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[Devils Lair]

A blur flickered through the fallen encampments, stalking the Eliksni squads through the shadows.

Void prowled unseen, his translucent figure merging with the dark crevices in the rusted complex. His eyes darted between two Fallen captains patrolling the area.

Multiple squads of Dregs and servitors were scattered around, likely in charge of this area.

"We've got a lot of company don't you think?" Void whispered.

"Apparently, after the last mission with the Praxic Fire, the House of Devils is slightly on edge. My scans show that a lot of squads surveil the area around here." Obsidian whispered back, camouflaging it's shell.

(A/N: If you've not caught on yet, Fallen or Eliksni classify themselves with a tribal system. But instead of tribes, they call it "House of ----- " , you get the gist. Devil's Lair similarly comes from the fact that the House of Devils, a very strong faction of the Fallen race, usually control this area.)

"Let's get to work then." Void mumbled, immediately flickering above the high beams in the roof. He watched from above like a hawk, surveying each and every move of the fallen.

Instantly, his eyes turned azure, as he peered through the stats of the captains.

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Captain: Akhmis

Race: Eliksni

Level: 28 (A/N: For context, non light-bearers just have their strength classified through levels.)

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Captain: Shesik

Race: Eliksni

Level: 30

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'Not bad' Void's eyes narrowed, prepared to target the weaker captain first. Naturally he needed an opportunity. Fallen captains were somewhat strong if attacked directly.

But an assassination? Now that was a completely different story, no one would survive if their head was cut off.

Void stood up, balancing seamlessly on the beam as he silently trudged directly above the captains. He looked down as they circled around, checking the perimeter.

His right hand twitched, as a dagger appeared in his grip, blade lined with energy.

Void waited, patiently. He stood there, still as a rock, his presence was completely erased.

About thirty minutes of patience later, Void had already analyzed the common route the captains would take.

Preparation was everything, hence he didn't leave things up to chance.

His gaze peered through their tracks, knowing that his opportunity would come, Void tensed his muscles. The moment the two captains looked away from each other and walked in opposite directions, Void would strike.

Reaching to the side with his left hand, Void silently gripped two smoke bombs. He counted his breaths, his heartbeat quickened, as the two captains kept circling each other.

Then, the moment struck, the two for a split second, walked in opposite trajectories. Their figures neared each other, as Void's eyes narrowed.

A few seconds later, as the two captains walked past each other, their backs fully exposed. Void opened his left palm.

*Klink* Two black bombs plopped to the ground, rolling slightly. The sound alerted the Eliksni, but it was too late.

Instantly, an eruption of purple smog engulfed everything, blinding any caught inside its radius.

Void dropped down, gently swooping in on his prey, his dagger glistened with aura, as he plunged it into the Eliksni's neck, jerking his hands backwards as he cleanly cut through his trachea, beheading him in a single strike, without a sound.

The cut began to singe, as the corpse burned slightly, the headless body dropped to the floor.

Shesik's eyes burned, as the smog blinded him, he heard something drop to the floor, he clutched his eyes, as a smelled a familiar scent. Instantly making his hair stand on end.

"Ether". The Eliksni was terrified and confused as it tried retreating out of the smog, but to no avail. He immediately sensed a surge of power in front of him.

His body jolted, but before he could react, Void conjured a blade, swiftly stabbing into the captain's brain, Void pulled the dagger back, cutting the Eliksni's face in half.

"Huh, easier than I thought." Void was pleasantly surprised, "The poison in the smoke bombs is a great addition, Levi's a genius for that one."

Void's lethal blade skills combined with the blinding smoke bombs were perfect for a swift assassination. However, naturally the largest factor was Void's level.

He had truly outclassed the Fallen captain's from the beginning.

Sensing the commotion in their barracks, the Dregs and Servitors were at edge, and as purple smog leaked into the open air, alarm bells were already ringing.

All fallen forces converged towards the barracks as Void watched with a frown.

"Obsidian, two done, eight more to go, what's on the list." He quickly asked, as the smoke began to clear away.

"They want you to thin down the fallen squads in the area." Obsidian replied immediately.

Seeing them all horde his way, Void grinned, "Perfect, it's time to try out Shax's present."

Void pulled out the auto rifle from his inventory, as he deftly loaded unlocked the safety and aimed down sight.

The smoke cleared, the squadron of dregs were alerted to his presence, but Void had no plans for stealth.

Dregs growled as they leapt with their arc daggers, they flooded towards him as Void stood in front of the narrow barracks entrance.

Instantly, he gripped the rifle with both hands and pulled down the trigger.

A storm of bullets hailed upon the dregs, tearing them to shreds in the blink of an eye, as the rifle fired on full auto, the barrel ignited, as the barrage of bullets seemed endless.

The rifle seemed to overheat, as the barrel was steaming hot, yet Void did not let go of the trigger. Swaying the rifle side to side, he sprayed every inch of the barracks in bullets, finally stopping as his magazine ran empty.

White Smoke and a burning smell enveloped the room as Void fanned the barrel, "Damn, this baby can shoot".

He glanced outside, making sure that all the dregs had been reduced to smithereens. Void let go of the rifle as it disappeared into his inventory.

Instead, he clutched the saber secured on his back, with a faint smile he skillfully wielded the sword taking a stance as the blade sparked with arc energy.

"The dregs are gone, but you're all still here aren't you? Don't keep me waiting." Void spoke to the seemingly empty room.

But just as a second passed, a humongous spherical machine teleported Infront of him. It's purple core spinning rapidly as it summoned smaller servitors towards Void.

"You know, I never was a fan of you servitors. Tedious little shits" Void remarked, twisting the saber in his grip.

The servitors surrounded Void, as he took a slight step back, clutching the sword tighter. Void planted his feet into the ground.

With a jolt he erupted forwards at blinding speeds, swinging his sword as he sliced through the mini servitors one by one.

Instantly, Void dashed towards the gigantic Servitor, with a heavy swing, the lightning arced as it collided with the purple energy core, the sparks charged the core beyond capacity as it began glowing bright red.

Void pushed his saber deeper, cleaving through the giant Machine, as lightning lingered in the machine's carcass, the core shined bright. The unstable energies converged and exploded outwards, engulfing the barracks in flames.

As the smoke cleared and the dust settled, Void appeared huddled in the corner, bracing for impact. Most of the explosive shockwave had been absorbed by his armor, but unfortunately it had completely ruined his cape.

Void stumbled up as he patted himself clean. His hands reached his cape, now torn and tattered. He sighed, "Banshee's gonna kill me if I ask him to repair this." Void dismayed.

He shot a quick glance around, and then peeked at his radar. Confirming that all hostiles around were truly dead, Void summoned obsidian.

"How many bounties was that?"

Obsidian contemplated, "Adding in the squad of Dregs and servitors, you've completed six of the ten we took. We could easily cash them in and come back later."

Void sheathed his saber, "Really? What's up with the last four?".

Obsidian ran a few calculations as his eye blinked, "Hmm, the last four bounties aren't exactly possible. They are all tied to hunting the prime servitor and reclaiming this area."

Void frowned, "But what?"

"But, the Prime Servitor of House of Devils has been recorded as missing for a few years. No one knows where it's located. I think the bounty can be classified as a mistake. There's no way a single hunter can do all of that. We would need a fireteam at least." Obsidian immediately retorted.

"A mistake? You're telling me the city's database is outdated?" Void kicked a rock in frustration.

"I don't know about faulty, but this bounty is basically impossible. Someone must have accidentally classified the strike mission under the head hunting bounties category." Obsidian immediately recorded the mistake in his local registry.

"Great, so we're done here? Seems a bit of a waste doesn't it?" Void continued.

Obsidian glanced around the area as he contemplated, finally deciding on a course of action, "I mean, if you want to do more. You can volunteer to take care of the jamming arrays here. The cities satellites will start working in this area again. Think of it as community service!"

Void considered the offer, "Hey, as along as it's not some tedious job, it's ok."

"Hmm, considering the type of array, we'll only need to take out one jamming array to disable the entire network. Since all the fallen are dead, it's basically a waiting game. Essentially, it's a freebie." Obsidian immediately tagged the array on the radar.

"A freebie sounds nice right now." Void smiled, as he shot towards the marked location.

Climbing up the House of Devil's barracks, Void jumped from roof to roof until he ended up near a foreign satellite dish. He summoned Obsidian as the ghost started tinkering with the circuitry.

A few minutes later, the satellite dish seemed to lose it's bearings and the array jamming the cities network went down.

"We're all done here Void, we can go home now." Obsidian replied cheerfully.

Void inspected the satellite as he grabbed a grenade from his kit, ripped the pin and chucked it near the dish, flickering away.

Seconds later, the dish exploded, permanently disabling the network.

"The hack was probably useful, but I prefer more concrete solutions." Void added.

"I guess that works." Obsidian sighed, not bothering to explain the specifics of his network hacking to Void.

"So, the city satellites can access this area now?" Void inquired.

"Yup, and it's all thanks to us. Though we can expect the fallen to replace the jammers in a week at most. But that time is enough to gather crucial data using satellites and comms channels." Obsidian answered.

"Huh, you smell that Obsidian? Smells like philanthropy to me. Can't wait to tell the squad we're the reason the City can access House of Devils territory without being tracked." Void jeered.

"Ah, almost forgot. You should probably turn on the comms channels since we won't be tracked now." Void expressed nonchalantly as he summoned the Jumpship to go to orbit.

But just as he was about to transmat, his comms channel came back online, and immediately exploded with tens, if not hundreds of messages and calls from every single person in the squad.

Void's eyes went wide as he saw the notifications piling up, "W-what, what's happening? Is it an emergency? Obsidian, crosscheck."

"Accessing city's database.. No, everything looks normal to me. We're good." Obsidian replied immediately.

Confusion and anxiety built up, getting a few missed calls was the norm for hunters who often stayed outside comms range. But getting hundreds? There was a problem.

Seeing as they were all from the squad, Void connected the dots. The Nightstalkers needed him? Why?

"Obsidian, try connecting to Skywat-" Void's words were interrupted as another call came, this time from Levi's number, that had already called him at least 70 times.

Void immediately accepted the call, as a rushed voice hastily spoke out.

"Void, Void where are you. We need you at base right now. Captain's looking for you, and he's mad. Super mad. Listen, I don't know what you did, but you should be careful. He's got.." Levi's voice cut out as the signal scrambled.

Void furrowed his brows, "Hey, hello? You there? He's got what?"

Levi spoke again, this time in a faint whisper, "Listen man, he's just got people. I think you need to hurry the f*ck back to base right now. It's big."

The call disconnected before Void could reply.

Void's thoughts ran wild as he immediately transmatted to jumpship and set the course to skywatch.

He immediately thought of all the things that could go wrong.

'Could it be....They found my secret stash of golden age scraps in the base???'

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