A New Challenger Appears

Shout out to WanaHaveABadtime. May your next high noon get a team kill.

Shawn POV: 

As much fun as we were having, even Mamoru had to admit that this was taking too long. Even though we knew that we were going to be facing quite a number of them, it was still more time-consuming. We couldn't ask one of the guards where the key cards are as we knew that besides their own, they had no idea where they are. There was probably one still on this floor, that lead to the fourth floor, or it could be found on the fourth floor that led to a higher one. Intentionally confusing, and efficient at stopping intruders. 

After spending five more minutes searching the floor, we find the guy, hiding in a closet. He was dealt with for successfully wasting our time. Heading to the elevator, the doors ding open, snapping us into attention, ready for a fight. The doors open to reveal a frightened young woman also wearing a suit, take trembling steps before us. I think the surrounding carnage made her into that state. Nearing us but keeping her distance, she bows before us. We watch as she slowly reaches into her pants pockets and pull out a key card. In Japanese, she says to us, 

"You are invited to join us in the basement."

She flinches as I take the key card from her. Once I do, I nod towards the elevator, and she wastes no time in sprinting towards it. I hold back my smile as I watch her repeatedly hit the button for the ground floor before the doors close. 

I don't need to confirm with Mamoru as he already knows this is a trap as well. He holds up his key card that we got from the guard. 

"I do believe that both of us are quite capable of handling whatever is thrown our way. I suggest we split up." I couldn't agree more with him as I still had my own search to conduct. I still needed to locate that Ravager, that I knew was within the building, but not where exactly. Plus, deducting that this was a trap, it was most likely Otsuka who was in the basement, and I was more suited to contest her as I doubted her poisons would affect me. 

"Don't mess around and die." I tell him. 

"I should be saying that to you. You're the apprentice here." He replies back, as he heads towards the elevator. 

"Yeah, but as the elder, you're the more senile out of the two of us, Biden." I retort back to him. The doors close with him questioning who I was referencing there but I can't indulge. I wait a bit for the elevator to get to where it's going before I step in. Using the key card provided by the woman, the elevator dings, and I can feel it start to lurch downwards. 

After waiting patiently for the elevator, the doors open to reveal a spacious dark underground. It was an empty parking garage for the building. I step out carefully, checking the ground for any traps, as I didn't know what kind of woman Otsuka was. As the doors close behind me, leaving the area darker than before. Strangely, I couldn't sense anyone's bioelectricity around me. 

Taking three more steps, the slightest movement behind a pillar catches my eye. As I'm turning towards it, I see movement on my left, but when I look, there's no one there. I could just feel that I was surrounded, but I couldn't sense or see where anyone was. But, I wasn't scared. This might be the challenge I needed to further push myself to the final piece that I felt that I was missing. Plus, finding out what was keeping me from sensing them would help me in the future to avoid it.

In front of me, or at least I think it was as it was so dark I couldn't even tell if my eyes were open or not, a figure begins to make noise, purposely revealing themselves to me. Suddenly, the clothes on the surrounding men began to glow, revealing around 20 men. In front of me, was a bald woman with a tattoo of a snake wrapped around her face. Her green eyes shine unnaturally as they look past me for a second before focusing back on me. 

"The invitation was for both of you. He must be really confident in your skills for you to come face me alone. Or is it that you guys underestimate me? Either way, I'm glad you came alone, it makes my job easier." Otsuka says. 

"You know, I was just thinking something along the lines of that. I'm glad you're so overconfident in your abilities to kill subpar people that when faced with a real challenge, you're going to fold faster than a napkin in the wind." I reply. 

My words bring a smile to her face. "Yeah, that determined it. I'm definitely keeping you. Don't worry, I'll take good care of you." 

At that, all at once, everyone draws their swords. Slowly, I do too, the soft shrill ringing out into the void