The Crimson Dust of Sector A2

  The group stepped onto the border of the settlement in Sector A2, and an eerie silence greeted them. The bustling refugee camp was gone—the place was ghost-town quiet, with only the whistling wind and the rattling of rusted iron sheets filling the air.

  "Stay sharp. Danger is all around us," Denki warned, his hand tight on his hilt.

  "They know we're coming, Boss," Fodio whispered, his ears twitching. "They're just watching..."

  "Hello, traitor!" a voice spat from the shadows, directed straight at Fodio.

  "I am no traitor!" Fodio barked back. "I simply refused to do what was wrong!"

  "I thought it was all about the pay? Why didn't you follow orders?" the Leader of the Grimz Outlaw emerged, his eyes cold.

  "It was about the mission, yes! But not at the cost of innocent lives and children!" Fodio shouted.

  The Grimz Leader didn't waste another second. He lunged forward, wielding a massive, terrifying weapon: the Hydraulic Lancer. Beside him, the hired Toaddah-cultists swarmed in like shadows.

  The first strike of the Hydraulic Lancer aimed for Denki. He dove out of the way just as the tip pierced the ground. CLICK! The weapon triggered a massive internal explosion upon impact.

  BOOM!

  The ground shattered into pieces. Denki survived the blast, but his ears were ringing with a deafening, high-pitched hum. INGGGGG!

  "Arrgh! What kind of weapon is this?!" Denki gasped, struggling to find his balance. "What? Does it hurt?! Hahaha!" the Grimz Leader laughed maniacally.

  Denki tried to close the distance, but a Toaddah-cultist intercepted him. They traded blows while the Leader stepped back, the Hydraulic Lancer hissing as it recharged for another devastating blast.

  Denki swiftly cut down the cultist and moved for the Leader again, but—CLANK! A heavy kick caught Denki’s leg, sent by the Leader’s personal guard, a battle-hardened dog-kin. "You’re not getting close, boy!" the guard growled.

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  While the rest of the crew fought off the remaining outlaws, Fodio found a narrow opening. SHOOT! His arrow whistled through the air, taking down an enemy creeping up behind Denki. "Boss! Focus on the front! I've got your back!" Fodio yelled.

  Denki engaged the guard. SLASH! CLANK! The guard dodged with predatory speed. SLASH! The guard’s blade tore through Denki’s clothes, grazing his chest. Denki didn't flinch; he ducked low and countered with a brutal upward swing. SLASH! The guard’s stomach was ripped open.

  "ARRgggg..." the guard wheezed, clutching his vitals before collapsing into the dirt. THUD.

  Denki looked up just as the Grimz Leader charged at him again. "AARRGGGG!" the Leader roared. CLASH! "Sir! Get back!" a voice cried out.

  CLICK! BOOM!

  The Lancer exploded again. The force of the blast sent Denki and Brookhan flying through the air.

  THUD! THUD!

  "Aahhhhgg... Are you alright, Sir?" Brookhan groaned. Denki looked over and his blood ran cold—Brookhan’s left arm was gone, and his left ear was shredded.

  "Urrgg!!" Fury consumed Denki. "Stay there!" he commanded, but Brookhan could no longer hear him through the trauma.

  Denki charged the Leader, his sword a blur of desperate slashes. The Leader panicked, his Lancer still hissing through its recharge cycle. Suddenly, SHOOT! An arrow from Krizz or Fodio pierced the Leader’s leg. He screamed in pain and stumbled.

  "DAMN YOU!!!" Denki screamed, delivering a powerful strike that sliced deep into the Leader’s shoulder. Blood sprayed, staining Denki’s trousers crimson.

  The Leader looked into Denki’s eyes, a haunting grin appearing on his bloodied face. "I... I was just a victim too," he whispered, laughing weakly until his eyes rolled back.

  THUD.

  The battlefield went silent. Everyone was gasping for air, battered and broken. Denki stood over the lifeless body of the Grimz Leader, the man's final words echoing in his mind.

  What did he mean, he was just a victim too?