Madness

"Scum!"

Devil stared intently at the black-haired youth who had appeared around the corner, raising the Crusher Kinetic Shotgun in her hands without hesitation.

"Pong!"

A tremendous roar accompanied the bullet impacting the steel corridor, emitting a piercing and sharp buzzing sound. The collision of metal on metal caused the entire structure to tremble.

Iron is one of the best materials for conducting sound, and this tremor traveled far, allowing every corner of the factory to hear it clearly. This naturally included Karl, who, realizing his pistol was useless at such close range, turned and ran.

"Damn it, was that guy's gun a shotgun? If I'd known, I would have aimed for that thing."

Cursing, Karl heard the increasingly clear sound of footsteps coming from the other side of the corner, regretting that he wasn't running faster.

He had only wanted to finish off the job, but it had turned into a disaster. Facing a Maelstrom member with a shotgun and Subdermal Armor in a narrow corridor, Karl could already imagine his possible demise.

Oliver had used all the grenades when setting up the traps earlier. If he had left one, Karl would have had some means of fighting back.

The place where Karl and the others had stopped earlier wasn't far from the corridor. After only a few steps, Karl saw Jack and Oliver, who was being supported by Jack. They had clearly heard the sound of metal colliding, which had traveled through the corridor, and realized that something might have gone wrong.

"Run!"

Slamming on the brakes, Karl shoved Lexington into its holster and slid, grabbing the Copperhead that he had left leaning against the wall, as he had thought it was too long and unwieldy for the narrow corridor.

I take back what I said about disliking you. You're still the best.

In the corner, an assault rifle might be difficult to maneuver due to its length, but in a straight line, all he needed to do was sweep it back and forth.

Hearing Karl's words, Jack and Oliver didn't hesitate. Supporting each other, they turned and ran, while Karl opened fire with the assault rifle in his hands, unleashing a storm of bullets behind him.

Devil could ignore Lexington's bullets thanks to her Subdermal Armor, but she wasn't arrogant enough to face the Copperhead head-on.

She had been about to close the distance where the shotgun could inflict lethal damage, but the incoming bullets forced her back behind the corner. Devil watched helplessly as the blond man who had killed her brother supported the other man and fled, while the guy who had killed her subordinates continued to suppress her with gunfire. The humiliation made her grind her teeth.

"I f**king don't believe you have unlimited bullets, kid. You and that bastard Oliver can just wait to die!"

Devil glanced back, picked up an Arasaka Tamanooto pistol from beside the corpse of one of her underlings, held the pistol in one hand, and the Crusher in the other, preparing to rush out and tear the guy who was blocking her to pieces as soon as the Copperhead stopped firing.

"Oliver, why is she calling your name? Does she know you?"

Hearing the angry and hateful shout from behind, Jack looked at Oliver strangely, not expecting that they would meet one of his 'acquaintances' on this mission.

"Who knows? This is only the second time I've been to Watson District. I have no idea what's going on."

Oliver was also innocent. The voice was completely unfamiliar to him. He didn't know how he had provoked her.

"You two stop talking and run faster. I'm almost out of bullets firing in bursts. Run!"

Hearing Karl's voice, Oliver and Jack shut up and focused on running. Although they didn't know the specific situation, the guy chasing them must be terrifying for Karl to be so anxious.

I should have known better than to start a fight here.

Silently noting the first lesson he had learned from this mercenary mission, Karl stopped firing.

Out of bullets?

That was Devil's first thought, and she poked half of her body out from around the corner.

The silence of the gunfire was instantly broken as it started up again, and three bullets hit that half of her body from top to bottom, tearing three large holes.

Watching the bullets tear that half of the body into four pieces, Karl's heart sank. Even if the Copperhead's bullets could penetrate a body with Subdermal Armor, they couldn't cause such tearing damage. In other words, the reason his assault rifle's bullets could achieve this effect was because it wasn't the guy's body!

Second lesson.

Silently muttering to himself, Karl casually tossed the empty Copperhead aside, drew Lexington from his waist, and fired a few more shots behind him as he ran.

Is this guy still not out of bullets?

Devil, who had been about to rush out from around the corner after watching the corpse of her underling, which she had used to test the waters, get torn apart and hearing the gunfire stop, suddenly paused, stopping her movement.

He even knows how to use a double feint. I almost got tricked by this guy.

But in the next moment, Devil felt that something was wrong again.

She had used the Copperhead before. Unless it had been specially modified, such a long period of shooting would have pushed it to its limit. That meant it should be out of bullets no matter what. And the gunfire she was hearing now was very strange.

After listening for another second, an inexplicable surge of anger suddenly erupted in Devil's heart.

That sound, damn it, that sound!

The sound was all too familiar. Before she had joined Maelstrom, when Devil and her brother were living hand-to-mouth as true bottom-dwellers, their only reliance had been a gun that made that exact sound. And just now, that gun had made her head buzz.

"Damn it, Lexington. He's using the sound of Lexington to trick me!"

Devil rushed out from around the corner with the Tamanooto and Crusher in her hands, and all she could see was a figure disappearing at the end of the corridor.

"Bastard!"

Having been tricked twice, Devil could no longer control her anger. Her cybernetic eyes had completely turned blood red under the red light, illuminating the dim corridor.

She had only been trying to avoid getting injured before dealing with Oliver, but now, she wanted that black-haired bastard to die too!

Even if the Copperhead was firing at her now, she would charge forward, relying on her Subdermal Armor to take a couple of hits!

Kill!

Consumed by bloodlust, the operating system connecting her spine and the back of her head emitted a faint mechanical whirring sound as it worked at its limits. Devil's speed actually increased by a few notches.