Turmoil

1020 hours, 4 July 0145...

The roar of a blackened panther, stalking its prey from the shadows, signals them to leap for their meal.

As I stand here revving my dirt bike's engine to its limit, I am on my way to catch up with my friend in the Giuvila National Forest on the outer skirt of Grande Maria. I am navigating through the chaotic streets of Grande Maria, witnessing infected androids vandalizing, ravaging, burning, and slaughtering in the name of their justified anarchy, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake.

But because they're blocking my path as I speed, I draw my Kiryu, release the throttle, and fire several bullets at them while controlling the handlebar with my left hand.

BANG BANG BANG

I then proceeded to activate the claw on my left hand, summoning a wolverine claw, and engaged in a grappling match with an off-guard, anarchic, infected android. After grabbing its head, I brutally scraped its steely head into the ground while increasing my throttle, causing its body to abruptly bounce off the ground.

As I sped up, I suddenly saw the Grande Maria's Polizias with their anti-terrorism units blockaded the main street's exit way, as they're continuously sending bullets toward the charging hordes of Infected Androids.

But their guns proved as futile as pebbles against a fortress, as the rusted swords of the androids effortlessly pierced through the bodies of the defenseless police officers. This serves as a poignant reminder of the destructive ignorance that technological advancements have inflicted upon humanity.

Out of caution, I slammed the brake bar, slid my bike to the left, and eventually stopped it as I witnessed the bloody turmoil between the poor police and the ravaging infected androids, all while simultaneously protecting several un-evacuated civilians in the nearby safety bunkers.

My instinct tells me that I should assist them in gaining a clear pass to the Giuvila National Forest, avoiding further trouble as a dissident. However, I simultaneously held the belief that they would arrest me for inciting another disturbance, simply because I had successfully cleared the entire horde. Based on the numbers, it appears that they continue to attack from any direction without any indication of stopping, acting as a spawn point for them.

I momentarily halted my movement and scrutinized my surroundings, accidentally spotting a CCTV camera in one of the street lights near the ruined spice shop's building.

But hidden within the shadows, a glimmer of hope awaited me. Between the decrepit spice shop building and the shattered traditional vase, an alleyway beckoned, promising a way to outmaneuver the chaos. Upon closer inspection, I discovered that the alleyway features a ramp that passes through the wall of a dead end.

I then shift into first gear and make my way straight to the alleyway ramp.

But at the same time, I had to keep my bike's balance while passing through the narrow alleyway, where the slightest touch could change my entire course. As I maintained my precision on the roof while maintaining my top speed, something unexpected happened.

VROOOOOOOOOOM

I leaped across the dead end's wall, causing the countless infected androids who were standing below me in disbelief at the unexpected encounter to suddenly jump above their heads.

After that, I'd finally landed far away from them, with a massive impact that almost cracked my crotch. Fortunately, I'm still in control of my bike, as I finally exited the alleyway and sped through the alternative route, where the road was slightly empty and there was no obvious disturbance from the infected androids wreaking havoc.

As I've finally reached the exit gate and kept my throttle on top speed, I suddenly hear a loud wheezing sound that's coming from my six. As I glanced in the mirror, I saw that the weaponized drones were flying at high speed from behind me! Their weapons were hot on my back, poised to make me their easy prey.

DRRRRRRRRRRRRD

BANG BANG BANG

Even though I was able to easily evade their gunshots with my maneuvers and even down several of them with my Kiryu, I still had to maintain my stance on the road to avoid random obstacles when I briefly diverted my attention from them to deal with the attacking drones behind me.

Suddenly, countless drones surrounded my front, nearly blocking the entire road to prevent me from moving. They might be thinking that I would stop my throttle in that moment, but how narrowly would they think that they have the upper hand in dealing with a threat they'll never expect to face?

Activating the claw on my left hand, I summoned the same pecut using a sawed chain. I then lassoed one of the pursuing drones from behind and whirled it upward, creating a faint tornado effect.

And as I've finally gotten close to the blockading drones in front, all of a sudden...

BSRYAK

BOOM

I've easily cleared them all after striking them with the lassoed drone, eventually shooting the fuel tank with my Kiryu's charge-shot bullet, and witnessing the hordes crumble into ashes from the explosion.

With a smirk on my face, I resumed my journey at full speed, navigating through the flames of the aftermath that scorched the road due to my turmoil against the drones' hordes.

"Heh, too easy."

***

After a 20-minute journey, despite its length, I've finally arrived at the Giuvila National Forest, where the lush scenery reminds me of the previous mission I've participated in.

However, this time is different; we are embarking on a mission to visit the Saint Capriccio Great Church to examine the social server system and determine whether Onigashi and her Crescent's infected android troops have already wreaked havoc there, as per my previous encounter.

The remainder of my journey went without a hitch, despite a brief delay due to some infected androids who were in my way. As I made my way through the deserted settlement with the ominous and vast cave's entrance, I could see my friends waving to me from the cave's outside, with the Humvees parked outside.

I apologized to my friends who might have been concerned about my presence as I pulled up to the cave entrance on my motorcycle, turned off the engine, and took off my helmet.

"Sorry that I came slightly later. Because you know, those pesky, infected androids get in my way."

Axel came up to me and smiled in return as he patted my shoulder.

"Don't sweat it; we are also dealing with them in the mid-journey, by the way."

After everything was ready, I parked the dirt bike next to the bush because I no longer needed it for our cave exploration. As the latter approached me, Commander Katoki queried me with a hint of hush and worry.

"How was your encounter with her?"

Recounting my story in its entirety would be perplexing, as my encounter with her felt akin to enduring a torment of seven layers. So I gave Commander Katoki a sidelong look and asked again.

"You're talking about Onigashi? Didn't I already tell you in the group chat before?"

But Lisabelle abruptly clarified his question to me, giving me a brief shake of her head.

"What he meant is, what are you discussing with her?"

After nodding my head in response, I then elaborated with a hand gesture, hoping that they'd understand my elaboration.

"After I defeated her, I interrogated her by asking several questions."

"What's your point in destroying the Cleanser Squadron if you're targeting me instead?!"

"But she answered, It's your fault that you were the strongest Authonoid in this accursed organization."

Christine lifted her right eyebrow in response to a question, her expression now tinged with uncertainty and mixed with worry.

"She refers to Minerva as an accursed organization. What actions has Minerva taken to warrant such animosity? And why would she attack you just because you're the strongest one?"

But just as I was about to answer her question, Leonid suddenly interrupted our conversation as he approached all of us in a calm tone.

"We may resume our conversation mid-journey. But we have to discover the Mural of Faith right away, deep inside the Giuvila cave."

I clicked my tongue in frustration at his sudden interruption, a mix of annoyance and relief washing over me. This pause allowed me to collect my thoughts amidst the ongoing journey to address their lingering question.

As all of us prepared our Scorch Arcs, Nolan's cry of excitement permeated the surrounding area as he heated his motorized chainsaw with a rumbling V-Twin, loaded his lever action shotgun, and was ready to tackle the lurking infected.

"Well, what're ya waiting for? Let's freakin' go, matey!"

Silently evading the notice of emerging infected androids and hidden monsters, I readied myself and stealthily led the group towards the Giuvila cave, our only swift path to the Saint Capriccio Great Church.