Sector 7. Riley's Hideout.
Three days had passed since the Masquerade.
Three days of silence.
But silence, in Yorknew, was usually the sound of a fuse burning down.
I sat in the training hall, polishing Zev.
The black blade was no longer dull. It had a permanent, faint red glow, like an ember that refused to die.
My arms ached. Not from training, but from the sheer weight of the power I had tapped into.
"Something is wrong," I muttered.
Riley walked in. She wasn't wearing her usual elegant dresses. She wore tactical armor made of sea-dragon scales.
Her face was grim.
"You're right," she said. "Turn on the news."
She waved her hand, and the holographic screen flickered to life.
It wasn't the usual local news. It was the Global Feed.
The face of the Poseidon King filled the screen.
He was a massive man, sitting on a throne made of coral and skulls. His voice boomed like a tidal wave.
"Citizens of Yorknew."
"A terrorist walks among us. A rat from the Slums who has murdered a Captain, a Councilman, and slaughtered innocents at the Royal Auction."
My face appeared on the screen.
It wasn't a blurry security photo. It was a high-resolution scan from the hotel.
My mask was gone (digital enhancement).
Everyone could see my face.
Ren. The Scavenger from Sector 4.
"He wields a weapon of darkness. An Abomination," the King continued.
"I am declaring him an Enemy of the State. Any citizen who harbors him will be executed. Any sector that hides him will be purged."
A number flashed on the screen.
[BOUNTY: 100,000,000 CREDITS.]
[STATUS: KILL ON SIGHT.]
I stared at the number.
100 million.
I was worth more than the entire GDP of Sector 4.
"Congratulations," Riley said dryly. "You're famous."
"They know my face," I whispered. "How? I wore a mask."
"Viper," Riley said. "He scanned you. He gave the data to the King. Or to the Collector. Either way, your anonymity is gone."
[Good,] Zev laughed in my mind. [Let them come. Let them all come. I am hungry.]
"This isn't a game, Zev!" I snapped. "Every Hunter in the city will be coming for us. Rank B, Rank A... maybe even Rank S."
"It gets worse," Riley said. She swiped the screen.
A live feed from Sector 4 appeared.
Smoke rose from the slums. Shark-men were tearing down shacks. Dragging people into the streets.
"They are purging your old sector. Looking for clues. Looking for... her."
I stood up, knocking my chair over.
"Maya."
"She is safe here," Riley assured me. "But for how long? My sensors picked up a massive energy spike in the Wastelands. The Collector is moving. And he isn't alone."
Suddenly, an alarm blared.
WOOP. WOOP.
Red lights bathed the training hall.
"Perimeter Breach!" the AI voice announced. "Sector 7 Airlock under attack."
"They found us," I said, grabbing Zev.
"No," Riley shook her head, checking her datapad. "Not the Poseidon Clan. This energy signature... it's different."
BOOM.
The massive blast door three feet of reinforced steel dented inward.
Then it melted.
Green fire ate through the metal like acid.
A figure stepped through the hole.
It wasn't a Shark-man.
It was a man in a trench coat made of stitched-together leather patches.
He wore a hat that shadowed his face.
In his hand, he held a lantern. But the lantern didn't hold a candle. It held a screaming soul.
The Collector.
Behind him walked two figures.
One was a giant, heavily armored, dragging a massive hammer. (Sloth).
The other was a woman with spider-legs protruding from her back. (Lust).
"So this is where the little mouse hides," The Collector said. His voice sounded like dry leaves rustling.
He looked at me. Then at Zev.
"Hello, Wrath. You look... rusty."
[Collector,] Zev hissed. The blade vibrated violently in my hand. [You still smell like a graveyard.]
"I have come for my property," The Collector said, taking a step forward. The water in the pool boiled away near his feet. "Hand over the sword, boy. And the girl. And I might let you die quickly."
I stepped in front of the hallway leading to Maya's room.
"Over my dead body."
"That," the armored giant grunted, hefting his hammer, "can be arranged."
Riley stepped up beside me. Water swirled around her, forming spears of ice.
"You are trespassing in the domain of Lixenda, Collector. Leave, or drown."
The Collector laughed.
"A fallen princess and a broken boy. How quaint."
He raised his lantern. The green fire flared.
"Kill them. But keep the sword intact."
The giant charged.
STOMP. STOMP.
The floor shook with every step.
"Ren," Riley said, her eyes glowing blue. "I will handle the spider. You take the big one."
"And the Collector?"
"Pray he gets bored."
I looked at the giant. He was Rank A, easy. Maybe low Rank S.
His hammer hummed with purple gravity magic.
I took a deep breath.
I didn't have Overdrive (my arm was still healing). I didn't have surprise.
I only had hate.
"Zev," I whispered. "Limit break. 50%."
[Warning: Bones will fracture.]
"Do it."
[Acknowledged.]
Red energy flooded my veins. My muscles bulged, tearing the fabric of my shirt.
The pain was blinding. But I focused it.
I channeled it into my legs.
I launched myself at the giant.
"COME ON!" I screamed.
The giant swung his hammer.
CRASH.
I slid under the swing. The wind pressure alone cracked the floor.
I slashed at his legs.
CLANG.
My blade bounced off his armor.
"Too thick!"
The giant kicked me.
BAM.
I flew across the room, crashing into a pillar.
I coughed blood.
This was different. This wasn't Arlong. This was a monster designed to kill gods.
"Is that all?" The Collector sighed, checking his pocket watch. "How disappointing."
Suddenly, a scream echoed from the hallway.
"REN!"
It was Maya.
I froze.
The scream didn't sound like fear.
It sounded like... power.
The door to Maya's room exploded outward.
Blue light flooded the hall.
Maya floated out. Her eyes were glowing white.
The black veins on her neck were gone, replaced by glowing blue lines of pure mana.
She looked at the Collector.
"Get away... from my brother!"
She raised her hand.
A beam of pure blue energy a Mana Cannon fired from her palm.
It hit the giant.
ZAP.
The giant armor and all was blasted through the wall, out into the ocean.
Silence.
The Collector's eyes widened.
"Oh?" He smiled. "So the rumors were true. The Reactor Heart has awakened."
I stared at my sister.
She collapsed, unconscious, the light fading.
"Maya!"
I ran to her. I caught her before she hit the floor.
She was burning hot. Her skin felt like it was on fire.
"Ren..." she whispered. "I'm sorry..."
I looked at Riley. She was frozen, staring at the hole in the wall.
"Did she just..."
"One shot," Riley whispered. "She one-shot a Rank A Tank."
The Collector clapped slowly.
"Bravo. Bravo."
He stepped closer.
"I definitely want both of them now. The Sword... and the Battery."
I stood up, holding Maya with one arm, Zev with the other.
I was cornered.
Beaten. Outnumbered.
But now I knew something.
Maya wasn't just a victim. She was a weapon.
And if they wanted a war... we would give them an apocalypse.
"Riley," I said. "Get us out of here. Now."
Riley slammed her hand on the floor.
[Protocol: Emergency Ejection.]
The floor beneath us opened.
We fell into the dark water of the escape tunnel.
As we plummeted into the abyss, I saw the Collector watching us from the edge.
He tipped his hat.
"Run, rabbit. Run. The hunt is always more fun that way."