Same difference - I

Before you read this chapter be aware that the content in this one is rated Mature, as it has excessive violence.

Adonai:

"Morning, we're here for our sorting job."

I said to the not so enthusiastic looking receptionist. We've seen her for quite a while but her face never fails to inspire me to try and sleep at night. She looks like she hasn't seen the face of the bed in a couple of months.

"Go to the back and get started, don't bother me too much humans." She said and never looked at us again. I don't know if she ignored or just didn't notice the kids we have with us, but maybe she just doesn't care.

When we arrived at the room storing our job we found mail and packages that haven't been touched since the birth of the solar system. We're on a planet made of gas but damn it was truly gaslight that got us into this job in the first place.

Noah and Liam stared at the mountain of work in front of us and they started marching towards the door, but Maverick was quick.

"Now, now, you decided to help so be both man of your word and stick to it."

"But we're not exactly 'man' you know? We use different terms."

"Listen here, you little shit. You get my point, so move and I might just allow you to peek at Stella sometime."

Suddenly Liam moved closer to Maverick and whispered something inaudible to me. But judging by Stella's reaction, it wasn't anything good.

"Enough! Stella stopped them. Let's start working."

"Yes ma'am!" The kids responded at the same time.

Stella indeed looked like a mother in this moment and I couldn't help but look at Maverick who had a smug look on his face, looking prideful as if they were his own kids. 

It's at least nice to know that Stella doesn't have just the scarry cat attitude and can take action... at least when it involves kids that is. 

And with this our so ordinary day of underpaid labor started.

A few hours of unpaid labor later

*Boom*

A loud sound came from the main entrance. And I have a bad feeling about this.

"Stella, keep the kids with you here, Maverick we go." Instantly I acted.

Maverick without words or hesitation followed behind me and when we got there, the head of the receptionist was blown off and a man was stealing from the main counter, seemingly absorbing her body.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?"

The man looked at us, pointed the gun and shot. We dodged. I knew this place is not crime free, but this is a grave crime I haven't even heard of being committed until now.

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm feeding on her corpse.. I need money... for my kids. SO DON'T STAND IN MY WAY!"

The man put the small gun down and from behind he took what seemed to be a machine gun. But what it shot were not normal bullets. Magic enhanced ammunition that can go through almost anything if not blocked. There are a few planets who delved into the combination of magic with technology and this is the result of such a product.

"GET DOWN!" Maverick shouted as he conjured a cage made out of wood and enhanced by water magic. Not the best ammunition quality out there since it can be stopped, but it's enough to kill a person.

What should we do? I asked myself. Stella's not oriented to fight, Maverick can only do so much and I'm practically useless.

"Just let him leave... or even better ... jump in front of his gun!"

Not now, not now, don't cloud my judgment now. Rarely but the voices surface in tense situations during the day, they are not as common as they are at night, and they disappear rather fast during the day.

"Adonai, you'll distract him while I prepare a hidden spell, something that will go under the ground and knock him down, okay?"

"Understood."

After a while, when the machine gun stopped, Maverick let the cage down and we saw the man standing still pointing the gun at us. Outside a crowd of people gathered that didn't dare to intervene.

"So, you're doing this for your family right, why this approach?"

"You really don't know? you are an outsider right. In this world is eat or be eaten, only the strong will survive, that's how our planet works... if my kids were to find out I can't provide for them... they would kill me themselves. It's a moral obligation. So I'll do whatever it takes, there's no law to stop me, she was simply too weak to resist a magic enhanced bullet."

Is he stupid or stupid? But if what he said is true then this is not so different from our planet where the weak get trampled over and the strong have free reign. Either way this is not of my concern, hopefully Maverick is done soon.

But he wasn't, the man shot Maverick, and he had no choice but to defend himself rather than finishing the spell, the force of the bullet knocked him unconscious. Shortly after the twins ran out the door and Stella chased them.

"DON'T MOVE!" He shouted pointing the gun at one of the kids.

Stella is sitting next to me, and I can see her mouth moving. After I tried and read her lips I figured out she said "He's afraid". And by looking at his shaky hand and feet I could see it as well. But this is bad, it means he's unstable so this can go in any way.

I need to do something... but what can I do?

As I thought that a bullet of fire shot right at the man in front of us, it was fired from Noah's palm, but the man just changed that part of his body to be incorporeal so the bullet went right through him.

This got me thinking that unless he doesn't see it coming we have no way to deal a blow unless there's a technique the twins know to deal with their own kin that we don't. But they are too young for that and the outsiders don't intervene.

I need a weapon. I need something to deal with this.

*Rattle* 

The loud sound of a machine gun being ready.

Noah is frozen, he probably never thought what will happen after he shot at him and if he failed.

The machine gun fired, but Liam moved and pushed Noah aside, the burst of bullets hitting him straight.

After the gun stopped I looked at Noah who was horrified, his face was the ugliest mix of fear and anger I could possibly see.. he could do nothing but scream.

"BROTHER!" as he saw the corpse of his lifeless brother sitting next to him. The same brother who protected him with his own life.

"He's hesitating." I said to Stella while I looked at the man. Killing an adult is one thing but killing a child... even in this world kids must be protected.

"I want a weapon." I told myself as I started running straight for him.

Lowering the position of my body to be just under his arm after he raised it I begged for my body to do something. I tried to let go of myself with the mana and feel it, but I couldn't create any thoughts to help me. All I can ask about right now is a weapon.

*Click*

I heard in my head. A seemingly burst of something creped out of myself and I could see my veins being flooded by white, not blood, but something that concentrated right in front of my palm. And then it bursted.

A scythe ... a white scythe. The handle is purely black. The head of the scythe, the curved blade is white, a pure white that has some decorations going onto the handle and a pair of chains seemingly locking in place the whole thing. With a circle engraved a bit further from the end of the handle. At the other end of the handle the decorations are nothing fancy, purely gray, and another chain is coiled around it.

For whatever reason holding this feels so natural to me... almost like I'm holding an extension of myself.

The gun seemingly ran out of bullets after the tragedy from a few seconds ago. And I took the swing, the world around me seemingly came to a halt and the speed of my body improved.

I visually saw him going incorporeal, and he adopted a smug face and he prepared to change the gun ammunition.

"I'm gonna live, and I'm gonna kill you all! I'M GONNA PROVE MY WORTH TO MY FAMILY!"

But to my surprise the scythe hit him. I could feel the scythe pushing through the gas, feeling like flesh and bones, and pushing deeper than just slicing his heart.

"You... are a soul-forger... curses!" He said as the body dissipated in the air, not being eaten like the receptionist the body became gas and just disappeared.

At that moment I realized two things. The gasses in this planet's surface might just be the soul of the deceased and ... I added to it. 

I killed someone. The white of my blade got covered by a slightly red curve near the top of it.

Kerubiel: 

"Lord Adam! We have news sir. We detected a small portion that fits the reading of his mana. It happened for a brief moment but I'm pretty sure he's there.

...

"Kerubiel, send Michael to investigate."

My lord sat atop his throne in his castle looking indifferently at me.

"But, sir, I can go and do it myself!"

Irritated, he stood up.

"If he's really there I need to make sure he remains as dead as the legend says. I can't allow even a fragment of that greatsword to touch this world again. The only one who can reach the greatest weapons is MY POTENTIAL! I'M THE ARCHETYPE CREATION."

My lord bursted out in rage as his 8 wings became visible, their gigantic shadow overshadowing me in the light of the palace.

"I don't want you to mess this up" He said in a barbaric rage, with an echo to his voice. "Get me Michael, and destroy Caladbolg for good."

I nodded, not saying another word and left. Going to announce to Michael that he has to embark on a journey, following the track back to Aegir.