Hair of Gold

It was almost laughable – a secret mission in broad daylight! Kelvin's voice filled the air as he deftly maneuvered the Ford Ranger Raptor through the terrain. He wore a black fitted cap, a loose white long-sleeved shirt paired with cargo shorts, and Chuck Taylor All-Star low-tops.

Rumina and I, on the other hand, sported tight-fitting black attire. The contrast was impossible to miss, and it had clearly unsettled her.

"When are you ever going to wear tights? I've noticed, Agent Polar, that it's always the three of us – you, me, and Lucy – taking on these perilous missions," Rumina teased from the passenger seat beside Kelvin. She shot him a sidelong glance, an eyebrow raised in mock suspicion.

Kelvin chuckled and glanced briefly at Rumina before responding, "Are you complaining about the mission, or do you just want to see me in tights?"

Rumina shot him a glare and brandished her Swiss knife from her side. "I might just skin you alive!"

Kelvin's quick reflexes swerved the car slightly as he laughed, refocusing on the rocky road ahead. "I was just kidding, come on! Not unless—"

"Not unless what?" Rumina cut in, her voice sharp and impatient.

The two of them looked adorable together, and despite the perilous nature of our mission, there were moments of levity that reminded us life wasn't all darkness.

Rumina and Kelvin continued to exchange banter as we traversed the landscape in search of the third and final Zero artifact. We had covered several kilometers, passing through three mountains and two rivers, with me in the backseat contemplating the wendigos and our ongoing quest.

Then, suddenly, the car came to an abrupt halt. At the top of a hill stood a five-sided white house, centrally located and open to the sky with a quadrilateral hole in the roof. Its unusual and dramatic facade was accentuated by the swaying trees behind it.

"Nice house, but aren't we supposed to be hiding somewhere? We're right in front of the location," Kelvin remarked as he began reversing the vehicle.

"Didn't your GPS locator work? We should have stopped a few meters away from the exact point!" Rumina complained, clearly frustrated. She gripped her seatbelt tighter as the car backed up on the slightly steep slope.

"I did," Kelvin responded with a sigh, his eyes still on the road. "The GPS was working perfectly. We were supposed to stop half a mile from the east crossing. But the car suddenly stopped and signaled that we've reached our destination. I've been researching this for a week, and I can't be wrong about the third artifact being here."

A week was ample time for Kelvin to conduct thorough research. He rarely made mistakes in treasure hunting and investigations. He was the tech expert of our team. Kelvin skillfully steered the Ford until he found a suitable spot for hiding and observation.

Rumina stepped out of the car to survey the area when she noticed something amiss. "Anything wrong, Polar?" she asked, her tone cautious. She had sensed it too. We were all thinking the same thing – a GPS glitch.

Kelvin sighed and shook his head. He released his seatbelt and grasped the car door handle. "Something is wrong, guys. The GPS glitch has never happened to me before, not until now. Someone, more skilled than me, hacked the system."

I froze, my eyes darting between Rumina and Kelvin. My heart rate quickened, and I felt a sense of panic creeping in. We had all suspected that someone might interfere with our mission to retrieve the third artifact, and it seemed our fears had come to pass.

"L-Lucy, Polar," Rumina warned, her voice tense as she looked at both of us and reached for the door handle. "I smell gunpowder, fissile isotopes, uranium, and plutonium. There are high explosives approaching!"

Kelvin's eyes widened in alarm, and we all quickly exited the car. Rumina's ability to detect weapons and potential threats had come into play – something she had rarely used since we became a team.

"Jump and run!" Rumina shouted urgently, as if a grave danger was closing in. She opened the car's door simultaneously with Kelvin. "Lucy, hurry!"

All my senses snapped into focus, and my reflexes kicked in like a bolt of lightning. I unbuckled my seatbelt and flung open the car door, just as I saw a flaming ball of fire hurtling toward us – a missile! I dove out of the car and touched the ground with my arms, swiftly rolling away to avoid the impending explosion. My head and body lowered instinctively to minimize the impact.

I leaped several meters away from the car, disregarding the sharp thorns and branches that tore at my skin. Cuts covered my body, but I couldn't see where Rumina and Kelvin had gone. I couldn't locate them!

Before I could take another step away from the car, a deafening explosion rocked the surroundings. It was incredibly loud, almost deafening, and it seemed to shake the entire forest that enveloped the hill. My eyes were stinging from the thick mixture of smoke, dust, and flying leaves that engulfed the area.

The car was engulfed in flames!

The air grew thick, nearly suffocating me as I gasped for breath. I squeezed myself into a cluster of lush ferns next to a towering tree covered in thick moss. Only now did I truly feel the pain from my wounds.

I could smell the metallic tang of blood oozing from a cut on my right temple, and I felt the deep gash on my left leg just below my groin. Grunting in discomfort, I moved deeper into the cover provided by the lower branches of a massive fig tree.

I waited for the dense smoke to dissipate. With every passing moment, my vision cleared, allowing me to see the extent of my injuries. The forest was now eerily silent.

The silence was short-lived. After a few minutes, I heard the soft rustling of blades cutting through leaves and stems from above. I heard them approaching, and I braced myself for whatever was coming.

Quickly, I located the source of the sound, and six daggers whizzed through the air, embedding themselves in the tree branches and roots around me. The throws were precise and deep, a clear sign of the attacker's skill.

Once again, my eyes snapped to the shattered canopy above, where a tall, agile figure emerged. She landed gracefully, akin to a wild eagle descending upon its prey. Her attire consisted of a form-fitting ninja leather suit paired with combat boots, and her face and head were completely concealed.

To my surprise, her chocolate-brown eyes locked onto mine as if she knew I had been hiding there all along. She stood a few meters away, gazing at me with an intensity that suggested she was ready to strike with her two kukris.

I kept my gaze fixed on her, my eyes never leaving her form. I would wait for her to make the first move before I executed my own. I had already formulated eight possible escape and defense plans in my mind. I needed to ascertain if she truly intended harm or even death. I didn't want to make a mistake in this intricate game of lies and secrets.

The woman remained motionless, her presence imposing and enigmatic. She was as tall as someone I knew, but it couldn't be her. Why would she be here now? And why would she interfere in a covert mission like this? Each mission under the League of Urion (LOU) was sacred, and The Riot's mission remained a secret to everyone except the three of us and the First-Sirius.

I processed the potential outcomes of our impending confrontation with the mysterious woman. Either I would evade her and flee or face her head-on if she persisted.

But before I could make a decision, Rumina suddenly leaped out from behind the stranger, brandishing both her daggers and poised to strike the woman's back. Unexpectedly, the masked woman swiftly countered, entangling her arm with Rumina's. She wasted no time in hurling Rumina away, and my teammate crashed into a cluster of tropical shrubs.

My feet moved automatically, seizing the opportunity to avenge Rumina. I stopped abruptly as I heard a series of rapid gunshots coming from the left side of the forest. The enemy deftly dodged each bullet without breaking a sweat. She was clearly a formidable adversary, and I was filled with trepidation.

The thick smoke from the gunfire gradually cleared, revealing Kelvin holding two long-neck rifles. "Lucy! Polar! Run!" he shouted loudly, then adjusted his grip on the guns and fired several more rounds at the enemy. Stepping back to create some distance, he continued to unleash a barrage of bullets.

We hadn't anticipated the enemy's speed. She dodged the bullets effortlessly, maneuvering her way toward Kelvin. As I watched her movements, I instinctively drew both my daggers from their sheaths on my hips. I was like a rocket propelling myself toward my target, driven by the sight of Kelvin in peril.

Kelvin swiftly detected the impending threat, his instincts sharp as a hawk's eye. He skillfully swerved to the left, leveling his aim at the oncoming danger. Meanwhile, I closed the distance between myself and the approaching enemy, who was dangerously closing in on Kelvin. My steps quickened, driven by the urgent need to protect him.

"Kelvin! Move!" I cried out, fully expecting that he would stubbornly persist in his pursuit of the agile adversary.

As I closed the gap to within a mere three meters of both Kelvin and the encroaching foe, the enemy executed a surprising maneuver. She jerked her captive's neck, sending him airborne, and then, with incredible swiftness, pivoted toward me, preparing to strike. Instinctively, I caught Kelvin mid-flight, but the force unleashed by the woman made it a struggle to prevent our crashing descent.

We plummeted into a dense bed of mulch, and Kelvin, clutching his injured limb, winced in pain as I prepared myself for a counterattack.

The enemy's movements hinted at her being far from an ordinary assassin. I suspected she was a master of her craft, perhaps even a legendary outcross or a high-ranking urion. Her actions spoke of a prowess that transcended the ordinary. Regardless of her identity, my intention was clear – to capture her alive.

I approached the woman cautiously. She remained as composed as her measured breaths, her true affiliation shrouded in mystery.

"I am not here to claim lives. I seek the fire key," she murmured from behind her mask.

I swallowed hard, her words igniting a slew of questions regarding others who might covet the third artifact. "We also seek the fire key. What would you do if we already possess it?"

"I will secure the fire key without shedding your blood," she declared resolutely. Her determination was palpable as she leaped closer, kukris poised with blades reversed.

Then, with bated breath, she lunged toward me, her weapon aimed at my limbs. I skillfully parried with both of my daggers, delivering a powerful knee strike to her groin.

A cry of pain escaped her lips, affording me an opening. I capitalized on the opportunity, landing a forceful punch to her abdomen and tearing the mask from her face. My anticipation was met with surprise.

Strands of golden-yellow hair cascaded down her shoulders, revealing chocolate-brown eyes that gleamed with unexpected recognition. A step back was all I could manage, realization washing over me. I knew her identity, unmistakably. She was the kindest pillar of the League of Urion (LOU).

"P-Procyon," I stammered, my gaze locked onto her face, mirroring her apparent shock at the sudden turn of events.

"Kiera, I am not your enemy. I came to—" Procyon's words were abruptly cut short as a surge of blood erupted from her mouth, the result of a sharp blade that had found its mark from behind. The blade pierced her chest.

Paralyzed by disbelief, I struggled to comprehend the scene before me. Procyon was gone, her life extinguished in an instant. Standing there, a familiar face emerged from behind her – the killer. But the question that loomed over us all was, why?