“According to an interview with one of her soldiers, Tsundora has said that she already has a target in mind, although this information is not public. 'The hunt is ours, there is no reason to scare the citizens. But know that we have already mobilized a mercenary of the target's caliber.' Tsundora states…”

  I don't have time for that, I gotta do something while I still can.

  I ran, hoping to find the bar, but I had gotten lost in the middle of the metropolis; the streets were crowded with pedestrians and cars, buildings blocking any point of reference.

  Then I found something I hadn't seen in a while; the stadium. Now that there wasn't a tournament going on, it was apparent that it's a neo-hockey stadium, and since it was a Monday, it was closed—that should make a good hiding place.

  I even had my own things to do besides Kassidy, but they'll have to wait. At least until I deal with whoever this "mercenary" is.

  "Lotus!" I called. "They sent a mercenary after me! I'm taking refuge in last week's stadium. If I can't answer you, it's because I got into a fight."

  "Mercenary?" Her voice reached my ears with a hissing sound. "Looking here, there's no record of any mercenaries in the Central District!"

  "Greetings from the south." Said a gruff, harsh voice behind me.

  As I leaped back, I could see what it was; a skinny man with messy purple hair, what appeared to be scars under his cyan eyes, and… spikes?

  "Who are you?" I growled.

  "Kobalt Saphir," he grabbed a pretzel and shoved it down his throat, "I've come to kill you."

  “Why? Aren't you a Cog too?”

  “What difference does that make? I'll hunt any little shit as long as I’m paid appropriately.”

  Noticing that things were starting to get tense, I made a point of retreating to the arena—luckily for me, the ice had already melted.

  Kobalt, for his part, didn't even speak, he just drew his weapon; a huge cleaver which he wielded in reverse grip and it was also decorated with spikes—damn, this is so cool! Why didn't I think of this first? He then followed me to the arena.

  "Bring it on, stick," I said with a provocative gesture, "I want to see what you’re capable of."

  "I've heard so much of that shit it's lost its appeal." He grumbled before lunging forward with surprising speed, nearly cutting me with a blow.

  I perched on the fence, analyzing what I had just seen; not only is he agile, but he wields the cleaver as if it weighed as little as a sheet of paper. Let me check something.

  I leaped toward him intending to kick him, but he retaliated with a jump as he raised his weapon soaring into the sky, sending me flying until I crashed down to the floor.

  "All that's left is for you to tell me you shoot projectiles too." I stood up. "I've fought plenty of your kind."

  Kobalt narrowed his eyes as he stared at me.

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  “Okay, the shotos were only in games.”

  “Ugh, I don't have time for this shit. Give up while you can and I'll go home satisfied.”

  "No way!" I yelled as I charged toward him, hoping to land a punch on his face, but my fist was blocked by the side of the cleaver, which he used to sweep me away. This time, he rushed forward to follow up the shove, hitting me with a flurry of kicks and punches with his free hand (yes, the bastard can also hold the cleaver with one hand), finishing with another blow with his cleaver.

  As I stood up, I decided to do something others would consider suicide: to double down on my aggression. I went straight for him, throwing a series of punches, all of which were blocked, but I began to feel a recoil that increased with each punch, the blade going further and further away. After a few more seconds, I finally broke his guard with a kick, my other foot flying towards his head.

  Following the kick, I sent him flying with an uppercut, threw a few more punches while he was suspended, and brought him back down with a downward kick.

  “Icarus!! Oh, it's been so long since I landed that combo!” I laughed as I landed. To be honest, I don't even know how I managed to land so many blows without getting tired. Is it Hideaki's strength?

  "Son of a bitch." he cursed as he stood up. "I'm not finished yet, you sack of shit!"

  His spikes and cleaver suddenly turned from cyan straight to red before he struck me with a lunge in the blink of an eye, driving the thorns on the cleaver's handle into my stomach and tearing my skin as he pulled them out of my body. It hurt like hell, but I recovered surprisingly quickly. Strange, considering the scar left by Kassidy's sword.

  “Why did I agree to hunt a Cog? I should’ve known firsthand that these shits are practically indestructible!”

  “Argh, fuck it.” He grumbled. “I'm just going to try to incapacitate you, and let that damn Tsundora do the rest!”

  Kobalt then continued his attacks, striking me with the cleaver from every possible angle, until one of his kicks hit the spike in my shoulder. A sharp pain then momentarily gripped my arm, as if he had hit a nerve.

  In my moment of vulnerability, my face collided with his fist, but I hadn't fallen yet.

  Our fight continued, exchanging blows that grew stronger and stronger, to the point where the stadium began to shake and the sound of the impacts echoed.

  “Just fall already, you bitch!”

  “Fuck off too, asshole!”

  Dodging yet another of his attacks, I decided to throw all common sense out the window and finish this quickly; I grabbed him by the arm holding the cleaver, punched him in the face a few more times, and threw him against one of the pillars, causing it to break in two.

  I had hoped that would have done the trick, but he still burst through the debris, grabbing my face.

  "Die, you son of a bitch!" He yelled as he slammed my head against the pillar, causing the stadium to collapse on top of us.

  As I dug myself out of the rubble, only now did I feel tired, and it seemed the same was true for Kobalt.

  "You know what? You won this time, you little shit," he said before disappearing in a flash.

  Wait. Wouldn't that be the third Cog signal Kassidy encountered on his way to Installation Omega? It sounds much less robotic than Hideaki had described. Strange…

  Finally, looking around, I saw several people staring at me, whether out of curiosity, fear, or whatever ordinary people feel. But I don't even care anymore; this is starting to piss me off.

  So, where was I going before that bastard interrupted me? Oh, the bar! The neo-hockey stadium reminded me of someone.