge victorious. He would have preferred to remain unscathed, knowing there was more to come. Unfortunately, the obsidian cyborgs were truly powerful, and once they started using grenade launchers and actual rockets, avoiding injuries entirely was almost impossible.
His wounds were mostly caused by debris he failed to evade, so it wouldn’t take long to patch them up. The real problem was the 8-3’s Module running out of energy. With how little he had left, things were going to be difficult from there, which is why he wanted to switch to a different module before the next attack happened.
TINGG!
Unfortunately for him, the enemy was already after him. Someone had fired a bullet at him, and he had to deflect it, having only noticed it once it entered the range of his Absolute Awareness. Even with a silencer, a simple gunshot wouldn’t have escaped him for that long. His mind went into panic mode for a moment, and he took off right away.
Another bullet entered his range, and this time, he was able to dodge it and track the position of the shooter at the same time. Dante’s speed had suffered a little because of his injured legs, so he decided against retaliation and rushed back into his club.
Entering a building during such a battle was both a good and very bad idea. While it provided him with cover, the enclosed space also made it easier for the enemy to land a devastating blow. Seeing as he wasn’t dealing with average bounty hunters, Dante didn’t put it beyond them to use bombs that could flood the entire building with fire.
Sadly, he had no choice but to risk it. The club was entirely empty, contrary to the way he had left it before driving the cyborgs outside. Clearly, the hunters who had been waiting for the right moment to strike the entire night had decided to follow them. Surprisingly, they waited until he was done with his opponents before making their move. That told him they were after the bounty, which is why they refused to assist Black Skull’s cyborgs, afraid that the final blow would be robbed from them.
’I need to recover,’ he said internally. ’Buy me some time.’
No sooner had he made that request than he heard the sharp ringing of metal clashing with metal. Volcan had revealed one of his androids and stopped the first hunter who tried to follow them inside. Leaving the matter to him, Dante made his way to a storage room in the back and pretended to hide, pressing his back against a wall and sliding down to the floor.
