Mission: [Rabbit Hole] II

15 minutes earlier.

Sora, leaning against the bar, was throwing peanuts into his mouth, trying to distract himself from the depraved auction taking place behind him.

Although he wasn't paying attention...

'37 women, 29 men, and... 18 minors. 3 abominations mutated as bioweapons, 2 viruses with adaptive biological tracing; capable of targeting specific genetics, 9 long-range assassination Daemons, even... one fucking PEF from Arasaka, and several Militech exoskeletons...'

Sora sighed, as after the "changes" he underwent 4 years ago, it became difficult for his mind/Cyberspace not to form a perfect record of all the "items" sold in the auction so far.

The bartender, noticing Sora's sigh, approached with a cordial smile while cleaning the bar. "What's wrong, sir? Can't find anything that... ugh?"

He had to stop abruptly, bringing his hands to his throat, unable to finish the question, or rather; he wasn't allowed to finish it.

When a peanut that Sora flicked with his finger bounced between glasses and beer taps until it entered the bartender's mouth, who, being mid-sentence, started choking on it.

If he had been a chip doll, Sora wouldn't have done it, letting him finish his programmed question, but since he was a member of the Brotherhood who dared to speak to him like a sickly client... it annoyed him.

Sora, entertained for the first time since entering the "party," watched as the bartender turned blue... desperately pleading for the Heimlich maneuver, while he threw more peanuts into his mouth and ate them in front of him, as if showing him how it's done.

Unable to hold out any longer without air... the bartender fell behind the bar, unnoticed by anyone. When he hit the ground, the dangerous peanut that almost killed him escaped from the mouth of the unconscious armed Brotherhood member acting as a bartender.

Then, Sora finished his drink contentedly and, turning sharply towards the stage, shouted: "I OFFER 120 MILLION EDDIES!"

Silencing the room and becoming the center of attention for the exorbitant amount he just bid for the transparent briefcase with a chip inside, which was being auctioned.

No sooner had he shouted his bid, the burly man of color also bidding for the same chip broke the glass he was holding, while his companion beside him stared at Sora, unable to hide her displeasure.

"Sir, please do not shout" , "if you finally want to participate in the auction" , "raise the paddle" ,"and do not just call out a figure" , "the current price for lot 23 is 55 million Eurodollars" said the two Alices on stage, taking turns with each "comma" with unsettling ease.

Sora, disregarding the protocol, replied disdainfully, "I'm not bothering with this... You want money, right? I doubt my rivals can surpass 100 million." Turning to the Haitian couple, he asked with a smile that could be guessed under his mask: "Am I wrong?"

The couple's frowns answered for them. Upon gaining 20 million more than planned, one of the Alices grabbed the briefcase and said, looking at Sora: "In the Brotherhood, we don't mind making an exception in your case."

The other Alice, behind the podium, addressed the couple seated at a small table, with half masks made of Haitian wood covering half of their faces. Raising the auction gavel, she asked, "The price for the chip with Blackwall vulnerabilities has reached 120 million. Can you top that?"

Before responding, the couple turned to the cause of this unplanned circumstance, who, in the absence of the bartender, had half-climbed onto the bar to pour themselves a drink.

Pausing to greet Placide and Brigitte of the Voodoo Boys, who looked at him with hatred, he returned it with a mocking smile.

Brigitte averted her gaze and, having raised "only" 95 million Eddies, regretfully shook her head.

"Then... Sold!" said Alice, striking her gavel against the podium. "Lot number 23 has been awarded to the gentleman climbing the bar, serving himself, for 120 million Eurodollars. Congratulations and thank you for your bid! Now, we move on to lot number 24, a very interesting item for collectors..."

As lot 24 was brought on stage, the second Alice, holding the transparent briefcase, approached Sora at the bar.

"If you would be so kind, Mr. Okami," Alice said, offering the briefcase.

Sora, finishing his pour, took out a black card similar to the invitation but with a golden spear running through it. He swiped it blindly against the briefcase several times until he hit the small reader.

After another positive 'Beep' confirming the successful transfer of 120 million Eddies, Alice placed the unlocked briefcase on the bar next to the distracted Sora before stepping away.

When he finished serving himself and climbed down from the bar, two people took Alice's place.

"Congratulations," said Placide, resting his arm on the briefcase on the bar.

The tone, conflicting with his words, made Sora respond, "I don't know why... but it doesn't seem sincere."

"It isn't," clarified Placide, closing his fingers over the briefcase as he leaned in 'intimidatingly.'

But, like many things in life, every situation was subjective to interpretation. For Sora, Placide leaning in made him ask, before taking a sip of his drink, "Hm, so... should I feel threatened?"

"What do you think?" responded Placide, his patience wearing thin due to Sora's indifferent attitude.

"I don't know... that's why I'm asking. To me, all of 'your' actions are incomprehensible... What do you think will happen if you finally manage to contact the beings behind the wall you're so suicidally seeking?"

Before they could respond seriously with the tales the Voodoo Boys told themselves, he did it for them. "What? Do you belive we would help you rebuild your country and turn it into the 'Eden' it could have been, if not for the intervention of the corrupt hand of man, huh?... Really, a naïve way of thinking."

Though it seemed odd to her that he included himself, Brigitte, removing her mask as a sign of respect towards someone from the same city, ironically found in the middle of the Pacific, said, "It seems you are more aware of our beliefs than most."

The respect Brigitte showed was not reciprocated, as Sora, more focused on his drink than them, responded, "What do you want me say...? I also read garbage when I'm in the bathroom..."

Hearing how he insulted his beliefs, Placide could not stand it any longer. He raised his fist with the intention of attacking him, yet he became even more enraged when, even under these circumstances, he was unable to provoke him to look at him

Before he could strike, Brigitte ordered, "Placide! Stop!" Not for Sora's sake, but for Placide's own.

Due to how, if he moved a bit more, he would stab himself in the neck with the hidden blade that Sora, despite his inhibitor, had deployed from inside his right wrist, in Placide's blind spot.

Creating a tense silence where only the sound of ice clinking could be heard, as Sora shook his glass in his left hand.

Pale, having literally been a step away from death, Placide stepped back as a thin line of blood formed on his neck.

Despite having witnessed firsthand how he could have killed Placide without even looking at him, Brigette, after the resounding failure, having been unable to secure important information for their future plans, took revenge by saying: 'A real pity what happened to William Mercer... and his children.'

She achieved her goal, provoking Sora who abruptly stopped shaking the glass he was holding, growling angrily before saying, "'We' had thought about it... but... you are also related, aren't you?"

William Mercer had been the director of the East Coast NetWatch, until earlier this year when his body was found along with a suicide note.

In the note, William expressed his deep guilt and despair since his children, Marcus and Mia, aged 21 and 22, disappeared after attending a college party.

Shortly afterward, William recounted how his personal computer was hacked, showing him images of his kidnapped children and demanding information that only his position could provide about the vulnerabilities of the Blackwall, in exchange for their release.

The next thing William wrote in his letter was: 'I'm sorry.'

Believing the kidnappers' threats about what they would do to his children if he informed NetWatch or any other government agency, William, thinking he had no other choice, betrayed the organization he worked for over 50 years.

From here, William's handwriting became desperate and hard to read, but it detailed how, after delivering the information to the kidnappers, his children were not released.

On the contrary, his personal computer was hacked again, showing heartbreaking videos of the cruel and perverse fates his children were enduring, while they begged for help, calling out to their father.

William, finally unable to bear the weight of his betrayal and the helplessness of not being able to save them, took his own life.

But, before doing so, he wrote his last will at the bottom of the letter, where he confessed all his crimes and misfortunes.

He expressed his hope that his colleagues at NetWatch, with whom he had worked for over 50 years and whom he had betrayed, if somehow they were able to forgive him, would help save his children.

Aside from the shock of William's betrayal and the danger posed by the leaked information, his last will deeply outraged the NetWatch leaders and their agents, including Hiroyuki.

This led them to seek the help of Lazarus not to seek justice, but to avenge the responsible parties. Lazarus, understanding the gravity of the situation, organized all his internal staff to carry out the mission, which they called [Rabbit Hole].

This mission aimed at the complete annihilation of the responsible parties, the recovery of the leaked information, and, if they were still alive, the rescue of Mercer's children.

Deploying agents with underworld connections to gather information, while preparing combat teams around the world to act the moment they had a clear target.

Fortunately for Lazarus and NetWatch, though not for the culprits, the high council member in charge of underworld information gathering, Jason Pimento, lived up to his position and, thanks to his close friendships in the Palace of Ether...

Not only did he discover that the Brotherhood was responsible for the kidnapping and that they were going to sell the information at one of their auctions, but he also managed to get an invitation to the event.

However, when Pimento was leaving without raising suspicion or breaking his cover at the Palace, he found Marcus and Mia among the merchandise.

Triggering the events that led Sora and his unit to the Palace

Believing he could rescue them and escape... Pimento was wrong, being discovered and captured.

Brigitte, looking at the briefcase in Lazarus's possession after the Brotherhood betrayed them and put it up for sale instead of delivering it as agreed, wanting to distance themselves from them and the consequences, replied, "Given how things have turned out, I'd say no."

As for Sora, although he wanted to deal with them... both still had an important role to play in hiring Evelyn Parker, which meant he couldn't kill them... especially her.

Therefore, looking at them for the first time with eyes so cold they didn't seem human to either of them, Sora warned them, "Now if you're done... fuck off, or... you'll end up learning too early what really lies behind the wall..."

Brigitte, as a Netrunner, had to lean on Placide, feeling dizzy under the weight of the bright blue eyes staring at her. She thought she was hallucinating, believing she saw the 'inanimate' jaws of Okami's mask moving as he told them to fuck off.

Both heeded his warning, retreating with Placide helping the shaken Brigitte, who clutched her chest, shocked and surprised to feel as small and humanly weak as she did when she first encountered it.

Shortly after Sora could refocus on his drink, a commotion occurred among the audience that caught his attention.

Turning, he saw the beautiful women who had danced and sung on stage before the auction being forced back on at gunpoint, with furious expressions, cursing while struggling with the shock collars they wore.

Seeing the surprised Sora, Alice with a dangerous smile said, "And now the final auction of the night...," "we give our dear guests the chance to be the first to try," "our new VIP products," "The four members of the emerging music group AoE (Area of Effect) and apparently..."

Revealing the secret behind the group formed just two years ago, one of the Alices added, "All of them agents of the Lazarus Corporation, who are proving to be more ingenious than we thought."

Seeing the room start to fill with Brotherhood security, even deploying guards with exoskeletons, pointing their weapons at him.

Raising his hands, Sora looked towards the door and said to the air, "Mathew... release the beasts."

-

At the same time

In the hangar where the Blackhawk was...

"How much do you think we'll get for Okami's ship, or maybe the boss will want to keep it?" asked one of the half-dozen Brotherhood guards watching the Blackhawk.

"Who knows? But it will be nothing compared to what Saburo will give us when we deliver Okami," his superior responded.

"Hehehe, who would have thought, huh? The Brotherhood making deals with none other than Saburo Arasaka," another chimed in.

Suddenly, while they were talking, sections expanded to increase the Blackhawk's cargo capacity, camouflaged as part of the armor that connected to the wings underneath, giving the ship a more robust and less sleek appearance, opened, along with the ramp of the ship.

From them fell two unrecognizable figures that made a loud noise when they hit the ground, catching the guards' attention.

As they approached, they saw two black metallic objects, one having a generally cylindrical shape but with several protrusions, like contracted parts waiting to be deployed.

The other, similar, but looking like some kind of empty exoskeleton, wrapped in a black and flexible structure that coiled around the exoskeleton.

Suddenly, the guards saw a gigantic metal tentacle group slithering down the ramp as if escaping from the ship.

"W-what the hell is that!" exclaimed one of the frightened guards.

As if his shout had awakened the rest, the 'cylindrical' metal figure activated, deploying its 'protrusions' which turned out to be 4 sturdy limbs. It took on a quadruped design, resembling a mechanical predator, with a large advanced visor instead of a head, and a long tail that started to heat up until it was red hot.

At the same time, the empty exoskeleton created an eerie image as it began to move without a pilot, extending its long wings and roaring its thrusters until it stood up and started to fly.

The three beautiful mechanical beasts... lit up their lenses at the same time, marking the guards as enemies, before brutally charging at them.

Amidst the gunfire and cries for mercy—the same they did not give to their victims—a 17-year-old blonde youth with tousled hair and green eyes emerged from the Blackaquila where he had been hiding, with an old racing helmet adapted for piloting fighters.

"What do you say, Fool; don't you want to join them?" the young man asked the mechanical crow on his shoulder.

"KAHH!" With a clear negative caw, the once dead-end homeless kid from Night City laughed at its response.

Now, after four years of intense study and training at Lazarus, Mathew Earnhardt had become the pilot of the R.A.B.I.D unit.

As he continued conversing with Fool, Mathew watched as the mechanical beasts ran, flew, and rushed out of the hangar, taking down every guard they saw on their way to their... mistresses in distress.

-

Despite being held at gunpoint by one of the Alices, Lazarus agent Lyndall, a member of the AoE Group, stood proudly upright, her expression of disgust clear behind her round glasses as she felt the perverted gazes of the guests roaming over her body.

Refusing to raise her hands like a common hostage, she instead kept her arms crossed over her tight black top, revealing her toned abdomen. Her black leather miniskirt, adorned with golden lines and buckles, clung to her long, spread legs.

She appeared unperturbed by the circumstances, though inwardly she cursed the one she considered the cause of all her problems. 'The damned 13th seat and his stupid idea to create the AoE music group.'

Two years ago, a new type of weapon emerged on the black market, completely shaking the Underworld and even escaping the control of corporations like Biotechnia, which were trying to keep the news from reaching mainstream media.

Half the world was terrified when images and videos of these new weapons appeared online, being used to commit real massacres.

Lazarus, like most governmental organizations and corporations, was ordered to find and capture its creator, the "retired" eminence in genetics and cybernetics from Biotechnia, Dr. Fabius Byle, who had become the most wanted person on the planet.

Fabius had worked for Biotechnia for decades. However, in recent years, his relationship with the company deteriorated because Byle felt that Biotechnia's interference hindered his research and, therefore, the scientific advances of all humanity. That was the level of his ego.

The harsh reality was that Biotechnia is one of the corporations that gave its star scientists, like Byle, the most "space" to "research."

Even allowing human experimentation under certain circumstances, such as with death row inmates or people Biotechnia itself deemed deserving of such a sentence.

However, when Biotechnia discovered that Byle was creating his own "life" to experiment on, with clones of children and even babies, the situation changed.

To avoid damaging its reputation, Biotechnia decided to "retire" Byle by sending a special forces squad to his facility to eliminate him and destroy any evidence of his brutal experiments.

The operation resulted in the complete destruction of the facility and the death of all the special forces members, with Fabius presumed dead when "his" supposed charred corpse was found, or so the DNA analysis claimed.

However, Biotechnia underestimated Fabius.

Needing money to continue his research after being "retired" and faking his death with a successfully cloned version of himself, Byle began selling on the black market the same bioweapons that, 'Biotechnia had been too short-sighted to discard for being "unaesthetic,"' Byle recalled bitterly.

In reality, they were internally horrified by the creations of their scientific "eminence."

Selling them to the highest bidder, whether they were terrorists, ideological extremists, or warlords, Fabius didn't care as long as they paid him.

His bioweapons were created from any poor soul unlucky enough to fall into Fabius' hands, whether rich or poor.

Fabius then gave them a small sample of his research: a viral vector designed to infect every cell in the body and edit its DNA using CRISPR-Cas9 technology.

This triggered extreme and potentially irreversible genetic modifications, granting his victims superhuman strength, extraordinary endurance, and accelerated regenerative abilities.

Due to the extreme mutation in a short time, their bodies also ended up with terrible deformities, which Fabius corrected with amputations and advanced cyberware installations.

Thus completing the creation of his living bioweapons.

Under these circumstances, the newly appointed 13th Seat of Lazarus requested permission to investigate the remains of Fabius' facility. Thanks to his contacts and Lazarus' with Biotechnia, he was allowed to visit northern Italy, where the ruins of the facility were located.

Investigating the charred remains of Fabius' labs, he managed to recover a small fraction of the data from one of the capsules where Fabius grew his clones, despite severe damage.

After reconstructing part of the data and analyzing the recovered genetic sequences in the DNA database of the W.C.C. (World Consortium of Corporations), which collects DNA from most citizens worldwide when their IDn is installed at age 3, the 13th Seat discovered Fabius' unexpected tastes.

Several of the DNA sequences used to create some of his clones belonged to famous K-pop artists.

Due to this, the 13th Seat came up with the idea to create a fake group of the same genre with female agents of Lazarus, aiming to capture Fabius, or at least lure him out of hiding.

Though Lyndall thought it was a stupid idea at the time, to her and many other agents' surprise, the 13th Seat managed to convince the Boss of Lazarus, who ordered all female agents to participate in the casting 13th Seat, the Boss, and other interested Seats organized, acting as judges.

Finally, Lyndall, Saika, Yumi from the B&B (Beast & Beauty) unit, and a new recruit brought from Night City by the 13th Seat were chosen.

A week later, with the 13th Seat in charge of the music and lyrics of their songs, and them using Lazarus' training rooms and holographic technology to record their videos, the K-pop group AoE emerged like a tidal wave in the music industry.

The views of their videos uploaded to Cybertube increased exponentially with each new song, reaching the top 15 most listened-to groups in less than two months since their creation.

After their second concert, Lazarus obtained a lead when a mercenary hired by Fabius himself sneaked into the dressing room and tried to obtain DNA samples from the different agents.

Capturing the mercenary and posing as him, Lazarus managed to capture Fabius alive when, among the samples, they also placed a tracker that led them to his hideout.

Although Lyndall and the other agents naively thought that once Fabius was captured, AoE would disband, their fake group worked too well. Not only did they achieve the goal for which they were created, but in less than two months they generated so much money that they became a considerable part of the profits sustaining Lazarus.

Additionally, a successful music group could become a valuable source of information and infiltration for Lazarus. Leading to this point, where the four agents found themselves with shock collars that prevented them from defending themselves.

Alice aiming at Lyndall mocked Sora by misinterpreting her gesture of looking towards the door. "Waiting for your pets?" one of the Alices asked, to which the other replied, "What a shame, by now, they should be scrap metal."

Her words were filled with confidence after having locked up Okami's "pets" in the room with the "supposed" security of the guests, who were actually professional mercenaries hired by the Brotherhood.

Convinced that they could easily turn a simple Arasaka Mk2 model into scrap metal and, given the numbers, the gigantic beast as well.

Alice couldn't hide her disappointment when she saw the "dreaded" Okami standing still with his hands raised, not attempting to defend himself. For him, she had mobilized the entire Brotherhood, hired mercenaries, and even used material from her stock, like Militech exoskeletons and bioweapons on standby.

Although Fabius was imprisoned, the new disciples he made continued his research, selling bioweapons on the black market, though weaker than their master's.

Sighing disenchantedly, realizing she had gone overboard with her plans due to being carried away by rumors, Alice said, "As the saying goes; it's better not to meet your heroes. It's sad to realize..." The other Alice took over and continued with disdain, "how the rumors about the fearsome killer of Adam Smasher proved to be so exaggerated."

Alice paused, observing Sora's impassive expression. "Just so you know, even 'I' was a fan of yours... after the events in Night City... I honestly expected more, but apparently, working for Lazarus has softened you...

That the same 'rabid' person capable of ripping Yorinobu Arasaka's arm off live would become someone who could trust their companions to the point of... entering the wolf's den... unarmed."

Putting her disappointment aside, Alice said, "Well, this makes it easier! Saburo will surely be delighted to receive you. And don't worry about your intoxicating companions from Lazarus," sniffing Lyndall's hair, who did not enjoy it, the other Alice took over, "They will have the 'honor' of fulfilling every one of the desires of our most exclusive clients."

Despite being surrounded by armed men, some of the guests celebrated Alice's plans, excited to fulfill the perverse fantasies that arose in their heads just by laying eyes on the four beautiful women on stage.

With unsettling calm, aware that Trevot's friends were about to act, more aware of what was happening in their "palace" than the Brotherhood, Sora declared, "I did not come armed because I trusted my companions... I came unarmed..." Turning towards the men pointing their guns at him, his bright eyes sharpened, and Sora smiled as he finished, "Because you are carrying all the weapons I need..."

Alice, hiding behind Lyndall, felt a bad premonition about what would happen next and shouted, "Fire!"

Before the guards could act, several grenades were thrown onto the lower level of the Agora. Upon detonation, the floor of the VIP level trembled, along with all its occupants. Or almost all of them.

The moment chaos erupted, with the Agora's security turrets activating and the alarm starting to resonate throughout the palace, Sora took advantage of it, moving quickly to dodge the hurried shots aimed at him.

Like a snake, he 'coiled' around one of the nearest guards, positioning himself on the guard's back and using him as a human shield.

While bullets struck the guard, Sora grabbed the knife from the guard's tactical harness and hurled it towards the unarmored part of the head of one of the exoskeleton pilots.

With such force, it sliced through his mouth, broke his teeth, and pierced his spine from within, lodging in the back of the exoskeleton. The exoskeleton began to fall while still firing, killing its own comrades.

Next, Sora pulled the pin of a grenade from his 'used' human shield. Before kicking him with a Spartan kick towards the remaining guards, he took the guard's pistol.

In the next instant, before the grenade exploded, Sora spun around while firing with such fluid and natural movements that they appeared slow, when in reality he emptied two-thirds of the pistol's magazine with lethal speed and precision.

He performed ten consecutive headshots on the guards outside the grenade's range, who fell to the ground as the grenade exploded, killing several more guards.

With the last five bullets, Sora aimed at the stage. Imagining what he intended, Saika, Yumi, and Lyndall, the members of the B&B (Beast & Beauty) team, shouted simultaneously, respectively, "NO WAIT!" "NOT AT ME!" "YOU WOULDN'T DARE!"

The fourth and last member of the AoE group, aware of her unit leader's precision, said nothing and only slightly raised her head to facilitate his aim.

In response to their complaints-provocations, Sora fired five consecutive shots...

Next... the four shock collars preventing them from defending themselves fell to the ground, without them receiving a scratch. At the same time, one of the two Alices on the stage collapsed to the ground with a bullet wound in her thigh.

Approaching the same Alice who seemed dissatisfied with him, now lying on the ground, Sora asked while throwing the empty pistol towards one of the corpses around him, "What? Still disappointed?"

Unable to respond as the other Alice helped her up, the two retreated behind the Brotherhood members who arrived as reinforcements.

Lyndall, who had been paralyzed upon realizing the bullet hole in the middle of her miniskirt that could have easily injured her if she had moved even slightly.

Recovering the color in her pale expression and turning it into one of fury, as she heard the shamelessly broken voice of her superior, the same one who had shot through her, say, "Who would have thought you really don't have a Mr. Studd installed? Everyone at the base will be surprised to find out."

A small recurring joke/rumor among Lazarus personnel, fully deserved due to a certain agent's attitude towards her male colleagues, which led to the circulation of a certain rumor and even bets among the different Lazarus bases.

Furious, Lyndall shouted, "Fucking asshole!" as she stomped on the fallen Alice's weapon with her heel, causing it to flip up. She then caught it smoothly and began firing at the remaining guards.

Just as she ran out of bullets, the double doors through which Sora had entered began to heat up and turn red-hot. The metal started to vibrate and bubble, creating a gigantic bubble of incandescent metal that expanded... until it could no more.

It was pierced by a devastating blue laser beam that traversed the elegant floors, walls, and ceilings of the room, scorching them before vanishing.

The silence that followed was shattered by a loud crash as the molten remains of the doors fell, revealing the culprit: an imposing black warg with its jaws still smoking after unleashing its devastating laser "breath."

Immediately, Ojii and the three metal beasts entered the room. Unlike Ojii, who charged at the nearest Brotherhood members, the beasts rushed towards their mistresses.

Upon seeing them, Saika, a beautiful woman with dark blue hair and buns on either side of her head, exclaimed, "About time!" before leaping from the stage into the airborne exoskeleton, Raging Sparrow, which embraced her with its wings.

Yumi, jovial and cheerful, following Saika's example, said, "Mommy's been waiting," before jumping onto Crying Hyena, which opened its back to allow its mistress to pilot it.

Lyndall, unlike her companions, murmured strictly, "Hm, you're late!" without moving, letting the multiple tentacles of her Laughing Octopus slither around her body until the intersection from which they sprouted connected to her back, settling between her shoulder blades.

Then... the room turned into a hell of blood, metal, and screams as the three members of B&B started killing guards without concern for the casualties among the perverted clients, who until a moment ago had perverse fantasies about them.

These fantasies ceased the moment they "mounted" their metal companions, transforming from "irresistible" women into "unstoppable" monsters.

Lyndall didn't even need to walk, standing elegantly with her arms crossed while using the tentacles of her Laughing Octopus as spider legs to move. For attacking, she flung guards through the air, breaking their bones as they crashed into walls and ceilings. If they irritated her, she deployed the sharp claws at the ends of her tentacles, slicing her enemies in half.

Saika, in the Raging Sparrow, fired small missiles and dual compact submachine guns that extended from the exoskeleton's forearms, while using the razor-sharp edges of its wings to decapitate enemies as she soared over the spacious two-level room.

Yumi, moving like a playful cat inside her Crying Hyena, crushed enemies each time she landed after a jump. With a lash of her incandescent tail, she split them in half while cauterizing their wounds, prolonging their agonizing pain.

Meanwhile, Sora and *Roxy from his R.A.B.I.D unit, a former Mox from Night City with ambitions beyond being a simple gang member, approached Eco, who sat and opened its chest, revealing a mobile arsenal that even included Sora's Okami armor.

(*Roxy: A gang member of the Mini-Mox, first appearing in Chapter 61, with an appearance based on Akali from K/DA, complete with a mask and ponytail escaping from her cap.)

Sora took only his pair of Malorian and Getsuga. Roxy, who had been training with Musashi since she taught martial arts to the workers of Iron Beast, grabbed a Kama attached to a chain, several tricked Kunais, explosive Shurikens, and smoke bombs.

Just as they finished, the three Bioweapons that had just been sold at auction reappeared through the freight elevator used for incoming goods.

The first to appear was a giant nearly three meters tall, with enormous muscles that seemed ready to burst out from under its leathery skin. Its face was covered in scars and metal plates, and its eyes had been replaced by a cyclopean visor that glowed intensely. Its possibly malformed right arm had been amputated and replaced with a large circular saw.

The next Bioweapon was slender and agile, with long limbs and retractable claws. Its skin was pale and slimy, and its eyes were completely black. It wore a metallic mask that concealed a cybernetic respirator, possibly due to atrophied or missing lungs. Embedded in its back were multiple thrusters that allowed it to move at high speed.

The last one was robust and the shortest of the three, with unsettling yellowish eyes and pale-blue skin, similar to the bartender before he lost consciousness. On its back was a tank of corrosive liquid, with tubes running through its forearms, ending in valves in its palms that allowed it to spray the liquid under pressure.

Once activated, the already chaotic room filled with the screams of clients who watched in horror as the bizarre Bioweapons began crushing anyone in their path, whether exoskeleton-clad guards or the Brotherhood's "cherished" clients, as they advanced toward the metal beasts.

Yumi, believing she had an advantage against the corrosive liquid thanks to Crying Hyena's mobility, decided to attack the Bioweapon with yellowish eyes before it could go after one of her sisters. With agility, she leapt just as the Bioweapon opened its hands towards her, releasing acid under pressure.

Saika, in her Raging Sparrow exoskeleton, had to gain altitude quickly to dodge the claws of the waxy Bioweapon, which launched itself at her with a jump. She deployed her submachine guns and riddled the Bioweapon with bullets as it fell, beginning a semi-aerial fight.

Unlike her sisters' beasts, Lyndall's Laughing Octopus, specialized in infiltration and prepared for combat, was not designed to face Bioweapons, so it was more on the defensive.

With her feet firmly planted on the ground, Lyndall had to use her arms to better control all her tentacles.

Using her claws to hold back the circular saw of the Bioweapon in front of her before it could cut through her tentacles or herself. When it went to strike her with its other arm, she stopped it by entangling it with her remaining tentacles.

This created a tense standoff, knowing she wouldn't hold much longer, she deployed her blades and began stabbing the entangled arm and abdomen of the Bioweapon.

However, Lyndall watched in frustration as the wounds from her stabs healed before her eyes, only enraging the Bioweapon further. It lifted its tentacle-covered arm and slammed her onto the floor. Before she hit, Lyndall's tentacles wrapped around her, cushioning the impact.

But this left her defenseless on the ground as the circular saw approached her quickly.

Just before it touched her, Lyndall heard a calm voice from a figure with its sword raised above its head, standing to one side of the Bioweapon. Asking:

— "Ojii, ready?"

A slightly robotic voice instantly responded from the other side of the Bioweapon, with its sword raised in the same way:

— "Whenever you are."

Then... Lyndall saw a single lens/eye glowing red and blue respectively in each figure before their swords and arms disappeared from her view, becoming a dazzling cyclone of synchronized cuts that began shredding the sides of the Bioweapon.

The monstrous healing factor of the Bioweapon couldn't keep up with the storm of cuts it was subjected to. The creature screamed in pain as the attacks intensified, when both figures stepped forward simultaneously.

Although Lyndall was used to working as a team with her sisters, the synchronized attack she was witnessing was on another level. The movements were so precise and coordinated that they caused sparks inside the Bioweapon's body when the tip of Getsuga met the point of Ojii's Kaneshige Koshirae recreation, executing the same moves at the exact same angle.

After another step, just a few seconds later, the upper part of the Bioweapon fell to the ground. Still alive, the creature was now reduced to a mutilated torso with only shoulders, arms, neck, and head intact.

The rest of its body, including bones, metal, and flesh, had been shredded, leaving a mangled mass up to the knees, still standing in front of Lyndall.

Moving in complete synchronization until they sheathed their swords, Lyndall could see their arms again, with smoke from the friction rising from the MK2 robot's limbs and the metal arm of the 13th seat.

Stepping on the shoulder of the Bioweapon that still moved the circular saw, trying to kill them, Sora drew and emptied the magazine of his silver Malorian 3516 into the head of what was once a human, ending its suffering.

Turning to Lyndall, still on the ground, and while reloading his Malorian, he asked:

"Are you okay?" Extending his hand to help her up.

Despite her words, a shiver ran down Lyndall's spine as she became the focus of his cold eyes, accentuated by the blood staining part of his face and mask, making him even more terrifying.

Believing she was too proud to accept his help, he wasn't surprised when he felt a rough slap on his extended hand. Rolling his eyes, Sora shook his head before turning away.

Lyndall, after gracefully rising with the assistance of her metal tentacles, murmured to herself, "Idiot." as she watched Sora walk away.

Biting her lip with regret for having ungratefully rejected his help, driven by her twisted pride that... didn't want to appear weak in front of him.

Being the only one to see the entire scene, the robot Ojii literally had a smile drawn on his screen, proud of the scoundrel of his grandson.

Meanwhile... Saika in her Raging Sparrow continued flying, dodging the attacks of the bioweapon she was fighting against, and counterattacking whenever she found an opportunity.

After dodging one of its charges, Saika, who had launched herself to attack with the blades on the ends of her wings, had to abruptly stop mid-flight, surprised by the bioweapon that agilely spun in the air before activating its thrusters and launching at her again.

Saika, only able to see the bizarre monster with black eyes and its claws about to pierce her head, when suddenly something big, black, and blurry appear violently on the side of her field of vision, making the bioweapon and its claws disappear from her sight.

After being able to breathe again, Saika saw the gigantic warg Eco slamming the bioweapon against the ground, biting its neck to prevent it from getting up.

The bioweapon tried to defend itself, clawing at Eco, but in the area where they made contact with his silky black fur, it compacted, becoming as dense as metal.

Next, a sound similar to that of breaking bones could be heard, accompanied by a muted scream of pain from the bioweapon, through the metal mask covering its mouth and nose, as its claws broke.

Eco, aware of the tragic situation the bioweapons were in, took pity on it, stopping biting its neck and opening his jaws towards its head.

The bioweapon, as if it had gained a moment of consciousness, peacefully looked at the beautiful light concentrated at the back of the jaws full of sharp teeth...

Then... a blue laser breath shot out, quickly ending its suffering. The bioweapon convulsed until its head was completely incinerated, leaving no trace. It remained... peacefully motionless.

Saika landed next to Eco and hugged him, grateful for saving her life, petting his "silky" fur as she was not an enemy.

A few seconds earlier.

Yumi, despite her attack and evasion strategy, was causing the bioweapon to accumulate more scorched cuts, making it difficult for it to heal, with the incandescent tail of her Crying Hyena.

In one of her jumps to escape the acid expelled from its hands, the bioweapon managed to grab one of the hind legs of her Crying Hyena and slammed it with monstrous force against the ground, breaking the marble tiles.

After releasing it, the Crying Hyena was momentarily immobile due to the damage from the blow and the hind leg corroded by the bioweapon's acid as it was grabbed.

When the acid the bioweapon carried on its back started to fill the tubes to its forearms, foretelling its imminent attack, Roxy, her AoE partner, appeared in front of her as if intending to protect her.

Not understanding why Roxy was doing this, Yumi exclaimed alarmed, ["What are you doing? Get out of here immediately!"]

Optimistically believing that the armor of her Crying Hyena would hold out long enough to at least move and escape, underestimating the much more corrosive acid than she thought.

Without answering, Roxy concentrated. Just when the acid started to escape from the valves in the bioweapon's hands, she threw two of her tricked kunai.

In the instant before they touched the acid, Roxy activated them, causing a shockwave that pushed the acid back towards the bioweapon, which started screaming as its own corrosive substance burned it.

Seeing the damage the acid was causing to the bioweapon, both looked at the container on its back. Limping on one leg, Yumi worked with Roxy attacking the lower part of the bioweapon.

When the creature began to stagger, unable to stand for much longer, Roxy, showing impressive agility due to her cyberware, ran towards the mutated giant and quickly climbed up to its head.

Once there, she drove her kama into the creature's neck and used inertia and centrifugal force to swing around its head. Just before the bioweapon fell, Roxy landed smoothly on the ground and lightly pulled her chain, giving the last push needed to bring it down.

With the acid container exposed, the two didn't waste a second.

Roxy threw her explosive shurikens, and Yumi used the incandescent claws of the Crying Hyena, breaking the container and neutralizing the bioweapon as it was bathed in its own acid.

With the three bioweapons dead and most of the guards having abandoned the hall, declaring it lost, the 13th seat ordered: "Saika and Lyndall, go support Gear and the rest. Given how long they're taking, they must be freeing the rest of the merchandise."

"Yumi, since your beast is injured, go back with Mathew to the ship and help him organize the rest of Lazarus' Avs on standby."

"Alright!" "Okay!" responded Saika and Yumi.

As Lyndall prepared to move, he stopped and asked: "And you- what are you going to do?" looking at the 13th seat, who was accompanied by his samurai robot Ojii, his warg pet, and his AoE partner, Roxy.

"We're going to disable the air defenses so the Avs can approach... and of course... recover our money," he responded, heading to the exit, carrying a transparent briefcase, and the rest of his R.A.B.I.D Unit following behind him.

-

Five minutes later

In front of the blasted doors of the Brotherhood leader's office

"Trevor… I swear this time I'll kill you," Sora whispered to himself, seeing Marcus and Mia with vacant expressions, held at gunpoint by six identical Alices, except for one that had a bandage on her leg.

"Now I understand the name of the Brotherhood, sextuplets?" he asked ironically as he entered the opulent office, surrounded by large stained glass windows offering almost 360-degree panoramic views above the station.

An impressive library occupied the wall behind the desk, filled with physical versions of rare books and those lost after the Datakrash. The furniture was timelessly elegant, with fine leather chairs, a meticulously woven carpet, and a mahogany desk that exuded wealth.

"I was wrong about you, Mr. Okami. For that, I apologize…" said two of the six Alices, but all of them bowed their heads as a sign of regret.

After lifting their heads, another added, "Let's talk…" with all six lowering their weapons from Marcus and Mia.

"Nah… too late for that," Sora replied without hesitation, and with a slight nod, ordered, "Attack."

Surprising the Alices, when Eco, Oji, and Roxy, who were behind him, charged at them.

However, the surprise was returned when shortly after the fight began… Sora had to step aside while smoking to dodge Eco, who was sent flying after receiving a perfectly synchronized kick from three Alices.

Followed by Oji, who crashed into the wall behind Sora, sparking after being repelled by two of them.

Before moving again, Sora said to the robot Oji, "I'm going to tell your flesh and blood version what happened to you."

Hurt in his pride more than by the impact, Oji's AI replied, "Please, anything but that. If he finds out…"

Before he could finish, Sora had already disappeared, leaving the transparent briefcase on the ground, entrusting it to him.

Moving quickly to stop Roxy before she was seriously injured by crashing into the wall. After being defeated and repelled by a single Alice.

Roxy, embarrassed and blushing at being surrounded by one of "his" arms, looked at her boss. Without taking his eyes off the six Alices, he asked while continuing to smoke with his free hand.

"Are you hurt?"

"N-no, just the initial hit, I'll recover quickly-," Roxy couldn't finish when Sora suddenly let go, causing her to fall to the floor.

Looking up with some contained resentment, Roxy was met by six shockwaves that sent her cap flying.

Originating from six blows from the six Alices that attacked them simultaneously, and that Sora stopped… all of them; grabbing two fists with his hands, blocking two hand chops with his forearms, and slightly lifting one leg, stopping two kicks aimed at Roxy with his knee and shin.

Looking at them, Sora said with his cigarette between his lips, "That's going to hurt tomorrow," thinking about the bruises he would wake up with.

Surprising the Alices, or rather the person controlling them, by being able to stop the attacks of six women with the latest generation cyberware, genetically enhanced before birth, or rather, born due to their enhanced genetics.

All six were the most expensive bodies one could buy, the pinnacle of the service offered by some shady corporations in the underworld, as it was illegal in most countries.

The creation of artificial life on demand.

Offering clients the ability to choose every aspect of their artificial humans, from physical appearance and body measurements to details like freckles and moles, even being able to choose their personality. Along with a wide and costly range of genetic modification options, creating individuals tailored to their clients' desires and needs.

Then, the six saw a chilling change in Sora;

Steam began to emanate from his body, his pupils glowed while the rest of his eyes turned black, and black veins appeared around his eye sockets. His mask also changed, seeming to melt into his face.

Then, with a monstrous strength, he tightened his grip on the fists of two Alices before violently swinging his arms, lifting them off the ground like rag dolls, which he used to hit the rest of the Alices around him, sending them flying across the room.

Almost throwing them out of the office as they collided with the large reinforced windows, shattering them upon impact.

Next, he released the fists of the two Alices into the air, to grab them again by the nape of their necks, creating an image similar to that of 4 years ago... but with two Alices instead of one Yorinobu.

When the tattoos on his left arm completely covered his hand, electric discharges started escaping from both hands, which, while grabbing them, also enveloped the two Alices.

They screamed as they convulsed until their eyes rolled back. After they became motionless, Sora let them go, falling to the ground, smoking and unconscious.

Believing he had killed them after losing control of the two, including the information about their body's status.

One of the four remaining Alices, with resentment, tried to say, "SON OF A B—" But before she could finish, Sora appeared in front of her, his left arm flexing, releasing a large amount of steam, while violent electric discharges escaped from his fist.

"I'm tired of talking to a proxy… Why don't we talk face to face?" He then released his arm as if the metaphorical rope holding it back had been cut.

His fist wrapped in electricity broke through the air, rushing toward the Alice's stomach.

At the last moment before impact, to avoid killing her, Sora opened his fist, turning his attack into an electric palm strike that, as revenge for his subordinates, sent Alice flying into the library, unleashing an explosion of books and splinters in all directions....

Revealing the entrance to the secret room it hid.

Before it hit his face, Sora grabbed one of the books that flew out, reading its title, the corners of his mask fused to his face lifted. "Keep this for me," he said as he tossed it to Roxy before burning it with the electricity enveloping his hands.

Roxy, surprised, caught the book and read the title with curiosity, "Fifty Shades of Grey?" turning it into a question, as it was the first time she had heard of it.

Meanwhile, the remaining three Alices turned a reddish hue before launching themselves at him and attacking frenetically.

They increased their strength several times over by using the dangerous recreation certain corporations had made of Sora and Maine's Gear Limit, which, unlike the original, significantly reduced the user's lifespan upon activation.

As Roxy lifted her face and witnessed the battle unfolding, she whispered, "Monster," at the same time as the person in the secret room behind the library.

Not because of the Alices, who were also monsters, but because of the chilling calm with which Sora moved, making the minimum necessary movements to dodge the superhuman torrent of attacks from the three, capable of destroying the office furniture solely from the air pressure they released, making any error fatal.

Suddenly, Sora stood still in the middle of his fight. Believing something had happened to him, Roxy alarmedly tried to intervene, but before she could reach him… the three defeated Alices moved faster, including the one buried under the books of the destroyed library.

They quickly charged at Sora, and to Roxy's surprise, grabbed their sisters before they could hit him.

Seeing this, one of the three Alices being held back reprimanded in surprise, "You're controlling them!"

"No, not at all... I've just freed them from your control," he responded calmly.

"Impossible, they have no consciousness, they're empty!" exclaimed another.

"Who says they are? Those who created them for you?" he disagreed.

Before explaining, "They've all had consciousness from the beginning, but due to their accelerated growth, it was so weak it might as well not have counted... Like a fetus whose brain has just formed," Sora said authoritatively on the subject, before concluding, "It's over time that this inconsistent consciousness grows and develops."

'Well, in most cases,' Sora added in his mind, thinking of his exceptional case, which saved him from having his former part as Arc take control before he was born.

Turning to the freed Alices, Sora said, "And now that I've given them the opportunity to regain control of their bodies… it seems they want me to free their sisters too, right?"

Although he had electrocuted them, Sora had directed his discharges to the various chips installed in their brains that controlled them.

Avoiding severe burns, but all of them were left with scars, which to him did not diminish their beauty and at least gave them a unique and different look among them.

Unable to speak or form expressions on their vacant faces, the freed Alices only nodded their heads simultaneously.

Following their request, Sora raised his glowing hands toward the resisting Alices, who screamed, "Don't come near!" "Let go of me, bitches!" "You're alive because of me!"

A few seconds later… the last thing the Brotherhood leader could see and hear through the signal transmitted by the last Alice she still controlled, was Sora's smile forming with the jaws of his mask as he said, while raising his glowing hand toward her, "What was it you said before about entering the wolf's den... ironic, huh?"

"No, wA-!!!" was the last thing the Brotherhood leader could scream from a body that wasn't hers.

A few seconds later, following the signal that controlled the Alices, in front of a secret room behind the library, Sora drew the "key," using Getsuga to "unlock" the armored door.

When a section fell...

"Ugh, what a stench..." he said, having to cut off his sense of smell due to the unpleasant odor emanating from the room, a mix of decay and chemicals.

"Don't come near!" exclaimed a harsh voice in panic, like a shredded whisper from vocal cords rusted from disuse.

Entering the dimly lit room, probably to avoid being seen, the Brotherhood leader of Ether lay in a LARGE chair elevated by cables and tubes.

Her figure, incredibly obese and deformed by a severe case of elephantiasis, had lost any trace of human shape. The skin, thick and wrinkled, hung in grotesque folds, and the limbs, disproportionate and gnarled, resembled more tree trunks than arms and legs.

With just a glance at her blackened eyes, Sora could discern the cause of such a state: an atrophied and deformed lymphatic system beyond any known disease. This led Sora to assume it must have been a result of human intervention, whether it was an experiment gone terribly wrong or some other unfortunate circumstance.

Unable to move, the leader was connected to a life support machine and several other tubes for functions too unpleasant to describe. Despite her grotesque appearance, Sora perceived a resemblance between her and the Alices: the similar color in the few scattered tufts of hair she had left and the rabbit tattoo, now entirely deformed by the swelling of her flesh.

"Now I understand the proxies..." said Sora, pitying the person in such a lamentable state.

With an obvious complex about her morbid body, Alice Pleasance, the leader of the Brotherhood, said in her raspy voice, "Bastard, are you insulting me-cough-cough?" unable to finish as she suffered a coughing fit that made her convulse in her throne of cables and tubes.

"No, if I were, I'd say your appearance matches the twisted mind behind this degenerate 'palace,'" responded Sora.

When she managed to recover, with no more measures to defend herself, she asked without a trace of the confidence and arrogance she had transmitted while controlling the Alices, "What are you going to do with me?"

"Me... nothing..." responded Sora, conveying the opposite of his words as he unsheathed Getsuga and approached her, until he reached a specific server and added, "I just came for a couple of things..." Plunging Getsuga into the server before violently cutting it out, causing the installation's turrets to deactivate.

Sora touched the black ring in the helix of his ear and spoke aloud, deactivating the radio silence order. "To all Lazarus units on standby; the sky is clear, you may approach. Have the AVs proceed with evacuation, and the Aquilas... don't let anyone escape, whether VIPs, mercenaries, or Trevor's friends. If they attack, you have permission to shoot them down."

The communication channel immediately filled with animated voices, responding to the order of the 13th seat:

["We were waiting, boss!"]

With a relaxed tone, the AV Pilots reported:

["This is Alpha-101, passing through camouflage."]

["Beta-88, approaching."]

["Zeta-94, activating vertical thrusters."]

["Gamma-79, positioning."]

[...]

At the same time, fifteen transport AVs pierced through the cloud cover, approaching the palace, then activating their vertical thrusters, positioning to carry out the evacuation.

Meanwhile, the Pilots of the Aquilas, in a more intense and intimidating tone:

["Delta-119, on the way, no escape."]

["Foxtrot-126, confirming targets."]

["Theta-141, ready to intercept."]

[...]

As they reported, the five intimidating Aquilas they piloted, cheaper and more accessible versions sold by Militech of the expensive Blackquila, sped by, flying over the area and preventing any ship from escaping.

All of them, whether AVs or Aquilas, bore the silver spear and the symbol of the Lazarus base they came from, in this case with the R.A.B.I.D. Unit symbol engraved on their armor.

When all teams reported in, Mathew, behind the controls of the Blackquila, joined in. ["This is Sierra-117... joining the extraction."]

In the next instant... the entire "palace" trembled from the sudden explosion that blew one of the hangar doors, and through the flames, the Blackquila surged out at full speed.

Mathew piloted gracefully over the "palace," reversing the engines, and hovering in the air in front of the office windows.

Through the gap Sora entered, Alice could partially see how Roxy and Ojii, with the transparent briefcase, evacuated the Mercers towards the Blackquila that had come to pick them up...

However, she was unable to see what Yumi, with the help of Eco carrying it, unloaded from the ship in exchange.

"If you already have everything you wanted, then-" Alice began to say, unable to finish before being interrupted.

"Who said I have everything I wanted?" Sora replied.

"What more do you want? My life!?" she exclaimed.

"I don't want something of such little value... I want my money," he said.

"You want your 120 million?" Alice responded incredulously.

"No, of course not." Sora denied Alice's foolish assumption, while the jaws of his mask rose, creating a greedy smile before clarifying, "I want it all, every Eddie you have..."

"You're crazy!" she exclaimed, unable to find another explanation for his words.

"Do I seem so?" he replied, raising his right hand before adding, "Either you give it to me nicely..." Bathing her in electricity, he completed, "Or I'll force you to do it... nicely."

"Hahaha," Alice laughed, losing her sanity at the "nicely" options he presented. "Do whatever you want, bastard! I'd rather die than give you my money!" she said, shaking her massive body.

"Then, let's see if that's true," Sora said with a tone full of curiosity, making Alice's remotely human, shapeless mass tremble as he stepped towards her.

However, just as his lightning-wrapped hand was about to touch her grotesque head, Sora felt a slight, almost fearful, tug from the back of his jacket.

Turning around, he found the "sextuplets," surrounding one of them, the same one holding him, as if they were protecting her, and at the same time preventing her from pulling his jacket.

Seeing this, Sora asked the first thing that came to his mind. "You don't want me to hurt her?"

But to their and Alice's surprise, all six shook their heads quickly, not caring what happened to her.

Aware of their fearful body language, Sora asked slowly, "Then, what's going on?" as he extinguished his electrified hand.

Not knowing how to respond, the six looked at each other, hurried despite their faces being devoid of any expression. Until one of them, the same one who dared to grab his jacket, came up with a way, recreating a dramatic pose, lowering her head and raising one hand.

As she did, the other five imitated her.

Recognizing the gesture, the same one Alice had made when asking for her invitation, Sora handed the first one the card with the engraved golden spear he had used to pay the 120 million.

She then walked over to one of the terminals, inserting the card into one of the slots.

The morbid Alice, fearing what she was about to do, screamed alarmed, "What are you doing, bitch?! DON'T YOU DARE-!"

Unable to finish, when the little blood that barely managed to reach her face disappeared. She turned as pale as marble, seeing through the interface of her IDn how the billions of Eddies in the Brotherhood's accounts... evaporated like her blood.

Once done, the "sextuplet" promptly returned the black card with the golden spear, which now held about 4 billion Eddies. To be exact, 3,872,456,200 Eurodollars.

Looking into her heterochromatic eyes, pure and devoid of any greed, despite having demonstrated an understanding of the concept of money and possessing memories of the time they were controlled by Alice, as she was able to access the various Brotherhood accounts without problems.

Sora sighed before raising his hand, provoking a reaction no different from that of a frightened animal from her, who instinctively closed her eyes, until she slowly reopened them, managing to smile weakly as she felt his hand caressing her head.

After finishing and taking the card... he had to do the same with the other five who were looking at him expectantly.

After this, Sora, who had thought of leaving the Sextuplets to deal with the person who had been enslaving them, as he would have wanted in his situation.

Changed his mind, not wanting them to have the bitter memory of killing the closest thing to a creator or mother for them. Who had remained motionless with a vacant look after losing all her money.

Instead, having gotten everything he wanted, Sora left the gloomy room followed by the "sextuplets," who did not look back at... their tragic original version, as they were all genetically enhanced clones of Alice.

Being the last to board, Sora, on the ramp of the Blackquila that started to move away slowly, knowing what was coming, prepared by lighting a cigarette.

After taking a long drag and exhaling the smoke, he activated his radio and said, "To all units, the 'pillar' has been planted. I repeat; the 'pillar' has been planted... evacuate the palace immediately."

As soon as he finished, Gear, coordinating the troops that had arrived as reinforcements in the AVs still inside the Palace, responded:

["Boss, we've already extracted all the victims and are evacuating the clients, mercenaries, and Brotherhood members who have surrendered, but some of them are still entrenched and refuse to drop their weapons, what should we do with them?"]

"Fuck them, less space occupied in the cryo-cells... Delta the fuck out" Sora responded.

["Understood, we're out in 90,"] Gear replied, while getting all the Lazarus troops running back to the AVs.

A few minutes later, when all the Lazarus AVs had moved away, and the Aquilas were holding back a large group of mercenary AVs, clients, and Brotherhood members who had tried to escape, surrounded and restrained.

Over the radio channel, one of the pilots said, provoking the rest to follow:

["Come on, boss, don't make us wait."]

["It can't be a R.A.B.I.D mission if it doesn't end with fireworks."]

["Yeah, boss, wipe out this filthy place!"]

["I'm sure our guests on board will love to see it,"] said one of the pilots with the victims inside.

["Ground units here, all clear down here. If the palace exploded now, only enemy casualties would be expected. Just saying, in case…"]

Hearing the ground report, giving wings to their requests... chaos ensued on the radio channel:

["Do it, Eco!"]

["ECO!"] ["ECO!"]

["ECO!"] ["ECO!"]

["ECO!"] ["ECO!"]

As more Lazarus agents joined in, chanting over the radio, Yumi in the Blackquila, Lyndall and Saika in different AVs, as members of another unit, shook their heads, pressed their eye sockets, or massaged their temples, exasperated.

Due to the bad influence that the 13th Seat had been on what were once exemplary members of Lazarus, now chanting festively in the middle of a mission, leaving all professionalism aside, expecting their leader, as he had accustomed them, to finish the mission with a grand "finale."

Their requests over the radio made Eco, behind Sora, look at him "?" while tilting his head, asking if he should activate it, as the others were requesting.

"Tch, so annoying..." Sora said with false irritation in his voice, causing an expectant ["!...!"] silence on the radio channel, until he finally said, "Do it, Eco."

-

["Shhsshhssshhssshh..."]

Inside the office, in the secret room, Alice reacted again when she heard a noise that sounded like laughter, after everyone had left the area.

["Shhsshhssshhssshh..."]

The laughter continued, prompting Alice to release the anchors of her enormous chair and activate her thrusters to move.

Leaving her secret room, she followed the sound until she found its origin: a screen on an elegant octagonal black metal pillar, 2 meters high and 20 cm in radius, left in the middle of her office.

The screen displayed a gif of a black dog in 8-bit style, laughing while trying to hide it by covering its mouth with a paw.

However, upon seeing her, the black dog showed that it wasn't just a simple gif.

["Shhsshhssshhssshh..."] It stepped aside without stopping its laughter, revealing what it was hiding behind: something black and relatively round by 8-bit standards, with a few white pixels protruding above, being consumed by red ones...

When Alice realized what it was, the metal column activated, unfolding its plates upward and revealing its intricate interior.

At the same time, on the screen, the pixelated Echo covered its ears with its paws, without erasing the smile from its face, as the last white pixels were consumed by the red ones.

When the fuse disappeared, "Oh, shit," said Alice, foreseeing what would happen next, as she saw an 8-bit explosion on the screen consuming everything in its path, including the pixelated recreation of the Palace.

Immediately afterward, reality mirrored what happened on the screen. The pillar exploded, consuming everything in its path in a large explosion that destroyed the palace completely.

-

When the sun began to rise...

An unsettling calm enveloped the Palace of Aether as blue flames rose, starting to devour the station following the detonation of the Unstable Fission Bomb within it.

The resulting sphere of flames began to expand rapidly, consuming the palace until it abruptly stopped, as if time itself had frozen.

A second later, the flames began to retract, being sucked toward the center of the explosion with an irresistible force.

The energy compressed into a bright, tiny point, illuminating the night sky for hundreds of kilometers, as if for a moment a miniature sun had formed in the middle of the Pacific.

Shining intensely, until the core could no longer contain the energy, releasing it all at once in a titanic explosion that unleashed a brilliant blue shockwave that expanded horizontally, with a peculiar and pleasant amplified sonic boom.

Preceding the giant dome of flames that re-emerged, even more devastating, completely consuming the Palace of Aether.

Meanwhile, in what was supposed to be a safe zone kilometers away,

One of the pilots, with a calm voice despite his aircraft trembling from the turbulence, noticed something and asked confusedly over the radio, ["Is it just me or are they getting bigger?"]

With a similar tone, ["I think so,"] replied another colleague, thinking the same as he controlled his ship.

["It's normal, the 'pillars' are a joint project of the 13th and 12th seats, whatever they do, they either kill well or explode this well,"] added another, providing information about the Unstable Fission Bomb codenamed Pillar.

When the blue flames dispersed, only incandescent and molten pieces of the palace remained, starting to fall to the ground.

Sora, still on the open ramp of the Black Eagle, after feeling the shockwave in his bones, watched with satisfaction the "purge" of UNSA's Project Yggdrasil before taking the last drag of his cigarette and tossing it into the void along with the remnants of the Palace.

Then, having completed his mission and his self-imposed objectives, materialized in the golden card kept in his jacket, Sora turned around, with the ramp closing behind him, and as he headed to his cabin, said over the radio, "Good job, everyone! Let's head back to base..."

-

Author: There is one more chapter left in the season, which is almost finished. I had planned to upload both at the same time, but since this one is already translated, I'm uploading it nowand today hopefully, or tomorrow I will upload the last one. 

---

Ah, one more thing! Thank you so much everyone for your support and comments, but especially to the people who support me on Patreon. You have no idea what your support means to me. Many thanks to Bubbs, Ruzzzy, Terrance Smith, Cifu_23, Ken Harris, Late42, Kittos, Cloudman1, Kamo45, and especially to my first subscriber, Havey Specter.