"Leave this to me!"
Riku charged forward like a shonen protagonist, sprinting to the alley's entrance. His submachine gun roared, unloading a clean burst that dropped his target in one go.
[Ding! Experience +5.]
The Limit System pinged as the Scav across from him crumpled to the ground.
"When your aim's trash, spray and pray's the way!"
Riku tossed the empty submachine gun aside, snatching a new one off the two Scavs he'd just taken out.
Starting with nothing but himself, all his gear was looted—true isekai style.
"What's the plan? We charging back in?"
V and Jack Welles caught up, V gripping a new gun, her face radiating pure battle mania.
"You good with that hand?" Riku asked, eyeing V's left arm, which was dripping blood. Looked like she'd taken a bullet to her forearm.
"Just a scratch. Popped some meds, doesn't slow me down," V said, shrugging it off. She ripped a strip of cloth and wrapped it haphazardly around the wound.
"How many are left?" Jack Welles asked, clearly not ready to call it quits.
"Not many—six or seven, tops," V replied with confidence. There'd been about fourteen or fifteen Scavs at the start. She'd already smoked a few, and they'd just dropped a couple more.
"Damn, imouto, you're hardcore!" Jack Welles said, impressed. A lone kunoichi taking on a dozen Scavs, icing a few, and still escaping? That's some serious guts.
"Hmph. If I'd known there'd be this many, I wouldn't have needed your help," V scoffed. Usually, Scav crews topped out at five or six—less loot to split that way. A big group like this was rare.
"Then what're we waiting for? Let's finish these yaro off!" Jack Welles said, no hesitation. He despised Scavs with a passion.
V nodded, grabbed her gun, and took point like a true senpai, leading the way to the Scavs' hideout. She knew exactly where their nest was.
"Where the hell are those idiots? Chasing one injured onna shouldn't take this long," grumbled one of two Scavs guarding a shuttered door in the alley.
Not all of them had gone after V. What if she was baiting them out? This was their base, stuffed with unsold and unbutchered "merchandise." No way they'd leave it unguarded.
"What if… they got taken out?" the other Scav muttered, uneasy. Three guys chasing a wounded girl—sure, she might've slipped away, but all of them getting owned?
"Who's there?!"
The two snapped to attention as footsteps echoed from the alley's entrance.
Bang bang bang!
Riku barreled in, guns blazing, weaving through the alley with snakey moves. He didn't even bother aiming, just swung his arms wildly, spraying bullets like a mecha pilot gone rogue. No clue if he hit anything, but it sure was intimidating.
The two Scavs didn't get hit right away, but the sight of a horned oni charging out of nowhere spooked them bad. Their shots went wild, missing entirely.
"Eat my claws!"
In a few strides, Riku closed the gap, grinning as he saw the panic on their Eastern European faces.
Shunk!
Tossing his gun aside, Riku slashed with his jet-black claws, sharp as katana blades, plunging them straight through the Scavs' chests. His hands sank in deep.
Splatter!
He yanked his claws free, flicking them to the ground, leaving bloody streaks across the pavement.
The two Scavs collapsed, motionless. Heart-pierced by Riku's claws, they were deader than a shinigami's hit list.
"Holy kami… is he always this fierce?!"
V, who'd just rushed in behind, gaped in shock, turning to Jack Welles, who was equally floored.
"I'm finding out right now…" Jack swallowed hard. He'd been about to chew Riku out for charging in like a berserker—who just rushes in like that? That's asking to get flatlined! But clearly, he didn't know his new partner as well as he thought.
"Damn, aliens and humans are on different levels!" Jack muttered, then hurried after Riku, who was already storming into the Scavs' hideout.
"…"
V was still stunned but shook it off and charged in after them.
Inside the Scavs' lair, Riku was ejecting bullets from his body while following the stench of blood and decay.
His speed was far beyond a normal human's, and with his raw strength, he was a one-man mecha wrecking crew.
Boom!
He smashed through a door, not slowing down as he rushed two stunned Scavs.
Shunk!
Claws out, he struck before they could react, piercing their hearts clean through.
"That's four," Riku muttered, sniffing the air. The rest were in the basement—five or six at least.
"Riku! Slow the hell down! We can't keep up!" Jack Welles and V shouted, cautiously following his trail. Unlike Riku, they weren't about to go full kamikaze.
No choice—life's a one-time ticket. No sense wasting it.
Riku heard them but didn't stop. He dove straight for the basement.
With V and Jack around, he had to watch himself, keep his trump cards hidden. It was too restricting. Better to go solo and cut loose.
Plus, with his abysmal gun skills, sticking with two sharpshooters like V and Jack meant he'd just be tagging along, leeching kills.
He needed those EXP points to level up. No way he was gonna coast. Those four Scavs just now? 20 EXP in the bank.
Boom!
Riku kicked open the basement's iron door and leaped down.
The upper floor was where the Scavs lived. Down here? This was their "surgery room."
No, scratch that—for these Scavs, it was a slaughterhouse.
In the basement, two Scavs dressed like butchers were busy at a table. Two others, armed and assisting, stood guard.
"What the fuck?!"
The guards were about to head out after hearing the commotion upstairs when Riku dropped in.
Shunk!
Before they could raise their guns, Riku slammed into them, knocking them flat. His claws flashed, pinning them to the floor through their chests.
"FUCK!"
The two "butchers" froze, staring at Riku, now drenched in blood.
"Anyone still alive?"
Riku pulled his claws free and stepped to the table, glancing at the person strapped down. He turned to the trembling Scavs holding scalpels.