A bit disappointed after his trip underground. Robert returned to the surface while still smelling the dust. He was just in time to get wet by the drizzle coming from the mega towers.

The salty water got to his nose because of the rain. Up above he could see the mega towers looking like some giant sprinkler system. He got out of the passage with his face forming a half frown.

They say a man lives by fulfilling a purpose he strives on.

This purpose allows him to continue his days.

One hundred years of being iced.

And finally finding the headquarters held no glorious moment for him. Was he hoping for a euphoric feeling? Some sort of closure for his trouble?

No. He had missed that age already. The time for that was over. Robert continued on walking when his senses slowed down to a halt. All the colors of his world were gone and the only thing left was this red object flying at him.

Robert tilted his head to the left and spread his senses everywhere. He saw figures highlighted in red watching over the distance. Most of them were wearing power suits that covered their bodies.

Robert still had his mask on and he could tell that the four approaching was different from the folk he had met so far. They carried tech pistols and on their backs were vibro blades that could cut through steel.

“You are trespassing on corporate grounds. Come quietly and you will be treated fairly.”

Robert scrolled through his smart glasses and found the app that he prepared to just in case

“No.”

One of them moved as if trying to tackle him. Like a charging bull. Robert saw his movement, and like a matador he grabbed the guy by the horns, and put him down and drew his weapon while pushing the back of his left foot on the neck and then shooting the suit’s power core accurately, disabling it.

It wasn’t as protected here and even if it was not exposed. Robert knew where to hit these things because of the all-sense highlighting what was important in green and gold.

The three moved in without hesitation this time. With everything slowed down and a bullet trying to hit Robert from afar. He found no reason to hold back against them. They might be corporate, but he hasn't revealed his identity yet. He couldn’t punch their armored bodies so opted in using their limbs like levers and used it to his own advantage.

It was a common arrogance that power suit users have. Thinking that their suit can protect them, they tend to be reckless and charge like bulls. Of course, although he had died before reaching 30, Robert was confident about the time he had spent fighting powered folks with intent to kill him.

It wasn’t a giant armored exoskeleton or a bipedal and of course he had something that could disable them completely. Sealing usually works when there is anything supernatural close. But magic had this vicious reaction to technology and although both cancels each other out. Sealing and the binding of light reacts the same, but there was no explosive reaction like a fireball fizzling out.

So writing a seal on their highly advanced powered armors caused an emp-like reaction that scrambles their systems. It also does the same thing to his own tech, but they were reliant on implants that it made the sealing their bane,

When the people close to Robert got their systems scrambled. He was able to use his sturdy legs to put three of them down. Seeing that there was something wrong with their suits. The last one standing looked at Robert.

“Whose dog are you?”

“No one. I was just an explorer that you folk attacked. I could have been a worker that you just stopped.”

“It doesn’t make sense,” he circled around Robert, waiting for any movement while his vibro blade hummed maliciously. “For someone with so little implants to take us on like this. And you don’t seem to be interested in coming quietly.”

Robert pulled the vibro from one of the attackers and blocked the blow. It was a hard attack that stressed his limbs. He probably had strength-related implants and the way he moved was far more refined than his subordinates.

“Experienced.”

He drew his sword. Robert parried the slash as if it was natural and then brought his sword down.

“You are used to fighting this close. Your movement doesn’t feel like the form of discipline that we use.”

Robert swung the sword, scratching the enemy’s chest plate, “Fighting usually doesn't contain this much words.”

“I need to know whose dog you are.”

“You don’t listen, do you?”

Robert slightly pointed his left hand and fired the hidden gun on the sword-wielding bastard. The armor-piercing around shattered the stomach plate on the bastard and he kneeled on the ground holding his stomach.

Killing them would attract too much heat. It would be more preferable for them to die, but he wasn’t really that bloodthirsty enough.

But there was no rule that he couldn’t break their limbs.

He slashed on the man’s limbs and as expected his limbs were chrome. Even the rest of his subordinates had cyber limbs. The man was bleeding from the stomach and even without seeing his eyes. Robert was sure that the man was trying to dig a hole in him.

“Look. I ain’t got a grudge on your folks. I was here because a certain client told me to explore some part of the system. Don’t wanna know which corposec you are working for nor do I care, but you folk started first. I don’t know what happened to the one shooting from afar, but I’m going to leave now. Just be thankful that I didn’t zero the four of you, okay?”

“I’m grateful,” the man clicked his tongue.

“Chill, brotha. You can always regain your limbs. I’ll be leaving now. Don’t bother to look for me. I wouldn’t be as merciful.”

Robert felt the effect of the seal vanish and he activated his lightshield cloaking, disappearing from their sight and leaving. He saw reinforcements that had similar appearance to them, but he avoided them without a problem.

***

 

“This is embarrassing.”

The man who spoke has this artificial look on his face. A look that made it clear that he was far older than he looked.

“The best of the best in the business.”

He reviewed their combat footage.

“And you got schooled like greenhorns who didn’t know how to fight. I was sure that I heard right about all of your talk about being the best. And you show me this. Embarrassing.”

“We underestimated him. Thought it was another junkie or smuggler. Too good to be one.”

“Probably a Freelancer. Said here that he was looking for something. Your suit got hit by something that shut it down temporarily. He knew how to fight you idiots. It’s a good thing that there’s no one other than our own drones that got a hold of this footage. Frankly, it made me wonder if you guys are slacking off.”

He scrolled the combat footage in the middle.

“Good thing that he wasn’t trying to kill all of you. Did embarrass all of you.”

They were disabled through cutting their limbs. If reinforcements didn’t arrive then he would have suffered heavy blood loss. Their superior was looking at them as if they total fuck-ups.

“I can forgive this since you idiots rarely disappoint like this. Hmm, though I think that we need to trace the steps. I’ll have the drones see where he went.”

The Techies that came with the reinforcements fitted them with their spare limbs and finally got them to stand up properly.

“We’re missing one of your blades.”

“Are we?”

“Tracers got removed. He probably took it as a souvenir from you idiots.”

“Tell me that we’re going to get some payback, sir.”

“Are you idiots? Since he clearly had you idiots outmatched. Did you even imagine if he actually wanted to kill you all? If your overwatch didn’t inform us. You’d two would be lying here dead. And we aren’t going to use the resources for petty revenge. And I don’t want this to get out and lessen our budget. I don’t think the Freelancer had a grudge and one good look at him made it clear he was exploring the underground. Like they say, let sleeping dogs lie.”

The one who got shot in the stomach looked at his superior who had a gut feeling that had been saving them from bad choices. Their respect for the man's instinct was high and at the moment they didn’t want to find out if they could win. They might have been prepared if they met, but they weren’t that eager to find out either.

Everyone was working for a paycheck and risking their life recklessly for their employers wasn't part of their contract.

 

***

Underground.

Former CASE headquarters.

There was a charm that was placed near that area that informed someone. This certain someone had a rather rugged look and what covered the arms of this ‘person’ are tattoos. He was holding on to certain charms and trinkets. His eyes had this glow to it.

He took a step into the place where he detected the anomaly. He looked around and felt the trace of magic in the air. He followed this trace and then saw a wall scarred by something.

“Wind blades?”

Through the untrained eyes it would be nothing more than a wall that had been scarred by a piece of tech. But he knew it better than anyone in this form and shape. It was a scar that only a few in this world could do.

“Did a Magician appear? No, was it a pilgrimage?”

The excitement that this person had vanished. It was rare for a Magician to find its way to this city after it became so technologically advanced. It was a city where no sane Magician would come unless they needed to. Most of the relics they possess were non-functional in this city and the interference alone could short-circuit their tattoos.

Ever since the millennium bug disturbed the balance. Only a few magicians were able to keep their powers. These few who were able to retain their strength led the Hidden Societies. It was nothing more than a status symbol and those who were truly strong would never even dare to take a step on this god–forsaken place.

“This is something.”

“Seeker, what have you found?”

“I think a Senior came here for a pilgrimage. Wind blades scarred the memorial wall.”

“Did a Senior vandalize it? Hard to believe that a magician would do something like that.”

He was an imitation of what a magician should be. To folk like them these Magicians were stuff of legend. And they who were simply imitating the legends were poor fakes that followed their steps.

“It’s a shame that we missed it. The artifacts that he must have on him must be quite a lot to waste it on vandalizing this wall. The recharging must be quite hellish.”

“So it’s a Senior then?

“Probably. No one can use relics and artifacts so brazenly like this. I mean unless we assume that this Senior can use spells without the use of relics — which is impossible unless he somehow evaded the millennium bug from taking his casting.”

“Feeling sad, Seeker?”

“You bet I am. It’s like missing out on a once in a lifetime event because I thought it would be nothing… the wisdom that I could have gotten. Hell, just a bit would have been fine.”

“Well, that place has nothing so might as well leave.”

“Now I feel gloomy.”

The rugged man thought of many possibilities. What the Senior was doing and what kind of practices this Senior was doing after using his spells.

If he knew he might have died of shock.

After all, the ‘Senior’ that he was fantasizing about was currently drinking chicken soup in a marketplace after spending hours underground.