Finding Eden

That last sentence finally convinced Elena. How could she refuse if her daughter wants to see her? So Komaróv pushed her gently into their old car. Old was an understatement. It was so old that it still ran on gas. However, it was still working it was Komaróv who worked on it and drove it around every time he visited his home. It was his small and short escape from Elena when he could no longer bear to see her suffer from the loss of her child. He was still human after all. Komaróv would have preferred to run to their destination. However, he could not put David and Elena through that stress.

Additionally, he was unsure whether Elena and David could resist the cold weather for that long. David would also come into contact with the black snow and who knew what those industry chemicals in the snow would do to a small child. So, the old car was the only way. 

The car was running smoothly for over three hours now. They were very close to the border but that was not their destination. The plan was even crazier than crossing a heavily guarded border to the Eastern Union. No, the plan was to go directly beyond the front lines, beyond the Shadows. That's where Komaróv set up a teleportation device. Probably the first of its kind. It took him years to construct and build it in secret. It would teleport them out of this cursed nation.

To go behind the front line was also part of his plan. It would confuse his pursuers and make them doubt whether the tracks of his tyres told the truth. It was worth it even if that plan only gave him a minute more. So far his plan seemed to work. He didn't even meet a single monster even though he crossed the front line an hour ago. He was only a kilometre away from the portal now. 

They were far up in the mountains. Elena's breathing frequency was already a bit high just like David's. The street could hardly be called a street. There were plenty of potholes and stones on the road. Walking was now the only option. David would have to brave the black snow now but only for a short period. Leaving his beloved car behind was the easiest thing he had to do today. 

The cold was not hard to conquer for Komaróv but Elena and David suffered greatly under it. But everything will be alright as soon as they reach the portal. It was constructed so that one only had to go through it to get teleported to a specific destination. One might not even know that they were about to be teleported as it only activated at the very moment someone wants to cross it. The apparatus required 1000 E-Crystals for a one-way ticket. That was way too much to be considered as a possible venture. 

Eventually, they reached the cave where the teleporter was hidden.

"We did it" Komaróv exclaimed. "Come on now, we are almost there"

"I can't wait to finally see Lisa again" Elena coughed as her lungs were about to give up. So, they pushed themselves further towards the cave.

But Komaróvs newly enhanced senses picked up a small vibration. His hand reached for the tooth that was taped to his leg. He ripped the tooth out of the tape. Just in time to parry an Ōdachi that was headed for David's neck.

The attacker, clad in black armour, resumed his attack but this time, it was focused on Komaróv. His movement discarded the laws of inertia. Komaróv saw that but his body was already in motion. His body had to awkwardly adjust to this attack. 

Two precise slashes of the Ōdachi followed.

Komaróv only managed to duck and avoid the other slash with his makeshift, by now almost destroyed, weird-looking tooth dagger. The first strike almost broke it. he nearly had to sacrifice it to dodge the weird attack. It could only take one more hit. 

"Run, run to the cave. Do not wait for…" Komaróv had to stop talking as his opponent demanded his full attention. 

In the corner of his eyes, he could see how Elena ran towards the cave entrance with David in her arms.

His attacker did not concern himself with the fleeing family. His priority was right in front of him. The attacker elegantly avoided Komaróv's small attempt at a counter and immediately set up his attack. 

Komaróv's mind was racing searching for a solution. 'My weapon is about to break and this guy is already in motion to attack but I know that this could be a feint. It's probably his ability. He can dash in any direction no matter in which direction he currently moves. I can beat that.' 

The Ōdachi of his enemy was slashing downwards to cut Komaróv in two. Komaróv sidestepped the attack and swung his dagger on the opening that was created by the attack. The attacker changed his target, as Komaróv anticipated, but he did not change his attack. The Ōdachi moved to block the dagger.

The impact shattered the dagger. Komaróv however already let go of the dagger and used the accumulated speed of his hand to penetrate the chest plate of his opponent with his middle and index finger.

It pierced right through the chest plate and the attacker's heart. The man in black armour immediately died. Only now could Komaróv take a closer look. The black armour had beautiful details and had the symbol of a dragon engraved on the now pierced chest plate. Through the visor, Komaróv could see the shocked face of the attacker. His face contorted as his heart stopped beating.

Komaróv pulled out his fingers from the man's chest. They were completely red and some blood even got on his lab coat. The dead man remained standing for a few seconds but inevitably collapsed on the ground. 

Komaróv started to breathe violently. Of course, that was not his first kill. He killed countless Shadows and even a demon to collect the E-crystals for the portal but he never killed a human. However, he did not have the bliss to come to terms with his first kill. Because another Enemy arrived. 

"Komaróv, how did you escape?", said a man with long blond hair, only 20 meters away from him. There was not even a sound at the arrival of this man. He was also wearing a lab coat. One could see his athletic muscular build under his lab coat. 

'Crap, I can't fight that guy.'

"Sir, I escaped by advancing to the knight rank. I hid a powerful E-Crystal and I calculated that I only needed this one Crystal to advance. After advancing escaping was easy as the research facility LfG1 was only meant to contain a warrior of the Hope rank."

Komaróv could only stall this guy by answering his questions. He knew him. It was his superior in the research facility. He did not know his name and he was only allowed to call him Sir. However, his name did not concern Komaróv, only his rank. He was an entire rank above Komaróv currently. There was no way to beat the man with blond hair. 'Did Elena make it? I have to know.'

"Alright Komaróv, tell me what you found out and I will let your family live."

"Sir, the experiment was not a success so I fled to not face the consequences," Komaróv said while turning toward the cave. 

In the next moment, Komaróvs right arm was severed from his body. "Do not lie to me Komaróv." The man crossed the distance in an instant and severed the arm without making a sound. the wound wasn't even bleeding and oddly enough there was no pain. 

"Am I not worth your full attention?" The man said, his voice devoid of any emotion. " Why are you turning towards the cave? I know the experiment was a success now tell me. What do you know about Eden?"